CAT® Phones – the most robust smartphones on the market – are widely used by frontline workers carrying out essential work during the Coronavirus pandemic, including; healthcare, emergency services, transportation, warehouse and grocery/convenience store staff. To help these workers keep safe, CAT Phones has issued guidance on how to keep its rugged professional smartphones hygienically clean with a video and written guide.
The video and guide highlight how these phones can be cleaned and scrubbed as thoroughly and as frequently as your hands. This addresses the issue of smartphones harbouring germs and the risk of bacteria and viruses transferring back to hands – particularly prevalent in light of a recent letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine reporting that some viruses can survive for up to three days on plastics and the surfaces of some metals.
The video demonstration, which features the durable and slimline CAT S52 smartphone, shows how users can submerge the phone entirely in hot water, lather the phone itself with a sponge in warm soapy water and then rinse it under the tap – helping to get to harder-to-reach areas like the charging and headphone ports. The guides also explain how the phone can be cleaned using generous amounts of hand sanitiser, anti-bacterial spray and alcohol wipes. Scrubbing brushes, cloths, towels and paper towels can all be used as excessive wiping will not damage the screen, or any part of the phone.
CAT Phones recommends cleaning rugged smartphones as thoroughly and frequently as hands to avoid transferring germs between the two and lower the risk of getting ill. When the phone needs an even deeper clean, it can be put directly into a bucket of water mixed with disinfectant or bleach. It won’t break, water won’t get in the openings and there’s no need to wait for ports to dry out before using them.
Rugged phones are becoming increasingly popular as companies look to avoid costly smartphone repairs and replacements that often result from the demands of many frontline jobs. The entire CAT phone range are military spec, ‘rugged’ devices. This means they are tough and robust, making them suitable for use in any environment – indoors or outdoors. CAT smartphones do not require protective cases, which further avoids the risk of harbouring germs. They are also fully bleach, sweat, alcohol abrasion, temperature and chemical susceptibility tested*.
Cat Phones are rigorously drop tested onto steel, tested in temperature extremes, resistant to scratches and damage, and built to survive. They can be properly cleaned and disinfected periodically or after each use and are IP68 certified, meaning they are fully dust and dirt proof, can be fully submerged in liquid, cleaned with hot or cold water and soaps or detergents, and disinfected using alcohol gels.
