How to Clean Your Apple Watch

Given that your Apple Watch spends most of its time clinging to your wrist, it's no surprise that it gets a bit grubby once in a while. In fact, according to research, wearing a wristwatch of any kind can result in an increase of bacterial contamination of the wrist. Sporting an Apple Watch is something to be proud of, it is a fancy piece of tech after all. You wouldn't want to spoil the effect of wearing an Apple Watch with figurative green lines coming from it, would you? How can you clean away the grime and grub from your super cool Apple Watch? Keeping reading for our top 5 Apple Watch cleaning tips.

1. Clean Your Apple Watch Face

When cleaning your Apple Watch, you need to be extra careful about which products you use. Soap, cleaning products, and abrasive materials should not be applied. Ultrasonic cleaning, compressed air, and other heat sources may also cause irreversible damage to your device. To give your Apple Watch a good clean without damaging it, follow these steps:

1. Turn off your Apple Watch. Do not try to clean it when it is still charging.
2. Wipe the watch with a clean, lint-free, non-abrasive cloth. If the watch is very dirty, for some reason, lightly dampen the cloth with clean fresh water.
3. Dry the watch with a similar lint-free cloth.

You can buy a watch cleaning kit to help with your watch maintenance. But Apple recommends just using clean water and a lint-free, non-abrasive cloth.

2. Clean the Digital Crown

The Digital Crown or Home Button on your Apple Watch may get stuck if it becomes unclean. Debris may become lodged and stop the Digital Crown from being able to move. If you find dust, lotion or debris around it, follow these cleaning steps:

1. Turn off your Apple Watch. Do not try to clean it when it is still charging.
2. Remove the band if it is made of a leather or fabric material.
3. For about 10-15 seconds, hold the Digital Crown under lightly running water from a tap. The water should be fresh and slightly warm. Do not use soaps or other cleaning products.
4. As water runs over the gap between the Digital Crown and the watch face, continuously turn and press the crown.
5. Dry the watch with a lint-free, non-abrasive, dry cloth.

Don't rush through these steps, take it slowly. The Digital Crown is a delicate part of the Apple Watch and may be broken if it is not cleaned with care.

3. Clean Your Wristband

In most cases, it's the wristband that picks up most of the dirt and smells. This means that your wristband will most likely need to be cleaned more regularly than the Apple Watch face or Digital Crown. Depending on the material of your wristband watch will determine how you clean it.

For Leather Wristbands

Before you start cleaning, make sure to remove the band from the Apple Watch. Follow these simple steps:

1. Wipe the leather portions of the wristband with a lint-free, non-abrasive cloth. If the watch is very dirty lightly dampen the cloth with clean fresh water.
2. Leave the band to air dry thoroughly. Although it may take some time, don't dry in direct sunlight or try to use high temperatures to quickly dry the band.

Remember that leather bands are not water resistant, so do not soak them in water.

For Nylon Wristbands

As with most of the cleaning processes, remove the nylon band from the Apple Watch, then get started. Follow these 4 steps:

1. Drop your nylon wristband into a bowl of warm water. Some say you can add a tiny bit of mild soap, but that is up to you.
2. When the nylon band has become saturated with water, it will sink to the bottom of the bowl. When it has sunk to the bottom of the bowl, remove it from the water.
3. Place your nylon watch band on some paper towels, or a towel and gently brush it with a soft-bristle toothbrush.
4. Allow the nylon watch band to air dry. This may take a long time, but please don't be tempted to dry in direct sunlight or by using high temperatures.

You can repeat this cleaning process several times if the strap has become extremely dirty.

For Other Materials

There are several other kinds of funky materials on the market which look really awesome. But, the cleaning process is pretty much the same. Follow these steps:

1. Remove the band from the Apple Watch.
2. Wipe the wristband with a lint-free, non-abrasive cloth. If the watch is very dirty lightly dampen the cloth with clean fresh water.
3. Dry the watch with a lint-free, non-abrasive, dry cloth or leave to air dry depending on the material.

Some materials may clean up better than others, so use in your judgment in how harshly you decide to clean the watch strap.

4. Avoid the Cheese Wrist Smell

Before you let your wristband watch get into a smelly state, try to use preventative measures. Instead of focusing on the watch band itself, firstly try to keep your wrist clean and sweat free. Depending on the type of deodorant you use, you could just apply some onto your wrists the same time as you apply it to your pits. But if your deodorant would feel a bit sticky or slimy under a watchband you can actually buy hand deodorant. Yes, hand deodorant! The intuitive product was specially designed for those with sports in mind. If you constantly have wrist stink, this might be a great way to keep your Apple Watch clean and fresh for longer.

5. Buy a Sweat-Free Wristband

You can upgrade the band on your watch to the vented design, that is designed to reduce perspiration. The intuitive design is perfect for wearing when playing sports or exercising at the gym. They also look really cool too!

Time for a Watch Cleaning Sesh

As you can see, Apple Watch cleaning isn't that hard. But it must be done regularly, to keep those cheesy smells at bay. However, if you have left it too long and can't get rid of those funky odors, it might be time to buy a new wristband for your Apple Watch. We have a super cool range of wristbands available in a variety of different styles and materials. So, what are you waiting for? Choose the band for your next watch wisely!