It’s something we hear from early childhood: wash your hands before eating or wash your hands after using the bathroom. But nobody ever says to wash your hands after using your phone.

Cell phones have become an extension of our hands in today’s society.

From bathrooms, cafeterias, and desks, phones are used and placed in all sorts of environments.

But with nearly 17,000 microorganisms found on the phones of high school students in a recent study cited by the National Library of Medicine, phones have almost 10 times more germs than a toilet seat.

According to the New York Post, Americans pick up their phones every 12 minutes and approximately 80 times a day. This provides hundreds of opportunities for germs to transfer from surfaces to phones to fingertips and vice versa.

Just like door handles or pencils, cell phones harbor airborne pathogens from sneezing and coughing and aid to the spread of disease. But the amount of germs isn’t the only health concern, pathogens such as streptococcus, mrsa, with even e coli having been found on phones.

However research varies from how often one should sanitize their phones, ranging from once a month to weekly, and daily when you’re sick.

The best way to keep your phone germ free is by gently wiping down the phone with a wet microfiber cloth containing a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol.