Since you know you’ll be smearing your greasy mitts all over your smartphone’s touchscreen, you’re better off protecting it with a layer of plastic. You can bypass pricey protectors sold by manufacturers with stuff you’ve probably got around the house.

Instructables tells you how to make your own screen protectors with dish soap, water and some clear tape that’s at least as wide as your screen. Squirt some soap into the water, then dab a couple drops of the solution onto the screen. Next, apply the tape to the screen, push out the air bubbles, and trim the tape to fit your screen with a razor blade. Give the solution time to dry before touching the screen.

The suggestion is particularly adventurous — it makes us wince to apply even a little bit of water to the screen or put a razor near our delicate electronics — so it might be best to practice on an older phone before trying this out on something that’s valuable to you.

How to make your own screen protector [Instructables]

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