How to Clean Your Smartwatch

Your smartwatch is doing a lot on a daily basis—tracking your exercise, delivering notifications, and sure, telling you the time.

The least you can do is clean it, often—especially if you exercise weekly. But using the wrong cleaning products could ruin your hard-working wrist computer and its bands. Here's how to do it right.

The products you’ll need depend on the brand of your smartwatch as well as its materials. We break down the details below, but in general, you’ll need:

If you clean your smartwatch regularly, the process should take around 5 minutes. If you’re reading this, you probably don't, so count on around 10 minutes.

To get started, power off your smartwatch and remove the bands.

Wipe the screen and backside of the watch body with a lint-free or microfiber cloth to remove any sweat buildup.

You can also use a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe or a disinfecting wipe for the exterior of an Apple or Google Pixel watch, but don't use it on any ports or openings.

Wet a microfiber cloth to remove persistent grime on the watch itself. Holding the watch body near a stream of hot water allows steam to loosen any gunk—just remember to not wet any buttons, dials, or ports in the process.

Once it's clean, dry it with a microfiber cloth.

The contact points on your watch (including your charging ports and cables) can get covered in gunk and debris from sweat and dirt. That buildup can prevent it from charging properly.

You can clean charging points with a cotton swab or an alcohol wipe.

You can lightly scrub a Fitbit or Garmin watch's charging contacts with a toothbrush dipped in water. The pins on your charging cable will need to be cleaned with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.

Always dry the charging points or ports with a cloth or tissue before charging.

The safest way to clean your watch's band depends on its material. Here's the breakdown:

Woven fabric: You can hand-wash fabric woven bands with cold water and a gentle soap, then let them air-dry.

Nylon: Wash nylon bands in cold water and mild soap to help clean stubborn stains. Then rinse them with fresh water and let air-dry.

Silicone, plastic, or rubber: Rinse silicone or plastic-based bands with water. For heavier cleaning, use rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth to get the dirt off. For rubber bands, use a soap-free cleanser like Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser or a mild hypoallergenic hand soap. Then rinse them with water and pat them dry with a nonabrasive, lint-free cloth.

Metal: Use very little water when wiping down metal bands. Corrosion or rusting can occur over time. You can remove any trapped debris with a soft-bristle toothbrush, then wipe dry with a lint-free cloth.

Leather: Spot-clean leather bands with a dry cloth using light pressure. Although you can use a leather brush, don't use any type of leather cleaner on these or submerge them in water. Let the leather bands air-dry away from direct sunlight or high temperatures before reattaching them to the watch.

This article was edited by Amy Koplin, Brittney Ho, and Sofia Sokolove.

Roderick Scott

Roderick Scott is Wirecutter's staff writer reporting on smartphones, tablets, and accessories. He is the former publisher of TechGuySmartBuy, where he reviewed everything from phones to headphones to smart speakers to cars. He is also a former aspiring songwriter, music producer, and A&R working with local talent.

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