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.

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.

Thatmeanswipingitdownagain,asleatherbandsarenotmadetobewaterresistant.

Keepingdevicesclean

ItwilltakeyoulongertocleananAppleWatchbandthanitwillanyotherAppledevice,justbecauseit'sbestifyouleavethemtodryoutbythemselves.Otherwise,thisisallsensibleadvicebothforhavingshinyAppledevices,andforavoidingthecoronavirus.

Justrememberthatifitseemsthisisbeingatbestthorough,andatworseover-cautious,thesecleaningstepsaresimpleonesyoucandowheneveryouneed.It'salotcheaperthanbuyinganewAppledeviceeveryyear.Sorryaboutthat.