How to set reminders to wash your hands on your iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad

By Kim Komando

March 23, 2020

© Sjstudio357 | Dreamstime

Hands down, and preferably well-soaped and run under warm water for at least twenty seconds, the best way to stay healthy amid the coronavirus outbreak is to stay sanitary and wash your hands regularly.

It’s similarly important to keep your frequently-handled devices, like your phone, sanitized as well. Tap or click here to learn how to properly disinfect your phone.

If you’re worried about forgetting to regularly wash those hands, try setting Reminders. Not sure how? We can help.

First, set up iCloud

Before you start setting Reminders, you’ll want to be sure iCloud is set to sync your Reminders across all your devices. Here’s how to enable iCloud Reminder settings for your iOS devices:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap [your name].
3. Tap on iCloud.
4. Turn on Reminders.

Make sure to do this across all your devices, or the reminder you set won’t sync.

Settings Reminders on iPhone and iPad

Once set, Reminders will work across the Apple devices with iCloud enabled. This means your iPhone will be notified of Reminders set on your iPad and vice versa. Reminders can be set with a few taps within Apple’s Reminders app.

1. Open the Reminders app.
2. Tap New Reminder.
3. Name your Reminder.
   
4. Tap on the information circle next to the name you entered.
5. Toggle Remind me on a day on.
6. Choose how often you’d like the Reminder to repeat.
7. Choose when you’d like the Reminder to end.
8. If you have several reminders already, pick a priority with the exclamation mark icons at the bottom.
   
9. Tap Done.

And that’s it! Now when you look at your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you’ll see the reminder to wash your hands.

Setting Reminders on your Apple Watch

Setting a Reminder on your Apple Watch can be done with Siri. Here’s how:

1. Open the Reminders app.
2. Tap New Reminder.
3. Press the microphone icon and say, “Hey Siri, remind me to wash my hands.”
4. Tap Done.

If you don’t have Siri enabled, or would rather do it manually, here’s how:

1. Open the Reminders app.
2. Firmly press the display, then tap New Reminder. Or you can scroll to the bottom of a list and tap New Reminder.

Now when you look at your Apple Watch, you’ll remember to wash your hands. But don’t forget, watches can transmit germs too, so make sure to keep yours clean. Not sure how? Tap or click here to properly clean your smartwatch.

Deleting Reminders

After you’ve gotten into the rhythm of washing your hands regularly, you might not want to receive notifications anymore. When that time comes, deleting a reminder is as simple as opening the Reminders app, swiping left on whichever reminder you’d like to delete and tapping Delete.

Easy, right? But washing your hands isn’t the only way to keep clean. If you’re practicing social distancing, you’re probably ordering packages online, too. Tap or click here to learn how to sanitize your Amazon orders and packages.

What else can you do to stay safe? Remember to avoid touching your face, maintain a social distance from everyone outside your household and take care when going out in public. Use sanitary wipes on grocery carts and use hand sanitizer often while out and about.

Remember, we’re all in this together. Stay clean, stay safe.

Tags: Amazon, Apple, Apple iCloud, Apple iPad, Apple iPhone, Apple Watch, coronavirus, hand sanitizer, social distancing