Current:Home > FinanceYour smartwatch is gross. Here's how to easily clean it. -RiskWatch
Your smartwatch is gross. Here's how to easily clean it.
View
Date:2025-04-12 18:12:59
The smartwatch or fitness tracker you're wearing is dirty. Really dirty.
While the device tracks information like your fitness data and helps you respond to text messages, it also inadvertently collects things like sweat, lotion and sunscreen.
A 2020 experiment found a smartwatch to be dirtier than a smartphone, gaming controller or keyboard, and 37 times dirtier than your toilet seat. Yuck!
Fortunately, it's easy to quickly disinfect your smartwatch or fitness tracker and its strap using items you probably already have in your home.
Watch this video to see how to easily clean your Apple Watch or Fitbit.
How to clean Apple Watch, Fitbit, Samsung smartwatch
Start by removing your Apple Watch, Fitbit, or other smartwatch from your wrist or the charger.
Then, turn it off and remove the bands.
Most of these devices can be cleaned using a microfiber cloth, cotton swab, water, isopropyl alcohol, or a disinfecting wipe.
Gently wipe the device with a damp microfiber cloth to clean it. The cloth can be dipped in either water, isopropyl alcohol, or a diluted combination of the two.
If there's a buildup in the port or speaker, or if the Digital Crown is stuck on your Apple Watch, Apple says you can put the watch under "lightly running, warm" water to flush it out or unstick the Digital Crown.
If you have any gunk built up around the edges, creases or buttons, use a damp cotton swab or gently brush the area with a damp toothbrush.
Once you're finished, dry the device with a soft cloth.
Clean your smartwatch, fitness bands
Don't forget to clean your bands!
A lot of dirt, sweat and other gunk builds up in the little crevices attaching the tech to the strap, and it can get nasty in there.
Use a damp toothbrush or cleaning brush to gently remove any buildup on the strap.
To clean straps that aren't leather or metal, just wipe them down with soap and water.
Reviewed-approved laundry recommendations
Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.
Reviewed helps you find the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of home experts are always testing new washing machines, irons and more so you can shop for the best of the best.
- Editor's Choice dryer balls:Smart Sheep Wool Dryer Balls
- The best stain-removing detergent:PersilProClean
- A supersized laundry backpack:Azhido 115L Extra Large Laundry Backpack
- Lingerie bags for all your delicates:Bagail Mesh Bag Set
- A sweater-saving fabric shaver:Conair Fabric Shaver and Lint Remover
veryGood! (2877)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Man sentenced to 42 years in prison for 2019 death of New Hampshire pastor
- AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week
- How Katy Perry's Daughter Daisy Has Her Feeling Like She's Living a Teenage Dream
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Longtime 'Price Is Right' host Bob Barker dies at 99
- Meet Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot and mom of twins who is leading a crew to the space station
- Talking Tech: Want a piece of $725 million Facebook settlement? How to make a claim
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Wild monkey sightings in Florida city prompt warning from police
Ranking
- Small twin
- Bray Wyatt, WWE star who won 2017 championship, dies at 36
- Best Buy scam alert! People are pretending to be members of the Geek Squad. How to spot it.
- Indiana automotive parts supplier to close next spring, costing 155 workers their jobs
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- 'Dune 2' delay: Timothée Chalamet sequel moves to 2024 due to ongoing Hollywood strikes
- No sign plane crash that likely killed Yevgeny Prigozhin was caused by surface-to-air missile, Pentagon says
- Maryland oral surgeon convicted of murder in girlfriend’s overdose death
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week
Woman who allegedly abandoned dog at airport and flew to resort hit with animal cruelty charges
Indiana woman gets life in prison without parole for killing her 5-year-old son
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
What's rarer than a blue moon? A super blue moon — And it's happening next week
What we know about the plane crash that reportedly killed Russian Wagner chief Prigozhin and 9 others
If you're neurodivergent, here are steps to make your workplace more inclusive