IRIS and Water: What the Rating Actually Allows

By GETAUVE Editorial Team · Published October 22, 2026

IRIS and Water: What the Rating Actually Allows

IPX4 and IPX7 sit two characters apart on the box and about 3 feet apart in real life.

What those two codes actually permit for IRIS, why the heat function changes the answer, and a cleaning method that doesn't rely on dunking it.

The Short Answer

Read the second character, not the first. IPX4 means splashes from any direction are fine and immersion is not. IPX7 means a 30-minute dip at 3 feet is fine. Anything in between is a gray zone you shouldn't test on a device you like. For IRIS, the practical routine is a damp cloth, a rinse under a running tap if the rating allows it, and never a soak — and the heat function should be off before any water goes near the body.

What the Two Characters Mean

An IP rating has two digits. The first covers solids — dust, mostly. The second covers liquids. The letter X in the first position means the solids rating wasn't tested, which is common on devices where dust ingress isn't the concern.

The liquid scale runs from 0 to 8, and the jump that matters is between 4 and 7:

• 4 — splashing water from any direction causes no harm. A sink, a wet hand, a shower splash.
• 5 — water jets at low pressure. A shower head pointed at it, briefly.
• 6 — powerful jets. Rare in this category.
• 7 — immersion at 3 feet for 30 minutes.
• 8 — immersion deeper than 3 feet, with conditions set by the manufacturer.

There is no rating between 4 and 7 that means "a little bit of soaking." The gap exists because the tests are different, and a device that survives splashes has not been tested for pressure at depth.

IPX4 vs IPX7 in Practice

For daily cleaning, IPX4 is enough. You're rinsing a surface, not submerging an object, and a running tap plus a drop of soap does the job without ever putting the device under water. If you've ever run it under the faucet late at night without thinking about the rating, you're in the majority.

IPX7 matters if you want to wash it in a sink full of water, or if you use it in a bath. Even then, the rating is 30 minutes at 3 feet — it isn't a license to leave it at the bottom of a full tub for an hour while you read.

The practical difference between the two ratings is smaller than the marketing suggests. Most cleaning failures aren't caused by insufficient water. They're caused by water reaching a seam and staying there.

Why the Heat Function Changes the Answer

Heat and water interact in ways the rating doesn't describe. A warmed housing expands slightly, and a warm sealed joint is more willing to let moisture past than a cold one.

So the order matters: heat off, device cool, then clean. Cleaning a warm device is the single most common way people get water where it shouldn't be, and the rating on the box doesn't warn you about it because the test is run at ambient temperature.

Give it 10 minutes to cool after use. That's the whole rule. It's not complicated, and it's the step almost everyone skips because the device is already in your hand. Picture this: it's 11 p.m., you're ready for bed, and the sink is right there.

Cleaning IRIS Without Dunking It

Four steps, about 90 seconds:

• Wipe first. A damp cloth removes most of what's there, and it removes it without putting water near a seam.
• Soap on the cloth, not on the device. A drop of fragrance-free soap, worked into the cloth. This keeps water volume low.
• Rinse briefly if the rating allows. A running tap for a few seconds, angled away from the seam and the charging port. Not a soak.
• Dry standing up. Prop it so water runs off rather than pooling at the base. 20 minutes on a towel.

For the wand head specifically, a soft cloth is enough. The surface is smooth, and abrasion is the bigger risk than residue.

What Quietly Voids the Rating

The rating applies to an intact device. Three things break that condition and none of them announce themselves:

A drop. A crack at the seam. A charging port flap that no longer sits flush. Any of these turns an IPX7 device into something closer to unrated, and the label on the box still says IPX7 because the label describes a new unit.

Inspect the seam every few weeks. If you can catch a fingernail in it, stop rinsing and switch to the cloth-only method. That's cheaper than replacing the device.

When Water Is the Wrong Question

Skip the water question entirely if your cleaning routine is already a damp cloth. Most people don't need immersion, and buying for a higher rating costs money you could spend on something that matters more.

The honest limitation is that the rating tells you about fresh water at room temperature. It says nothing about soap residue, oils, or salt water, all of which are harder on a surface than plain tap water. A higher rating is not a higher standard of clean.

And if the device has a heat function you use every session, the water rating is secondary to the cooling rule. Get the order right and the rating rarely comes up.

Sources

• International Electrotechnical Commission — IEC 60529, the standard defining IP code digits and immersion test conditions.
• Planned Parenthood — general guidance on cleaning and storing silicone devices.
• Manufacturer specification sheet — IP rating and heat settings for IRIS.

Written by the GETAUVE Editorial Team. This article is general education and not medical advice.