Swipe your mobile with saline wipes to keep it bacteria-free

Swiping your pager or cell phone just three times with a simple tissue moistened with saline would help you get rid of most of the bacteria, according to a new study.

But if you only have time for a single swipe of a ''dirty'' phone – you'd be better off reaching for a disinfectant wipe, said the study.

The finding was made by a team of researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

For the study, three types of bacteria – Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Enterococci (VRE) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa – were each prepared in a mixture and streaked onto sterile plastic Petri dishes, then allowed to dry.

Numerous bacteria contaminated plates were prepared throughout the summer – all in the same manner – so each type of bacteria could be tested with five different types of wipes and then again with varying amounts of swipes – one swipe, three swipes and five swipes.

Each 10 cm diameter plate was wiped for one second and in a manner that the entire surface was swiped, using a flat baton.