Cleaning a Remote Control

You’ve seen how surgeons scrub their hands before an operation and then wear sterile gloves and gowns. Operations are conducted in sterile operation theatres. And yet, infection is still a major worry during all surgical procedures.

Now think about the various remote controls in your home, how many people touch them? This is not to imply that the people in your home are dirty, but be honest – does anyone ever wash their hands before touching a remote control? And what about the places they are kept lying around? Not the cleanest of places, are they? Let’s not forget about pets who love to lie on the remotes! You may have a home cleaning agency that keeps your house spic and span, but cleaning things like remote control units are not within their purview and this is something you need to do yourself.

There are two reasons for keeping the remote clean – your family’s health which could be affected by germs and dirt on the remotes and to keep the remote control unit itself from getting clogged with dirt and getting damaged. Remember that most remotes are designed not to show dirt. But that does not mean that they do not get dirty over time.

Doing a quick surface cleaning of a remote control is easy and does not take any time or special equipment.

First of all read the operating and maintenance instructions of the equipment and see if anything is said about cleaning the remote. If so, follow those instruction and only use what is below if it does not contradict what the manufacturer has to say.

Then proceed to remove the batteries from the unit.

Use a cotton swab dipped in clean rubbing alcohol to clean the areas around the buttons on the unit. If there is dirt caked or stuck in the small gap around a button, use a toothpick to extract the dirt. Be careful not to let the tip of the toothpick break off and fall in the remote. That will mean a visit to the repair shop to get the remote opened up. Repeat the cleaning with the alcohol dipped cotton swab until the areas around the buttons is completely clean.

Spray a soft lint free cloth with the rubbing alcohol or any cleaner that is safe for use on plastic, and wipe the buttons and the rest of the remote’s surface. Use the same method to clean the dust from the battery compartment. If there are some crevices or areas behind the springs you can’t reach, use the swab and cleaner here too.

That’s it.  Depending on how your remotes are used, cleaning them about once a month is a good idea. Why not time it with the visits of your home cleaning agency so you can keep track of when it should be done?