Cleaning Tips For Belfast

How to clean your remote control

The remote control for the tv is something we use every day, sometimes it's in our hands for a lot longer than we imagine. Our hands are generally sweaty or greasy, and holding a object for either long periods or repeated short periods can transfer this grease and dirt onto the control, just like a computer mouse when used for long periods – yuch! The tv remote also has the added issue of users eating snacks while watching tv, this makes the hands even more greasy.

The problem with electronic devices like remotes, is you can't get them too wet - I have made that mistake before and ended up ruining one. Water and electronics don't mix. Depending on how dirty your remote is there are two things I do to keep mine clean and fresh.

Firstly I will take an old toothbrush, or similar, do not make them wet. These are great for getting round the edges of the holes where the buttons sit, these areas are great for catching dirt and dust and the tiny bristles in the toothbrush are perfect for getting in there. I then blow away any material I have losened, you could equally use a vacuum cleaner with a small attachment.

Next is the scary bit - you need to use some water. This needs 3 pieces of kitchen towel, and some dish soap. You need the dish soap to cut through the grease and give an active clean to the buttons and surrounds. So, double over one piece of kitchen towel and place on a surface ready to receive the remote. The other two pieces need to be folded up four or five times into a "wodge". Both pieces then need to be wet and squeezed out so leaving them not dripping wet but more towards damp. One piece is then drawn across the soap so as to load the kitchen towel with s soap covering, again this is reasonably dry.

The key part of this is to hold the remote upside down, buttons pointing downwards. Whilst in that position, lightly pull the soapy kitchen towel across the buttons and face of the remote. Do not turn the remote over with buttons facing up at any point. Once the soap has been applied, you can remove the soap by using the other damp piece of kitchen towel, carefully drawing it across the face of the remote – still in the upside down position. You may need to rinse soap from the wiping piece and repeat once or twice more depending on how much soap you applied. Still holding the remote upside down bring the final piece of the kitchen towel to the remote face and gently dab and push the towel to the remote. Keep the remote upside down and place on the kitchen towel, leaving it there for a few hours to dry out completely. If you're careful this works a treat.