How to clean an iPhone to guard against Coronavirus?

I've read several articles that cleaning an iPhone should only be done by a microfibre cloth to prevent damage to the device. But I can't see how that will actually clean the device and kill things like viruses.

This might sound over the top, but we're all being told to wash our hands frequently and effectively and given how often we touch our phones it seems we should be cleaning them just as often.

Is it safe to use alcohol wipes on an iPhone? Or what is the recommended practice?

I use non-alcohol wipes made by Seventh Generation to clean my family's iDevices, computer keyboards, laptop and desktop screens, kitchen counters, etc. It uses thymol, an extract of thyme for its germ-fighting goodness. The label indicates it kills Influenza A virus, H1N1, Rhinovirus type 37, MRSA, Staph. aureus, Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

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It may be tempting to wipe down your phone's screen with some rubbing alcohol or a disinfectant wipe. But in doing so, you risk damaging your device's screen.

"These phones have a coating on them to prevent oil or grease from your hand from sticking on the phone," Jason Siciliano, vice president and global creative director of smartphone protection service SquareTrade, told Business Insider. "Using alcohol or or those types of everyday solutions directly on a phone, on its glass, can harm it."

So what can you do to protect yourself when using your electronic device?

If you're looking for an alternative method of killing germs, you can try looking into a UV phone sanitizer like Phone Soap, which uses UV-C light to break down germs and bacteria. It's a relatively small box that almost resembles a tanning bed for your phone that blasts it with UV-C light to disinfect it.

Although you shouldn't use cleaning products on your mobile device, you may be able to do so on its case, depending on the materials it's made from.