Apple says it’s fine to wipe your iPhone with a Clorox wipe

(CNN) — Apple says you should feel free to use disinfectant wipes to clean your iPhone. Smartphones are notorious germ magnets, and Apple issued new gadget-cleaning guidance as the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads.

The new guidance, which appeared Monday on Apple’s support page, tells people that they can “gently wipe the hard, nonporous surfaces,” such as displays or keyboards, of Apple products with a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes.

Apple says people should not to use bleach to clean their gadgets and they should avoid letting moisture seep into any opening to prevent internal damage.

People have been rushing to purchase Clorox and other anti-bacterial wipes because they can kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, but it remains unclear about how effective they are at eliminating the COVID-19 strain of the coronavirus from hard surfaces.

But disinfectant products that have been proven effective in protecting against the other human coronaviruses are thought to be effective against the novel coronavirus, too, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, previously told CNN.

Saskia Popescu, a senior infection prevention epidemiologist and consultant for Clorox, said Americans should not panic and recommends following the same practices they would if they were trying to avoid the common respiratory infections, such as scrubbing hands clean with soap and water, wiping down shared work spaces with disinfectant wipes and to cover coughs and sneezes.