How to clean and disinfect your Apple Watch

Regardless of what “sicknesses” are going around, it’s always a good idea to take some time to clean your various Apple products. Cleaning your iPhones, AirPods (or Earpods) and iPads are usually the first things that come to mind but don’t forget your Apple Watch. Since you Apple Watch lives on your body for much of the day, it might come in the most contact with all those bugs. So be sure to clean Apple Watch from time to time to keep yourself safe from all the pesky germs floating around your office, gym, and of course, your home.

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There are various methods that you may hear about that are “guaranteed” to work when it comes to sanitizing and disinfecting the Apple Watch. But there is really only one or two methods that you should use. And don’t forget to clean your Digital Crown and Watchband–these are often overlooked.

Cleaning vs Disinfecting–what’s the difference?

Apple recommends that we regularly clean our Apple products. Cleaning them gently with a little water and a lint-free cloth physically removes any dirt, sweat, oil, or grime on the device’s surface.  During a regular cleaning, you also remove some of the germs from the surface through the simple action on wiping them away.

Apple recommends we disinfect our Apple devices as needed. Disinfecting our Apple products with isopropyl alcohol or Clorox/Lysol wipes kills a much higher percentage of the germs from the device’s surface than regular cleaning with water.

When to clean and when to disinfect?

It’s good practice to clean your Apple Watch on a daily basis, especially if you wear your Apple Watch every day. Cleaning regularly keeps your Watch in its best shape, removing all the day’s accumulated dirt, sweat, and oils from the surface.

You should disinfect your Apple Watch less frequently since this type of sanitizing involves using products that potentially reduce the effectiveness of the coatings on your Apple Watch’s surface. However, if there is an illness spreading through your office or town, follow the disinfection steps regularly until that illness has run its course and is no longer a threat.

The “C” (cleaning) comes before the “D” (disinfection)

When you disinfect your Apple Watch or other Apple device, it’s important that you first clean it and then disinfect it. Cleaning first removes most of the dirt, sweat, oil, and other grime from the surface–that sets your device’s surface up for the disinfectant to work its magic on the remaining germs for maximum efficiency.

How to clean Apple Watch: The “C”

Although the Apple Watch is not as delicate as the AirPods or AirPods Pro, there are still specific steps you’ll need to follow. Thankfully, with onboard water resistance, the Watch is a little bit more forgiving if you happen to get some water on it while cleaning.

Follow 5 steps to clean your Apple Watch

1. Turn your Apple Watch off, and make sure it’s disconnected from the charger.
2. If applicable, remove your leather band from the Watch.
3. Wipe your Watch down with a lint-free cloth, something like a microfiber cloth.
   • If needed, lightly dampen the cloth with fresh water and then wipe the Watch down.
4. Dry your Apple Watch with another lint-free cloth, like a microfiber cloth.
5. Do NOT use compressed air, cleaning products, soaps, external heat sources, or ultrasonic cleaning.

After the Watch has been completely wiped down and dried using a lint-free cloth, you can reattach your Watch bands and get back to business. If you own either the Sport Loop or Sport Band, you can keep those attached, unless you want to get into all of the crevices, nooks, and crannies.

How to disinfect Apple Watch: The “D”

1. Follow the steps for cleaning your Apple Watch first.
2. Use a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or disinfecting wipes–do not use any wipes containing bleach!
3. Wring out the excess liquid from the wipe first, so it’s damp rather than wet.
4. Gently wipe the exterior surfaces of your Apple Watch–don’t forget the underside that contacts your skin.
5. Let the Watch dry naturally before putting it back on.

Do you have to worry about the Digital Crown or the Watchband?

There are several moving pieces to the Apple Watch that you can actually interact with, including the Side Button and Digital Crown. When you are taking the time to properly disinfect Apple Watch, you probably want to do the same for the crown.

How to clean the digital crown

1. Turn your Apple Watch off, and make sure it’s disconnected from the charger.
2. If applicable, remove your leather band from the Watch.
3. Hold your Watch under warm water, that is lightly running from your faucet, for 10 to 15 seconds.
4. While the water is running, turn and press the Digital Crown, ensuring that the water is running over the gap between the Crown and the housing.
5. Dry your Apple Watch with a microfiber or lint-free cloth. For those tough to reach areas, try to lightly dab at the area to get the water to absorb into the cloth.
6. Do NOT use compressed air, soaps, external heat sources, or ultrasonic cleaning.

Although the Apple Watch is water-resistant, we would definitely err on the side of caution when holding it under running water. You don’t want to leave the Watch under the water for too long, at the risk of letting some get inside.

How to clean Apple Watch bands

One might think that Apple Watch bands are just as simple to clean as the Watch itself, but that’s only true for the standard sport bands. Owners of the leather bands will have to take a few extra precautions. Regardless of which band you are using, you’ll need to make sure it’s removed from the Apple Watch casing before cleaning it.

1. Use a microfiber or other lint-free cloth to wipe the leather portions of the band. Sometimes you may need to dampen the cloth lightly in order to get clear all of the debris.
2. Dry the band using another microfiber or lint-free cloth before attaching it to your Apple Watch.
3. If cleaning a leather band, let the band air dry before reattaching it to the Apple Watch. Make sure to leave your band out of direct sunlight and away from either high temperatures or humidity.

Owners of the Sport Loop may think they can just simply throw it in the washing machine and everything will be fine. However, that’s not recommended and instead, you can try using a toothbrush, a little bit of water, and some body wash or soap in order to clean and disinfect the Sport Loop.

Other ways to keep you and your Apple Watch clean

Whenever you go into a big-box retail store, including Apple, and find where the Watches are held, you can probably try them on. And while some of these stores make sure to clean the watches and bands, that only happens at certain times of the day.

Hundreds of people could go to the local Best Buy or Apple Store to check out and try on the Apple Watch and the different band combinations.

But chances are, those are not cleaned in between the trial periods, leaving germs and dirt and anything else on them. So we would recommend that you don’t try on an Apple Watch in a big box store if you want to avoid any possible contamination.

The same sentiment rings true for the iPhones and iPad’s that are found at various retailers. With these, it will be a bit easier to tell as you’ll be able to spot the fingerprints from a mile away. Steer clear and you’ll thank yourself later so you don’t end up possibly getting sick.

What about your iPhone?

The Apple Watch would not be possible without the iPhone, and it’s important to keep your pocket computer clean.

The steps are super easy and with the inclusion of water resistance, you don’t have to worry (too much) about getting the iPhone a bit damp.

1. Unplug any cables, remove any cases, and turn off your iPhone.
2. Use a soft and slightly damp microfiber or other lint-free cloth. Apple recommends a lens wipe.
   1. If needed, use water, a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, or disinfecting wipes–do not use any wipes containing bleach!
   2. Wring out the excess liquid from the wipe first, so it’s damp rather than wet.
3. Avoid getting moisture in any of the openings.
4. Do NOT use compressed air, soaps, external heat sources, or ultrasonic cleaning.

Can you use a liquid disinfectant to clean your Apple products?

You may have noticed a surprising omission from the recommendations for cleaning your Apple products. For years, Apple has remained steadfast in claiming that cleaning products would harm your Apple devices. And in some cases, this remains true, but the company added a new blurb on its cleaning support page.

Obviously, you don’t want to “go to town” with a Clorox wipe and your Apple products. But now you have the peace of mind knowing that your phone or watch will be just fine if you lightly wipe it down.

In the event that you use something like a Clorox or isopropyl alcohol wipe, make sure that you squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Just make sure you allow the product to dry thoroughly before using again or follow behind that disinfecting wipe with a microfiber cloth to soak up all remaining liquid.

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.