We rely upon electronics to a surprising degree in this day and age. Even if you don’t keep a television or a computer, few people can maintain their personal and professional lives without a smartphone. And a smartphone is, in essence, a small computer. With that being said, a smartphone can’t be used on its own. Every smartphone requires a charger, and a charger in turn can be enhanced with the use of things like USB cables. For that matter, televisions can’t be used to their greatest degree without HDMI cables. Of course, no matter how high the quality of your electronic devices and their accessories, they won’t work to the best of their ability unless they are well-maintained. Maintenance does involve a good amount of regular cleaning, as we’ll discuss below. But it can also refer to the use of protective devices like surge protectors. A surge protector protects not only your electronic devices, but the wiring of your home as well. With that being said, let’s dive into what you need to do to keep your electronic devices functioning as they should, and perhaps even better than you might have expected!

Basic Maintenances: The Importance Of Keeping Your Devices Clean

Keeping your devices clean is important on several levels. Electronic devices can get very dirty very quickly, no matter how careful you are. This is especially true for cell phones and cell phone accessories. It’s estimated that for each square inch of a cell phone, there are 25,000 germs. This makes it dirtier than your pet’s food dish, the sole of a shoe, and even a toilet seat. You clean your cell phone in a very basic way by using antiseptic alcohol wipes, which can be found at almost any grocery store. There are clear health benefits to keeping your phone clean. You keep your phone close to your face and this will expose you to any bacteria or viruses that have collected on your phone. But cleaning your cell phone may also keep it working longer. Usually, a smartphone has an average lifespan of about two years. Keeping a cell phone clean means keeping it dry as well — often, oils and other liquids can seep into your cell phone without your knowledge. The cleaner your cell phone is kept, the less likely this issue to occur.

Surge Protectors: Protecting Your Devices And More

Many don’t even know what a surge protector is far — never mind the fact that they should use them in the first place. A surge protect is a device that is meant to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A voltage spike can happen without warning. What a surge protect does is attempt to limit the voltage supplied to a device by either blocking or shorting to ground any voltages that would be above an unsafe threshold. Essentially, a voltage spike or surge can happen anywhere, on any electrical grid. Therefore, a surge protector would be recommended to basically anyone who uses electrical devices. A surge can, if unstopped, “fry” a variety of different electrical devices and render them useless. They can also be simply damaged. Of course, there are other ways in which electrical devices can be damaged. And a damaged device can be quite dangerous.

Damaged Devices: Why You Need To Take Them Seriously

Whether you’re using highspeed HDMI cables or basic smartphone chargers, these devices can be damaged to the point that they become dangerous to use. If they’re frayed in particular, they can pose a serious fire hazard. In 2008 alone, electrical fires, failures, or malfunctions resulted in an average of 53,600 house fires. These fires resulted in over 500 deaths, 1,400 people injured, and $1.4 billion in property damage. As such, if you see any kind of damage — whether it’s physical or merely functional — in your devices, you need to consult an expert. And if you’re advised to replace the device, don’t wait.