How to clean your remote control

Netflix streaming traffic has reached all-time highs as cities enter lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Netflix Party, as well as “Netflix and Zoom,” too, have emerged as temporary solutions to our yearning for human interaction in these times of social isolation.

So if life from home has had you as attached to the TV as these numbers and anecdotes suggest, then now is as good a time as ever to clean your remote control. (Just think of all those greasy popcorn fingers touching it — yuck!)

That said, a spray or glob of hand sanitizer here and there isn’t going to get the job properly done. In fact, always take caution when using any liquid that can enter small openings in your tech devices as it could break them.

Now, with that caution fresh in your mind, here’s how to clean your remote properly:

What you need

1. Two lint-free cloths

2. Mild hand soap

3. Water

4. Rubbing alcohol

5. Q-tip

6. Toothpick (optional)

7. Disinfectant wipes (optional)

How to do it

1. Remove the batteries. You don’t want liquids to come in contact with working batteries. Like ever.

2. Mix soap and water. Use your common-sense judgement to determine the soap-to-water ratio. Skip this step if you’re using disinfectant wipes. (Let’s be real though, they’re hard to come by these days.)

3. Dip a lint-free cloth into the soapy mix. Again, we want to be careful with liquids, so make sure you wring the cloth as dry as possible. Again, skip this step if you’re using disinfectant wipes.

4. Carefully wipe the front and back of your remote control. Don’t worry about the nooks and crannies just yet — we’ll get to that next. For now, a good, comprehensive wipe of the casing and buttons will do. Feel free to clean the insides of the battery compartment, too. Just make sure you’re taking extra caution. 

5. Wipe it dry with a lint-free cloth. If you’re using disinfectant wipes, you may be able to skip this step depending on how quickly the liquid dries.

6. Dip Q-tip into rubbing alcohol. Remove any excess liquid from the Q-tip and then use it to clean the surface between and around the buttons. 

7. Optional: Use a toothpick to clean the gap between the buttons and the casing. Maybe it’s barbecue sauce from the last time you ate wings while watching football; or maybe it’s just chip crumbs. In any case, get those crumbs and gunk out. It won’t look pretty while you’re doing it, but it might help the buttons on your remote work better in the long run.