How to clean your smart speaker

I owned a Google Home Mini for about six months. I only recently started to question myself about how I should clean it when we moved a few miles away, and I accidentally threw it (and irresponsibly) into a box with candles and trinkets. I've been rewarded with an intelligent speaker accented with red candle wax stains. Yikes.

More: The Complete List of Google Home Orders

If you have a smart speaker at home, it's probably in a busy part of the house. Smart speakers are best placed in the center of a home – places like living rooms and kitchens. This also makes them vulnerable to stains. Whether it's a whimsical coloring marker or a spaghetti sauce spray, the smart speakers are a bit helpless when it comes to of dirt. So, what's the solution for a goo-covered smart speaker? Here's what you need to know.

Google Home

Google's smart speakers are great and I love how Google Home Max sounds. However, Google cloth covers are not the simplest material to clean. Google says that the speaker should not be washed, so do not throw water on it. The Google support team that I spoke to did not recommend using wet cloths or liquid cleaners or sprays, noting that these methods can cause problems performance.

The recommended method? Google suggests wiping dirt and stains with a dry cloth. The support team certainly does not want to suggest that someone brings moisture near its products. It makes sense, but it does not seem practical. If you're ready to go against Google's suggestions, a damp cloth slightly solved my problem of wax stains when a dry cloth did not cut it.

Amazon Alexa

Peripherals like the Amazon Echo Dot are quite easy to clean because there is no fabric involved. Wipe it with a dry cloth should take care of any dust or grime that has deposited on your Echo Dot. If you buy an Echo device with a fabric shell, the same rule applies to be absolutely sure not to damage the speaker.

Amazon also recommends cleaning the outside of any Echo device with a dry cloth or a low-speed hair dryer. This could lessen the dirt or dust in the seams and buttons of the device.

Apple HomePod

Apple was the only brand where I did not have to look for a solution to clean. The suggested method is listed in a helpful support page for the HomePod. The speaker design here looks like Google Home devices. The speaker is wrapped in what Apple describes as a "seamless mesh fabric". Here is the cleaning tip Apple offers to HomePod owners:

Clean with a dry cloth. If necessary, you can clean your HomePod with a damp cloth.

Do not use glass cleaners, household cleaners, compressed air, aerosol, solvents, ammonia, or abrasives to clean HomePod.

Apple also mentions keeping HomePod away from any source of water that could expose it to dripping or splashing. This is a good tip for any smart speaker.

The three brands of speakers prefer a dry cleaning method, apparently to make sure no one takes a sopping cloth to their smart speaker. Still, this might not be enough to remove the stain from the cover of your speaker. So, if you absolutely can not wipe the stain with a dry method and are fully aware of the risks involved, consider trying a damp cloth. It can take one or two rounds of light to scrub and dry to get through the stain, but it's better than ruining your smart speaker with a liquid cleaner or too much water.