Almost all Fitbit fitness trackers and smartwatches have replaceable bands. You can attach the default elastomer, silicone, leather, nylon, metal and woven bands with Fitbit devices provided by the company itself and third-party manufacturers.
If your Fitbit fitness tracker or smartwatch is smelling, chances are it is teeming with bacteria. People who do intense workouts, run or jog regularly or sweat more than others face this problem. But even if you don’t do any of these, and don’t clean your Fitbit for months, you would face the same problem.
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Why Does My Fitbit Band Smell?
Wearable devices like Fitbit fitness trackers and smartwatches stay on our body more than any other thing, and ironically we are most forgetful about them. They pick up grime everyday, and we couldn’t care less about it.
A study conducted by Standard.co.uk shows that an uncleaned smartwatch or fitness tracker contains a staggering 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. It is a serious personal hygiene problem. The bad odor of the device tells you how bad the problem is.
It also depends on the type of the strap. Leather and plastic straps are more likely to smell than any other band, plus they have higher levels of bacteria.
Interestingly, Fitbit picks up more dirt than any other types of watches. And so has a high level of bacteria which in turn produces unpleasant odors and irritation.
In this guide, We would help you to clean your Fitbit device to get rid of foul smell. We would discuss treating the leather, elastomer, metallic and nylon straps separately as we don’t have a one-size-fits-all solution for them.
So if you own any of the following devices by Fitbit that smells, we would get the most out of this article.
Fitbit Popular Fitness Trackers:
Fitbit Luxe:
Fitbit Ace, Ace 2, Ace 3
Fitbit Inspire, Inspire HR and Inspire 2
Fitbit, Charge 2, Charge 3, Charge 4 and Charge 4 Special Edition
Fitness Health And Smartwatches:
Fitbit Ionic
Fitbit Versa, Versa 2, Versa 3
Fitbit Sense
How To Clean Fitbit Bands?
You should clean your Fitbit or for that matter any wearable device at least once or twice a month. Failing to do so involves the risk of Fitbit smelling bad or skincare problems.
To keep your Fitbit devices (Sense, Versa, Charge, Ionic or Inspire) in working condition so you can get the best out of them, perform a deep clean instead of wiping off the dust.
As mentioned earlier, the method of cleaning your Fitbit Band varies, and it depends on the type of strap material. Fitbit offers a range of different straps including elastomer, leather, knit, metal and knit bands.
As the Leather and elastomer bands are more likely to smell than others, we would discuss them first. But before that, we would quickly go through how to clean the casing.
Cleaning The Casing:
Fitbit suggests that you should use a toothbrush with rubbing alcohol to treat its devices for smell and bacteria. You can also use a cotton swab.
Wipe off the dust on the screen first, and after you are done with it, clean the back of the device. Make sure not to scrap the charging contacts with anything metal as it can damage the plating and cause corrosion.
Another thing to keep in mind, you should be careful to not insert any item in the small hole on the back side of devices like Fitbit Sense. By doing so, you risk damaging the altimeter sensor inside.
After you are done cleaning the casing, dry the device using a tissue or cloth.
Now let’s discuss deep cleaning of straps. You should remove the straps from the casing or body before applying any treatment for foul smell.
How To Get Rid Of Smell On Leather Fitbit Bands?
Fitbit Leather bands are expensive and as the company mentions on the website, they should not be worn to the workout or pool swimming. They are only to give a premium look to the Fitbit smartwatches of Fitness trackers.
The smelly Fitbit straps should be cleaned with great care as they are prone to discoloration and staining. To steer clear from discoloration, you should never get the band too close to excess water, skin cream, insect repellent, or perfume.
Always use a dry cloth, lint-free, nonabrasive type to clean the strap. You can dampen the cloth but not wet it. For deeper cleaning, you can use a soap-free cleanser like Cetaphil. To be on the safe side, apply the cleanser on the hidden side to check whether it is causing discoloration or staining.
After cleaning, you should dry the band using a hair-dryer on a low setting. Direct sunlight and high temperature would damage the band by discoloration and staining it.
You can apply a leather conditioner to give the strap extra shine. Just take special care to not pick one that may cause you skin irritation. Never apply the leather conditioner meant for shoes or furniture.
We would strongly warn you against using hand soap, body soap, dish soap, hand sanitizers, cleaning wipes, household cleaners or other similar cleaning products to clean the leather band or device. They would damage the leather band and as these are difficult to remove and could get trapped beneath the band and irritate your skin.
Also, some people have eczema, allergies, or other skin sensitivities. Fitbit devices contain Nickel and Acrylates which in the presence of soap triggers the skin irritation.
How To Get Rid Of Smell On Silicone and Elastomer Fitbit Bands?
These bands are the default straps you get from many of Fitbit wearables (Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, and Charge 4). These latex-free materials are suitable for everyday wear and tear as well as high intensity workouts. And so, these smells more than the rest of the bands. Unlike other bands you should clean them after workout.
As they are water resistant, you don’t have to take any special clear. Just clean rinse the band under running water or you can use a cotton ball and alcohol.
For deep cleaning, you can use a toothbrush and soap-free cleansers (like Cetaphil or Aquanil) on the band. This will remove the oil stains in addition to taking out the smell off the band. If that fails, you can use a magic eraser.
Like for leather bands, Fitbit advises against using any soaps or cleansers that could get trapped beneath the band and potentially irritate your skin.
How To Get Rid Of Smell On Metal Fitbit bands?
Metal Fitbit bands have little to no resistance to water or sweat. Versa smartwatch series, Sense can use the metal bands so does the new Luxe fitness trackers. They are for show and for for go. So better keep them away from high intensity workout, water and high temperature.
Metallic straps don’t smell as bad as the silicone and leather straps, but that doesn’t mean they don’t accommodate bacteria. You should clean them regularly.
For cleaning metal bands, you should use a non-abrasive lint-free cloth to avoid tarnishing. You can dampen the cloth or use soap-free cleaner.After cleaning the band, you should let the band air dry. However, make sure that it doesn’t come in contact with direct sunlight.
To avoid tarnishing and damage, make sure that the band comes in contact with the least amount of water possible and is not exposed to high temperature for drying. Using a hair-dryer to quickly dry is convenient, but using it on a high setting is not desirable.
How To Get Rid Of Smell On Nylon, Woven, and Knit Fitbit bands?
The story is similar for Nylon Woven and knit Fitbit bands. Like silicone straps, they are highly susceptible to collecting dirt and grime as they are those everyday straps. However, you should avoid wearing them to gym or running as they might get oil stains.
These straps smell just as bad as the silicone or leather bands. And like leather, there is high risk of discoloration and damage. Some of the knit bands are expensive so you should be extra careful.
For these bands, you should never use hand soap, body wash, dish soap, hand wipes, laundry detergent as they get entrapped inside the band and cause skin irritation.
You can directly rinse the bands in cold water with a soapless cleanser. After deep cleaning, you should let it air dry but like leather bands, you cannot expose them to direct sunlight and high temperature unless you don’t care about discoloration and damage.
Final Thoughts On How To Get The Smell Out Of Fitbit Band:
If your Fitbit fitness tracker or smartwatch is giving out a bad odor, it needs deep cleaning. Your device picks up dirt every day and with each passing day it becomes a hotbed of germs. This leads to smell or skin irritation. To clean the device, you will have to follow the steps we have discussed in detail above.
The maintenance of each strap type differs slightly and so we have covered them separately in detail.