Cell phones have become a necessity in our lives. It’s estimated that there are 3.5 billion smart phones in use across the world, which is roughly one for every two people on the planet.

And we use our phones a lot. A 2016 study found that we touch our phones more than 2,600 times a day and that the most frequent users reach for theirs as many as 5,400 times daily. Unfortunately, one area in which many of us fall short is in cleaning our devices.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) represents a worldwide health challenge that requires everyone to be more careful about surfaces they touch. Because we touch our cell phones so many times a day, bacteria we come into contact with get stored on our screens. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that cell phones have 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

Good Housekeeping recently published an article on its website about the best ways to clean a cell phone screen. It’s vital information that we should all take to heart now and even when the COVID-19 threat has passed.

For more on COVID-19, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.