Telephone Handset Deep Cleaning Step-by-Step Guide

Telephones are one of the most common items in office spaces as well as homes. They always seem clean and shiny but if you get closer and inspect them carefully, you’ll realise without proper cleaning, they are a playing ground for bacteria and grime and may cause several health issues in people using them. This puts cleaning and sanitising telephones on the home or office cleaning checklists. But how to clean and sanitise telephone handsets easily and quickly?

In this article, we’ll discuss the best and fastest way to clean your telephone handset at home or in the office without damaging them.

Deep Clean & Sanitise Your Telephone

An image of a rusty and dirty old telephone

Cleaning and sanitising a telephone, including the number pad and handset requires attention to detail. But with this easy-to-follow deep cleaning guide, you can safely clean and sanitise your office or home telephone in less than 10 minutes.

#1 Tools & Supplies You Need

First and foremost, you should prepare and have every tool and supplies you need at hand. Here’s a list of everything you need to clean and sanitise the telephone and handset at home or office:

Microfibre cloth
Cotton swabs
Soft toothbrush (or any soft non-abrasive brush)
Toothpicks (to clean gaps and mouthpiece holes)
Paper towels
Mild dish soap
Isopropyl alcohol
Water (pour it in a clean spray bottle)

#2 Unplug The Telephone

Before cleaning the telephone, make sure it is unplugged and every part is disassembled according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In most cases, you have to unplug the main cable from the back of the telephone and the cable connecting the receiver to the telephone. If you have a cordless handset, take out the batteries if possible.

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#3 Remove Dust & Dirt

With the telephone unplugged and disassembled, start dry-wiping the telephone with dry and clean paper towels to remove dust and dirt. To remove debris and grime from crevices and between the keys, use the soft toothbrush.

#4 Deep Clean The Base Unit and The Receiver

Dampen a microfibre cloth with a mixture of water and mild dish soap (that you poured into the spray bottle). Then wipe the telephone base and receiver until all stains and remaining dust and debris are cleaned.

Next, dampen a soft toothbrush with dampen a soft toothbrush with the water and dish soap solution and brush the gaps and crevices. This helps with removing all the remaining dust and grime. You can also use isopropyl alcohol to do this and sanitise the telephone simultaneously.

Another way to remove grime from telephone gaps and crevices is using a toothpick. The pointy tip of a toothpick is great to dig out the grime from tight gaps but you may still need to brush it afterwards to wipe residues clean.

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#5 Clean The Keypad & Display

To clean the keypads and displays, dampen a cotton swab with water and mild dish soap solution and clean the gaps around the keypad and display. Afterwards, use a microfibre cloth to spotlessly clean the display and keys. You can also use wet wipes to clean the display and keys as well. Finish the work by wiping the keypads with a microfibre cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol.

#6 Deep Clean Earpiece & Mouthpiece

The telephone earpiece and mouthpiece are the places where bacteria and grime accumulate. It is also one of the most important parts of a telephone that you should invest some time and precision to deep clean.

To clean the earpiece and mouthpiece, dampen a soft toothbrush with isopropyl alcohol and gently brush the holes. You can also clean them with cotton swabs. If there are any stubborn debris and grime, slowly dig them out with a clean toothpick. Finish the work by wiping the receiver with a microfibre cloth damped with isopropyl alcohol.

#7 Plug it Back in and Enjoy

When you’re done with cleaning the telephone, which usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, it’s time to assemble and plug it back in. But before doing it, it’s better to wait another 10 to 15 minutes for the handset to dry completely. This is to prevent any future damages and shorts in the telephone electronics and circuitries.

Best Cleaning Frequency for Telephones

Everything at home or in the office requires cleaning and sanitising on a regular basis. With the right cleaning frequency, not only can you keep them sanitised but also you can extend their lifespan, especially electronics like computers and, in this case, telephones.

The right cleaning frequency for an office telephone is once a week. But you can clean your home telephone once every other week since it is generally used less than a telephone in your office. We have a full guide on when to clean everything which can help you regarding the right cleaning frequency for every household item or office equipment.

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Conclusion

No matter how clean they may look, telephones are one of the places where grime and bacteria accumulate. This puts cleaning and sanitising telephones one of the crucial parts of every cleaning checklist. In this article, we discussed how to clean and sanitise a corded or cordless telephone effectively and quickly without damaging it.

The information provided by this article can help you deep clean and sanitise your office or home telephone handset correctly and by using common household cleaning supplies.

Complete Guide to Deep Clean & Sanitise Telephone Handsets