'Filthy': The hygiene act Aussies can't agree on

How often do you clean your mobile phone? 

It's the simple question we've asked Aussies after The Sydney Morning Herald revealed how disgusting our nation's phones really are. 

Molecular geneticist Dr Lotti Tajouri revealed he sterilises his phone five times daily after completing a small study with shocking results. 

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Tajouri decided to swab guests' phones at a Sydney medical conference last year and discovered they were "filthy" with everything from bacteria and fungi to viruses. 

In an exclusive Nine.com.au poll, we asked Australians how often they disinfect their mobile phones, and the results were naturally divisive.

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Respondents had the option to select from five options, and you might be surprised by how often some clean their phones. 

An overwhelming 32 per cent admitted to cleaning their phones once a month.

"I always clean my mobile phone. It's just normal to do so," one user wrote. 

27 per cent of Aussies shared that they clean their phones once a week, with an additional 16 per cent saying they complete this act once a day. 

Surprisingly, only 4 per cent of users say they are reaching to disinfect their phones once every few hours. 

Twenty-one per cent of those surveyed said they never clean their phones, with one confessing: "My mobile phone is not something that I regularly think to clean but it probably should be given the amount that I touch it."

So why is it important to clean a mobile phone?

Tajouri explained that the germs these devices harbour can have extreme impacts. 

"We think that mobile phones – with modern transport – actually contribute to pandemics and the dissemination of viruses, of bacteria, of superbugs around the world," Tajouri said. "And we must act."

"You can wash your hands as many times as you want, but by touching your mobile phone, which is filthy, you cross-contaminate, and you negate your washing."The Sydney Morning Herald. 

So, how do you clean your phone and how often should you do it? Tajouri says we should sterilise our devices daily using an ethanol-based cleaner. 

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