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Tired of seeing your clear silicone cases turn yellow? If yes, you are in the right place. No matter how much you take care of a clear silicone case, it faces discoloration. The discolored phone case ruins the beauty of your phone.
Silicone cases turn yellow due to oxidation from ultraviolet radiations, excess heat, and natural oils and sweat from your hands. It is an irreversible process because the silicone cases are naturally yellow. The yellowness only increases with time due to the environment.
You must know all the factors that accelerate the yellowness to keep the silicone case intact for a long time. We have also explained how you can clean a yellow case and some better silicone case alternatives. So, let’s get started!
Reasons Why Silicone Cases Turn Yellow
If you have ever owned a clear silicone case, you must have seen it turn yellow over time. It is a natural process that the polymer of the phone case undergoes.
The yellow hue on your silicone phone case isn’t a stain. It is a degradation process of silicone.
Here’s the thing:
Silicone phone cases naturally have a yellow hue in them. The yellowness only increases with time.
Silicone is an expensive material that provides flexibility to the phone case. It serves as a suitable material for manufacturing phone cases. But one disadvantage of silicone is its oxidation which makes it yellow.
Every silicon phone case undergoes the yellowing procedure. However, certain factors accelerate the yellowing of silicone phone cases. If you know these factors, you can prevent the yellowing of the silicone case for a long time. So, learn about all the factors!
Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
UV radiations are the main culprit in accelerating the aging process of silicone cases. If you stay outdoors a lot and your phone case is exposed to sunlight, it will age faster.
Sunlight consists of excess heat and light, especially in summer. Both these contribute to the yellowing of silicone cases.
UV rays cause the oxidation of silicone after which it changes its color and turns yellow. So, the more the silicone case is exposed to extreme sunlight, the more it turns yellow.
Sweat and Oil From Hands
Your phone case comes in contact with your hands all the time. Your hands release natural oils and sweat from glands. Both of these contribute to the acceleration of the degradation of silicone cases.
All the chemicals from your hands build up on the phone case turning it yellow.
Also, imagine it this way. You eat something greasy and get a text from someone. You take your phone without cleaning your hands. The grease from your hand transfers to the phone case. That is also another factor that makes the silicon case yellow.
Your hands also provide heat to the phone case. When you use your phone for hours, the heat develops to a considerable amount. It degrades the silicone cases as well.
How to Fix a Yellow Silicone Case?
You can’t entirely reverse the yellowing of a silicone case. The yellowing is due to molecular changes and oxidation. It isn’t a reversible process. But you can try to make the yellow hue less obvious. Here’s what you can do!
Baking Soda and Warm Water
Baking soda is a great agent for removing stains. It might remove some discoloration from your silicone case. However, it depends upon the extent of oxidation. If your phone case has turned dark yellow, then it might not clear off the yellow hue to a considerable amount.
Here’s how you can use baking soda and warm water to remove the yellow stain!
- Remove the phone case from your phone.
- Sprinkle some baking soda on it and put some drops of warm water.
- The baking soda will show fervor. Rub the baking soda and water mixture on the phone case using an old toothbrush.
- Leave the paste on the phone case for 10-15 minutes.
- Rinse off the baking soda.
- Dry the phone case using a soft cloth.
If this doesn’t work the first time, you can do it 2-3 times to get noticeable results.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is a great disinfectant. It not only prevents the yellowing of the silicone case but also kills the germs. Phone cases have a lot of germs on them that transfer to our hands when we use them.
Therefore, you should make it a routine to disinfect the phone case using rubbing alcohol. However, it won’t reverse the yellowing of silicone cases. It only prevents it from turning yellow.
DIY Art on Phone Case
If your silicone has turned yellow and you don’t want to buy a new case, you can change its appearance. All you need is to bring out your creative side and paint the phone case.
Acrylic paint is the best for painting a silicone phone case. You can choose any design from minimal aesthetic to the Pinterest aesthetic. This way, you can have your own customized phone case.
Here’s a thorough guide to painting your yellow silicone case.
Do All Phone Cases Turn Yellow?
All phone cases don’t turn yellow. Only clear silicone and plastic phone cases turn yellow. If you are tired of yellow phone cases, you can find tons of phone cases that don’t turn yellow.
Clear phone cases made from high-quality TPU stay intact for a long time. If the TPU is high quality, it won’t turn yellow for a long time. You can find all these phone cases at UIcase.
Moreover, colored phone cases with different patterns have a better shot. They don’t turn yellow like clear cases. Metal cases are also good if you want a phone case that doesn’t turn yellow.
Final Thoughts
Now you know why silicone cases are yellow and what you can do to prevent the yellowing. If you keep the phone case away from heat, sunlight, chemicals, oils, grease, etc, it will stay intact for a long time. Clean the phone case often with rubbing alcohol to prevent the yellowing process. You can opt for other materials that don’t turn yellow and are highly protective. All these are available at UIcase.
