What's the best way to keep my Charge HR clean?

[Lasuil]

I love my fitbit but I'm having some issues. I am rather overweight and when I sweat from doing intense walking or other even mild walking sometimes my fitbit and the skin under it will smell bad from it. For example Monday morning I washed my fitbit straps (avoiding the heart rate monitor) with warm water and soap before I showers, dried it thoroughly and left it whilst I showered. When I went out at 10 by 1pm I could already smell the odour when I sniffed my wrist and fitbit strap.

What's the best way to keep my fitbit clean?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Lasuil here's Fitbit's advice on how to keep your tracker clean.

I think that a little baby powder dusted on your wrist before putting it on might help too, but make sure that you clean the powder off each day if you try that.  (Unofficial advice!  Just my thought...)

[Lasuil]

They basically say to just use water but that doesn't get rid of the smell. I can't go around washing the wrist band every 3 hours in the day time, it's just not practical.

I will get some baby powder and try your suggestion.

[Julia_G]

Well, no, actually besides water they suggest rubbing alcohol and several skin cleansers.  Basically odour is caused by a build up of bacteria, so alcohol might work very well for you as it should kill the bacteria.  The baby powder (hopefully) will help absorb the sweat and keep your wrist dry so the bacteria don't get multiply.  I hope this helps!

[Lasuil]

I have ordered some running alcohol on ebay (it's not easily found in shops in the UK) so will report in how that goes

[Lasuil]

I bought liquid rubbing alcohol and the same type of alcohol rubbing wipes. Whilst it gets rid of the smell very temporarily, it comes back far too fast to make the wipes economical. I have bought some talc powder but not sure how to use this in conjunction with the alcohol.

It makes me really embarrassed to wear my fitbit.

[eeyore77137]

I have the same issue.  I think the smell comes from the insides of the holes to adjust the size of the band.  I can see build up of skin and dust in there.  I have tried cleaning it with an old toothbrush and alcohol.  That helped, but is not practical for the frequency it would be required (I wear my all day and night, and workout about 4 times a week ).  I try to just wipe it with a damp cloth after sweating in it, which helps, but I would also love to find a better solution.

[SebringDon]

@eeyore77137

You might want to try q-tips or some sort of cotton swab instead of the toothbrush. 

Also, make sure you're not wearing it too tight. You should be able to get two fingers under the band to leave room for your skin to breathe. See this article for more information.

Hope this helps!

[eeyore77137]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I have tried a q-tips, but find them to be too large to fit in the holes.  A folded up alcohol swab worked reasonable well, though.  

[rockinrobin26]

Try removing the band from the fitbit and soaking overnight in a dish of white vinegar.

[burns_erin]

I have a sonicare toothbrush and I save the old heads for cleaning (after siding the head overnight in peroxide). So that's what I've been using and it works really well to get in there and blast any residue off the band or in the crevices.

ETA: Sorry to zombie post, apparently I can't tell 2016 from 2017.

[Mags4460]

I am seriously thinking of taking this Fitbit back, the smell is like rotten flesh and it won't go away. I am a clean person and this is killing me to have this smell on my body is awful 

[Mags4460]

---

@Lasuil wrote:
I love my fitbit but I'm having some issues. I am rather overweight and when I sweat from doing intense walking or other even mild walking sometimes my fitbit and the skin under it will smell bad from it. For example Monday morning I washed my fitbit straps (avoiding the heart rate monitor) with warm water and soap before I showers, dried it thoroughly and left it whilst I showered. When I went out at 10 by 1pm I could already smell the odour when I sniffed my wrist and fitbit strap.

What's the best way to keep my fitbit clean?

---

There is no way 
I am seriously thinking of taking this Fitbit back, the smell is like rotten flesh and it won't go away. I am a clean person and this is killing me to have this smell on my body is awful 

[Lueck767]

Another possible solution would be to put a diluted rubbing alcohol/water mixture or vinegar/water into a spray bottle. Everyday simply spray a light mist onto the Fitbit. This should maintain the cleanliness of the device. Hope this helps!

[Mags4460]

I have taken it back the smell would not go and I'm not wearing something that smells so awful , I had a full refund .

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

in the UK rubbing Alcohol is called surgical spirit, you can find it in boots

[Mammaoffour]

I actually used an old toothbrush and toothpaste on the fitbit and the band ( i have a blaze). It seemed to work. The odor from mine was actually nauseating. It was bad. Toothpaste made a difference.

[Mags4460]

I sent mine back the smell was awful

Sent from my iPhone

[SantiR]

@Mags4460 @Mammaoffour Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for sharing the experience you have had with your Fitbit bands' smell. 

What I did when mine was smelling bad was cleaning it with one of those baby wipes. Gently cleaned it and the smell was gone.

You can also check the Wear and Care Guide for more tips.

See you around! 

[JoKeR5]

your weight has nothing to do with it. The fitbit is a terrible design. I clean the straps and back of my fitbit HR with rubbing alcohol and that solves the issues for a few hours. The smell is coming from the back of the fitbit itself, and not the rubber bands. This is ridiculous. I have worn my fitbit HR even kind of loose...it doesn't matter. Any type of sweat will breed bacteria. That bacteria is getting in the holes on the back of the watch. Disgusting. I love fitbit but I just took mine off for the last time I believe. As much as I hate to do it, it may have to be the apple watch or something else. I'm done with this. I can't stand the smell of mildew and it's on me everyday.