What are your methods for cleaning watches which have low water resistance?
Hey everyone, I would like some advice.
All my watches' water resistance is usually 100m and over (the advantage of liking field/diving watches, perfect for British weather 😜). I was doing a monthly clean where I (after ensuring the crowns are secure) do the following:
Dunk the watch in soapy cold-to-lukewarm water.
Use a soft toothbrush to gently brush down the watch all over(while still in soapy water).
Take watch out of soapy water and rinse down with cold water from a tap.
Dry off on a cloth and leave on top of a tea towel to dry completely.
Use a small watch cloth on the glass - all done.
My mum saw me doing this and asked if I would clean her watch, it's got 50 WR and I was wondering whether it's safe to repeat the process and whether you have any advice for cleaning watches below 50 too? Should I avoid submerging them and when cleaning with any water perhaps I should avoid the crown area?
EDIT: It's an older mechanical Tissot so I dunno if it's WR has deteriorated(If that's possible - I am not knowledgeable on the subject)
Hi, I got bitten by the watch bug late last year and safe to say I am thoroughly addicted to all things related to watches. It's been fun learning all the cool details about watches like movements, ca...
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https://thewatchmaker.com/water-resistance-101/#:~:text=If%20your%20watch%20is%20rated,is%20suitable%20for%20surface%20swimming.
I use my shirt.
Baby wipes
I’m ashamed to say at best I wipe my watches with a micro fibre cloth for glasses. Maybe if they got particularly cruddy a soft toothbrush, else I just chalk it up as patina.
I tape them all to the roof of my car then go to the car wash. Hey presto all done in one go and clean car, bar the roof!
I have worn a 50m WR watch in the bath with no issue (aside from the tachy numbers falling out… that’s a different concern though) but if it’s old you might want to be a little careful. It’s probably mostly safe as long as you’re gentle.
For cleaning I find a soft cloth and q tips to between the lugs pretty useful.
In terms of WR, the key things are ensuring that the rubber/plastic seals/gaskets have not deteriorated and that the watch is only submerged in cold water, not e.g. a bath.
With new seals you could submerge it in 50m of cold water if you wanted as that's what it's rated to. Without a recent service and pressure test I wouldn't recommend it.
https://thewatchmaker.com/water-resistance-101/#:~:text=If%20your%20watch%20is%20rated,is%20suitable%20for%20surface%20swimming.
Nice article. I found this watchmaker's comment about basically taking off any watch you really care about before getting in the water regardless of water resistance very eye opening (for me).
Here is what he said (emphasis added).
"Over the course of my nearly three decades in the watch repair business, I have seen, without exaggeration, thousands of incoming repairs from every brand and at every price-point filled with water and rust, all of them marked water-resistant. It does not matter how much the watch cost, it does not matter what water-resistance rating the manufacturer proclaims the watch to be capable of, it does not matter what the original salesperson told you, or what level of underwater performance you’ve seen discussed in internet forum groups, it does not matter that it is a precious family heirloom; Personally, I would never get any watch that I cared about and could not replace wet. . . If you like your watch, take it off."
The same thing I use to clean my camera lens: lens wipes. They're great for glasses, sunglasses, actually getting your phone clean, and delicate watches
I do not dunk the watch in water or run it under the faucet, that is looking for trouble. A wipe with a damp cloth followed by a wipe with a soft terricloth is best. I take the bracelet or strap off for proper cleaning and dunk the bracelet if necessay. If there are a lot of surface scratches I will follow up the cleaning with a light hand polish with cape cod cloth or something similar.
Thanks for your advice everyone, I think in the future I will use wipes and de-tach and wash the bracelets separately