Washing Wearable Electronics #WearableWednesday

The most common question we get regarding wearable electronics is “how do you wash that?”

This guide covers the most common ways to launder your DIY wearable electronics projects.

First, and always: remove the batteries! The fiberglass, plastic, and metal comprising most circuits can handle getting wet and a bit of agitation, but your batteries should never be bent, shorted, or be subject to water or heat.

Second, read the label on your garment. Machine wash? Dry clean only? Consider what it’s made from primarily, then consider what components are in your circuit.

Components that can fill with water, like the microphone in the Ampli-Tie, should never be submerged in water. FLORA, conductive thread, and even EL wire can get wet, so long as it completely dries before you plug the battery back in.

If you hand or machine wash your wearables, we strongly recommend hanging them up or laying flat to dry. These methods are vastly preferred over using the dryer, which adds even more agitation to your delicate circuit.


Flora breadboard is Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!


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