How To Clean Your Smart Phone, Laptop, & Other Electronics

Until someone invents self-cleaning smart devices, we have to cleanse them ourselves to remove impurities, grime, and other buildup. Here, our download for tackling your smart phone, laptops, ear buds (including AirPods!), and more.

Your phone is basically an extension of yourself—it goes everywhere you go and touches everything you touch (yikes!), so it’s a good idea to clean yours once a day.

First, unplug your phone from any attachments like chargers or headphones, and if you have a cover, remove that too. Grab a soft cloth, like a Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth, instead of a paper towel, which can scratch your phone’s screen. Lightly dampen the cloth with Surface Cleaner (make sure it’s not too wet), a multipurpose cleaner that’s suitable for cleaning all surfaces without damage, and wipe down the front, back, and sides of your phone for a few seconds each. Now do the same with your phone case. (Note: if your phone case is made of leather, use a gentle soap formulated specially for leather.) Buildup in tricky areas like the camera lens, attachment ports, or buttons? Use a dry cotton swab to clean out those areas. Allow your phone to dry for 15 minutes before replacing the case.

Use the same Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth and Surface Cleaner to clean your electronic’s accessories, making sure the cloth is not too wet. Allow them to dry completely before using.

Never submerge these items in water or hold them under the faucet, and always make sure they are disconnected from phones and outlets before cleaning.

Remove any silicone or foam caps from earbuds. To clean these, soak in a bath of warm water and a squirt of Dish Detergent for up to 30 minutes. Use your finger to remove any leftover residue, then rinse with clean, cold water and allow to air dry.

For AirPods, first use a small, dry brush like our Stain Brush to gently scrape away any buildup or wax from the bud’s mesh screen. Now spray a Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth with Surface Cleaner and wipe the outer surfaces of the earbud. (Note: a lint-free cloth is key here, as it will not leave behind fibers on the screen.) Allow to dry completely before returning to case.

We recommend cleaning these items at least once a week.

Sweep away any dust from your laptop’s screen or keyboard with a dry Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth. Next, mist Glass & Mirror Cleaner on to a fresh Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth and wipe across the one screen, working in one direction to remove smudges, dust, and buildup. Next, drag the cloth around the edges of the keyboard, and the dip where the screen meets the keyboard. Close the laptop and swipe the cloth around the front and back, too.

For the keyboard, lightly spray Surface Cleaner on your Lint-Free Cleaning Cloth and lightly drag across keyboard to remove grime or stickiness. Gently wipe down the tops of keys. If keys are not as prominently raised as traditional keyboards — like is often the case for Apple — you can use a Q-Tip rather than a cloth to clean each one.