Watch Guide 101: How To Clean A Watch And Strap

When it comes to our daily cleaning routine, we consider all things skincare, showers and clothes washing. But what about one of the items that we wear every day for exercise, work, walking and socialising? We’re talking about cleaning your watch.

One of the most overlooked items for cleaning are watches and jewellery, and these can often be the items that are exposed to the most, think sweat, sunscreen, moisturisers, dirt and everything else.

Why should you clean your watch?

Not only is cleaning your watch incredibly important for hygiene but cleaning your watch is also vital for ensuring your watch stays looking great and functioning. Built-up dirt can cause parts to break, expand and stop your watch from working as it should.

How To Clean A Stainless Steel Watch

To clean a stainless steel watch, use a soft microfibre cloth to remove excess dust and dirt, followed by lukewarm soapy water.

Although highly durable, stainless steel watches can easily begin to look dull and even be subject to rush over long periods of time. To keep your watch looking shiny and functioning it's important to engage in special cleaning to remove dirt and grime.

This method works for both gold and silver watches, but it's important to check if your watch has special cleaning instructions before embarking on general stainless steel watch cleaning steps.

How to clean a stainless steel watch step by step:

1. Begin by wiping down the watch with a soft cloth, to remove the initial layers of dust and dirt. Ideally use a microfiber cloth however if you don’t have one, opt for a paper towel, clean tea towel or a t-shirt.

2. Fill up a sink, basin or bowl with lukewarm soapy water. It’s important that the water is not boiling hot to damage the watch components.

3. Soak your stainless steel watch for a short amount of time so that most of the grime or remaining dirt has come off. If your watch is not water-resistant, be sure to only dip the strap in the water to avoid damage. If you are struggling to remove the dirt, add in some antibacterial washing up liquid or soap, which should remove any remaining dirt.

4. Then, especially if there is still dirt stuck between the different parts of the watch, use either a clean, damp toothbrush softly and in circular motions to remove the dirt in all the nooks and crannies.

5. After this, fill another bowl of warm water, without soap and rinse your watch (just the strap if it is not water-resistant) to remove any soap or residue and avoid the watch tarnishing from the soap

6. Pat dry your watch with a towel or dry soft microfiber cloth

7. stainless steel cleaner for the casing and strap

How To Clean A Leather Watch Strap

To clean a watch with a leather strap, remove the strap, clean, wash and condition the watch strap.

Leather watch straps require special attention, as, unlike stainless steel watches, leather watch straps absorb sweat and dirt, and can be sensitive to liquids. The process used in cleaning stainless steel watches is not suitable for leather straps because soaking these kinds of watches and drying them, can actually be what causes them to crack and break.

Leather conditioners will be your best friend with a leather watch as they are designed to both clean and protect your leather watch. Do some research and find an appropriate leather conditioner that is suitable for jewellery, watches or clothing.

To keep your leather strap watch cleaned and conditioned follow the following steps:

1. Remove the leather strap from the watch as the dial and face is made from different materials that can be cleaned following the above method

2. Gently wipe down and remove dirt and debris using a dry cloth

3. Dampen a microfiber cloth so that it is not soaking wet so you don’t damage the leather and apply a small amount of gentle soap so you don’t dry out the leather.

4. Gently rub the leather strap in a circular motion, inside and out.

5. Once cleaned, rinse the cloth under cold running water to remove the soap, squeeze out any excess water and then use the clean damp cloth, or alternatively a new damp cloth, to remove soap from the leather

6. Then, let the leather strap air dry naturally

7. Leather conditioner time! Apply the instructed amount of leather conditioner drops and gently rub them into your strap and let it dry.

It's important to clean your leather strap regularly, but not too often. Ideally, clean a leather watch strap every other week. This should be enough to keep it clean and expand the watches lifespan as well as not damaging it from over-cleaning.

How To Clean Rubber Watch Strap

Designed to be robust, rubber watches are hard to mark, but like any watch, easy to get dirty. Clean your rubber watch every other week to keep it clean and in good condition.

To clean a rubber watch, follow a similar process as cleaning a stainless steel watch as followed:

1. Grab a bowl of lukewarm soapy water and dip a tea towel/dishcloth into the bowl to wipe down your rubber watch straps

2. If this doesn't clean your straps and remove all the dirt, remove the straps and fully submerge them in the bowl of water

3. Remove the straps again and place them on a paper towel or kitchen roll and gently scrub the band using a soft, circular motion.

4. Rinse off any remaining soap and dry with a cotton or microfiber cloth

How to clean a rubber watch strap with stains or stubborn marks?

For those extra stubborn stains or marks, after you’ve scrubbed your strap with a toothbrush, address these marks with a little bit of baking soda, either directly onto the strap or onto a toothbrush. Give the watch a once over before rinsing off and drying.

Lightly Clean Your Watch Before Bed

As well as the more thorough cleaning processes, it can also keep your watch clean and long-lasting by lightly cleaning your watch with a soft clean cloth before bed to remove any excess dirt or moisture that has built up during the day.

For more useful watch guides and news, read more on our blog.