How to clean iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods
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AppleInsiderissupportedbyitsaudienceandmayearncommissionasanAmazonAssociateandaffiliatepartneronqualifyingpurchases.Theseaffiliatepartnershipsdonotinfluenceoureditorialcontent.
Apartfromanyhealthconcerns,yourshinynewAppledevicescangetgrubbyveryquickly.Here'showtokeepthemascleanasnew—andnotriskdamagingthem.
Thesedayswedoallneedtobemoreconsciousaboutvirusesandcleanliness.SoaswellasexaminingApple'supdatingadvice,AppleInsideralsotalkedwithmedicalprofessionalsandexpertsintheUSandtheUKtocheckwhattodo.
Wespokewithmicrobiologistsanddoctors,wetalkedwithprivatephysiciansandNationalHealthServicepeople.Everysingleexperttoldusthesamethings,andtheyareallthingsthatkeepyourdevicelooking,andworking,likeyou'vejustgotitoutofthebox.
HowtodeepcleanyouriPhone,iPadoriPodtouch
ApplehasyettoupdateitscleaningadvicefortheiPhone13range,butitprovidesextensivedetailsfortheiPhone11andiPhone12models.TherearealsosubtlydifferentinstructionsforolderiPhones.
Foranyofthem,youshouldlayinastockofdry,lint-freecloths.They'regoingtoserveyouwellwithallAppledevices,buttheyareespeciallyimportantforiOSdevicesandtheirscreens.
Youcouldbuyascreenprotector.Thatdoesn'tsoundlikeitwouldmakemuchdifference,butyou'regoingtobelessconcernedaboutdamagingatwo-buckscreenprotectorthanyouwouldathousanddollarphone.
That'scertainlytrue,yetifyougetascreenprotectorandwipeitoverwithadampcloth,youcouldstillgetmoistureintothesides,top,andbackofthedevice.Thebetteroptionistoregularlywipethedevicewithadrylint-freecloth,likealenscloth,andthenevenmoreregularlywashyourhands.
Tosaverunningoutofhandwash,orjustpatience,youcouldtouchyourdevicelessoften.AskSiritoplacecallsforyou,forinstance.YoucandothatviaAirPods2orAirPodsPro,too.
Thinkbeforeyoudoit,butApplesaysthatit'sokaytousea70%isopropylalcoholwipe,a75%ethylalcoholwipe,orCloroxDisinfectingWipeto"gentlywipethehard,nonporoussurfacesofyourAppleProduct."
Specifically,Applesaysthisisforthedisplay,keyboard,orotherexternalsurfaces.Thisisguidancethatwasissuedduringthecoronavirus.Itwaspreviouslyspecificallyforbiddentoperformonscreens,toavoidstrippingtheoleophobiccoatingoffofaniPhoneoriPad,orthecoatingonaRetinaDisplayonaMacBookPro.
That'sthereasonwestilldon'trecommendit,though.
IfyouhaveanolderiPhone,youcanlookupyourmodelandfindthespecificinstructions.Howeve,rineverycase,theinstructionisthesameasabove.
Mostimportantly,donotusewindowcleaners,householdcleanersandsoon.
We'renotbeingrudewhenwedecidetowaveatthisguyinsteadofshakinghishand.HowtocleanyourAirPods,AirPodsPro,orAirPodsMax
Don'teverrunAirPods,AirPodsPro,orAirPodsMaxunderrunningwater.Thesearedelicatedeviceswhichneedcarefulhandlingifyou'retocleanthemproperly.
Useoneofyourstashofdry,lint-freelensclothsandwipeoverthedevicescarefully.
Youcanalsocleanthechargingcasewiththesametypeofcloth,butthistimedampenedslightlywithisopropylalcohol.
Althoughyou'renotgoingtocatchthecoronavirusfromyourself.Soifyouabsolutelyneverloanthemtoanyone,andyouabsolutelyalwaysreturnthemtotheirchargingcase,you'refine.
There'sasmalldifferencewiththeeartipsoftheAirPodsandAirPodsPro,too.Applesaysthatifyou'vegotanywaterinthere,youshouldplacetheAirPodonasoft,dry,lint-freeclothwiththeeartipopeningfacingdownwards.
Inthisonecase,youcanusewatertorinsethetips—nottheAirPods,justthetips.RemovethemfromtheAirPodsanduseclear,cleanwater.Don'tuseanydetergentorothercleaningproducts.
HowtodisinfectyourAppleWatch
AppleWatchstrapscangetdiscoloredanddirtyovertime,andyoumaynotbeabletobringthembacktofull,as-newquality.Butthensome,suchasleatherones,aremeanttoageandyouwon'twanttofullyrestorethem.
WiththeWatchitself,though,youwillseeanaccumulationofskinparticlesonthepack.AndifyoutendtotaketheWatchoffandleaveitonyourdesk,thecasingwillgetdirtyfromthattoo.
Inwhichcase,keepitcleanbydoingthefollowingatintervals.
Inthiscase,youcandampenthatclothwithwater.AssumingyouhaveanAppleWatchthatiswaterresistant,youcanevenplaceitundergentlyrunningwaterforafewseconds.
ThereisoneextrastepyoucantakethatispeculiartotheAppleWatch.Youcanremovethebandandcleanthatseparately.
YoumaydothatfortheconvenienceofbeingabletocleantheWatchwithoutthebandgettinginyourway.However,ifthebandisoneoftheleatheronesthatismeanttoage,youneedtocleanitseparately.
RememberthatbandsneedcleaningjustasmuchastheAppleWatchdoesThatmeanswipingitdownagain,asleatherbandsarenotmadetobewaterresistant.
Keepingdevicesclean
ItwilltakeyoulongertocleananAppleWatchbandthanitwillanyotherAppledevice,justbecauseit'sbestifyouleavethemtodryoutbythemselves.Otherwise,thisisallsensibleadvicebothforhavingshinyAppledevices,andforavoidingthecoronavirus.
Justrememberthatifitseemsthisisbeingatbestthorough,andatworseover-cautious,thesecleaningstepsaresimpleonesyoucandowheneveryouneed.It'salotcheaperthanbuyinganewAppledeviceeveryyear.Sorryaboutthat.