Looked at your phone and earbuds lately? They're nasty. Here's how to disinfect them.

Let’s play a fun game, shall we? Which one of the half dozen gadgets that you touch, tap, cradle against your face or push into your ear-holes hundreds – if not thousands of times a day – is the grossest?

Is it your smartphone that you frequently hold just an inch away from your mouth? We’ve known for quite some time now that cell phones sometimes carry 10 times the number of germs you'd find in a toilet seat.

Or maybe it’s those earbuds you work out with? When was the last time you sanitized them after you took them out? Ever had one fall out on the kitchen floor (which is the most germ-ridden place in your home, FYI) and you just stuck it back in without cleaning it first? Every time you do that, you add yet another layer of dirt, dust, grease and grime to the already-present skin particles and earwax. Those little suckers have more than 2,700 times more bacteria than a kitchen cutting board. Ew.

Here’s how to clean the most common germ-ridden gadgets and stuff you touch all the time – in less than 5 minutes a day.

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Smartphones

The safest way to clean your phone without damaging it is to use disinfectant wipes that contain 70% isopropyl alcohol and gently wipe it down at least once a day. You can also make a DIY version yourself in a little spray bottle, mist it onto one of those microfiber cloths that come with most of your gadgets these days and use that to give it a good once-over. That should remove the germs – even the makeup – and leave your phone shiny and clean.

Most gadget-makers warn to power down the device and unplug it, so as not to accidentally let any extra moisture into the guts of the handset. Obviously, don’t spray anything directly into any openings and don’t use bleach, paper towels or anything abrasive to clean it either. Instead, use a soft, microfiber cloth like you'd use to clean your eyeglasses.

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Been to the beach lately? How about grooming your shedding dog or playing in the grass with your kids? Scotch tape is great way to remove sand, pollen and pet hair from your smartphone. Lay down a strip along the creases and speaker, then gently peel it off. It should grab most of those little nasties. You can even roll some tape up and use it to swap out the ports for any lint or grit tucked down in there. You can use Q-Tips or other soft-tipped swabs for the little nooks and crannies too, but I’ve noticed that sometimes a little of the cotton gets left behind, which defeats the purpose.

When in doubt, check the manufacturer’s instructions, as the list of what NOT to do seems to be growing by the day. Among the things you don't want to use to clean your phone: makeup remover, window cleaner, compressed air, dish soap and vinegar, to name a few.

Earbuds

Use that same combo of disinfectant wipe or homemade spray on a gentle lint-free cloth to wipe down your earbuds and charger. You can use a toothpick to work out gunk in any cracks. Just be really careful not to poke or jam anything sharp into the speakers or any other sensitive parts. Make sure everything is completely dry before you put your earbuds back into their charging case.

Apple says you can use a clean, dry, soft-bristled brush – I often use a baby toothbrush – to remove any debris from the Lightning connector on wired earbuds or the cable used to charge the case. Just be sure not to put anything into the charging ports, so that you don’t damage the metal contacts.

You can actually pull off the rubber tips each AirPod Pro and run those under water to rinse them off, but Apple says not to use any soap or other household cleaners. Be sure to tap each top on a soft, dry, lint-free cloth before reattaching them. Don’t use them again until you’re sure they’re completely dry . Don't use a hair dryer to hurry the process along, either .

My favorite speaker-cleaning trick is from @jessicahaizman on TikTok, whose viral video shows using Blu Tack (that adhesive putty you can use to put posters on your wall) to grab all kinds of groadiness. (If that’s not a word, it should be.) Make a little ball out of that and gently press it into your earbud speakers. If there’s any leftover grime, you should see it there on the putty's surface once you pull it away.

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Keyboards and screens

Keyboards are another hotbed of bacteria and bugs. For quick daily pickups of all those sandwich crumbs between the keys and whatever might have been on your fingers before you started tapping away, it’s hard to beat the Mistic-Cool slime-like cleaning gel that you can order on Amazon for around $8. While magical for picking up crumbs and other gunk, it doesn’t disinfect, so use wipes to sanitize the area once you're removed the gunk

It's smart to keep a canister of those alcohol wipes, Clorox disinfecting wipes or a bottle of your DYI solution on hand for the next time you need to clean up your keyboard.All of those are all fine for hard, non-porous surfaces, such as the display, keyboard or other exterior surfaces. Just be sure not to use anything with bleach or hydrogen peroxide and don’t get any of the openings wet. Compressed air works well too, but be careful not to blast your keys off. (Yes, I’ve actually done that.)

Remote controls

Don’t forget to clean your remote controls! Everyone touches them – even your youngest kid who swears they don't pick their nose or put the clicker in their mouth. These little lifelines to the best of all binge watching could be 20 times dirtier than your toilet and harbor more germs and bacteria than your garbage can or shower rack.

Give it a good once-over with antibacterial wipes at least once a day too. For a deeper clean, remote the batteries, then turn your remote upside down and gently tap it against you palm to get rid of all those little nasties hiding in the cracks between buttons and crevices, too. Use that Blu Tack or Scotch tape or even give it a little blast of compressed air.

Once again, never spray anything directly onto – or into – the actual device. When you're done cleaning the remote, make sure it gets 100% dry before you put the batteries back in. And don’t forget to wash your hands after all of this!

Gaming controllers

A recent survey commissioned by tech repair site Asurion found that video game consoles and controllers are among the grossest devices this side of an old, smelly kitchen sponge.

“Aside from accumulating large amounts of dust particles, gaming systems attract cockroaches and other vermin (rats! eek!) seeking out dark, warm places to nest when placed on the floor or in tight corners of your room – quickly turning into bug-infested homes,” a spokesperson wrote in one of the ickiest corporate statements I've ever read.

Asurion recommends putting your PlayStation or Xbox in a clear space with plenty of ventilation to avoid luring unwanted visitors or internal overheating. In addition to hindering ventilation, bugs can cause components to short out as they move around inside the console. Give the vents a good, frequent cleaning to keep gameplay going.

The same tricks that work for wiping down your gadgets are great for joysticks, controllers and all those other hard surfaces on gaming devices. If you need some extra help, Asurion can walk you through spring cleaning your gaming consoles step-by-step.

Now go wash your hands, you filthy animal.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech columnist. Email her at jj@techish.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly. The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to clean your smartphone, earbuds, game controllers or TV remote