What Does “Cleaned Email” Mean in Mailchimp? (And How to Stop it From Happening)

What does “cleaned email” mean in Mailchimp?

Short answer: A “cleaned” email in Mailchimp is an address that bounced – either because it was invalid, triggered a spam trap, or repeatedly soft-bounced. These addresses are automatically marked as undeliverable to protect your sender reputation.

Why it matters: Cleaned emails = lost contacts. They hurt your deliverability and marketing results. 

This article shows you what causes them, how to prevent them, and why validating your email list with ZeroBounce can save your campaigns.

You’re using Mailchimp and suddenly see a slew of email addresses marked as cleaned. What does that mean? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. Those marked contacts will no longer receive your campaigns. 

But isn’t that the same as someone unsubscribing? It’s not.

So, what does “cleaned” mean in Mailchimp? More importantly, how do you prevent it from hurting your email marketing results?

Whether you’re new to email list hygiene or looking to solve an email deliverability issue, this article will give you practical steps to protect your Mailchimp account and keep your email marketing on track.

You’ll learn:

• What Mailchimp means by “cleaned” – and why it’s different from cleaning an email list or someone unsubscribing
  
• The most common reasons an email is designated as cleaned, from typos to spam traps to Omnivore flags
  
• How to get less cleaned emails building up by practicing email validation
  
• How ZeroBounce helps stop bounces, improve your chances of landing in the inbox, and stay on good terms with Mailchimp
  
• The difference between bulk validation and real-time validation – and how you can use them in tandem to keep Mailchimp cleaned emails low
  
• How you can connect ZeroBounce directly to Mailchimp to make cleaning your list faster and easier

What are cleaned emails in Mailchimp?

In Mailchimp, a “cleaned” email is one that can’t be delivered. These are email addresses that bounced – whether it was a hard bounce (permanently) or a soft bounce (temporarily, but repeatedly). To avoid additional bounces, Mailchimp will no longer send emails to them. 

Mailchimp’s use of the term “cleaned” is confusing because many people refer to email validation as email list cleaning. A “cleaned” email could also mean one that’s been verified.

But in Mailchimp, “cleaned” means that your campaign will not reach those people, effectively removing them from your list. This is true even without manual contact removal or an unsubscribe request from the contact.

Why does Mailchimp clean emails?

Mailchimp’s built-in email cleanup process is a safeguard that protects your sender reputation and helps your newsletters and campaigns go to the inbox. To avoid reputation and deliverability issues, your email list must be free of invalid or low-quality contacts that otherwise cause bounced emails.

What if your email list is full of invalid or outdated addresses? 

In this case, Mailchimp’s system (including its “Omnivore” security algorithm) may mark a large number of them as “cleaned” all at once.

There are several reasons emails will get marked as cleaned in Mailchimp:

• Invalid email addresses – Anything containing a typo like gmal.com or @yaho..com can’t be delivered.
  
• Dead domains – If someone signs up with a company email that closes up shop or discontinues its website, it’ll bounce.
  
• Spam traps – These are fake or recycled email addresses used to lure and block spammers. Hitting a spam trap can trigger Omnivore and lead to your emails getting blocked.
  
• Omnivore warnings – This is Mailchimp’s built-in security system, which will automatically clean potentially risky or suspicious email addresses before they can affect deliverability.
  
• Recurring soft bounces – If an inbox is full or a server is temporarily down, eventually Mailchimp may give up on that email address.

The reasons vary, but when you see “cleaned email,” think “lost contact.” It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not something you can ignore either. 

Related: Want to know more about how to prevent Mailchimp’s Omnivore system from flagging your campaigns? Check out this quick guide to Mailchimp Omnivore.

How to prevent cleaned emails in Mailchimp

If your list is riddled with “cleaned” emails, it’s time to take a closer look at your email hygiene so you can keep healthy deliverability rates. Here are some simple actions you can take in advance:

Validate every email before importing 

Never add emails to your list without verifying them. When you see that an email in Mailchimp is marked “cleaned,” it means the damage is already done. Those cleaned emails bounced, and your reputation is suffering. Run every new contact through an email verifier to check that it’s valid and active. 

Check your sign-up forms 

Typos and fake emails cause your list quality to decline, and that will result in more cleaned emails in Mailchimp. Ensure users only enter valid emails by connecting a real-time email validation API to all your signup forms.

Re-validate old contacts 

Just because contacts are valid now, it doesn’t mean they’ll always be that way. Did you know that 28% of the average email list degrades every year? Consider validating it at least quarterly. If you’re working with a larger list, check it even more frequently. Some refer to this maintenance as “cleaning your list” — just remember that’s different from what Mailchimp means by a “cleaned” email.

Avoid purchased or scraped lists 

These databases almost always contain bad data, like spam traps. Bought lists are unlikely to have any marketing value and may run afoul of various data collection laws and regulations. Bringing those contacts into your systems may jeopardize deliverability with existing subscribers.

Pay attention to Omnivore warnings 

If Mailchimp blocks you from sending emails, it’s because the email service provider wants to protect its reputation – and yours. Take heed and if need be, investigate. Follow Mailchimp’s guidelines and take all the steps necessary to send emails safely again.

Using Mailchimp? Here’s how ZeroBounce can help

ZeroBounce is an email validation and deliverability platform that complements Mailchimp perfectly to help you get better results from your email marketing campaigns.

Here’s how using an email verifier like ZeroBounce can help you.

Eradicates invalid emails 

ZeroBounce’s email validation ecosystem checks for typos, dead domains, and formatting issues before you import your contacts into Mailchimp.

You have two powerful options to keep invalid emails off your Mailchimp list:

• Bulk validation. You can verify the emails on any size list before importing it into Mailchimp. Just upload the file, and ZeroBounce will assess those contacts and detect any invalid emails, known complainers, dead domains, formatting errors, and more. That way, you can remove risky emails before they can inevitably bounce or get flagged by Mailchimp’s Omnivore system.
• Real-time validation. You can connect ZeroBounce to all of your sign-up forms and landing pages to prevent bad emails from infesting your list from the start. Whether someone mistypes their address or tries to use a fake email, an email validation API can block or flag it instantly. This will help you build a reliable list with good data from the beginning.

Identifies spam traps and abuse emails 

There are plenty of emails that technically work, but will lead to your sender reputation taking a serious hit. Spam traps and abuse emails (belonging to people who tend to report messages as spam) trigger Omnivore flags. They can lead to major deliverability issues, so it’s best to remove them from your contact list.

Improves list quality and reputation 

A scrubbed email list means higher open rates and better inbox placement (showing up in the inbox as opposed to the spam folder). When your list quality improves, every single email metric goes up – and that means more consistent results.

How ZeroBounce works with Mailchimp

ZeroBounce connects directly with Mailchimp to help you keep your email list healthy. Our Mailchimp integration means you can “set it and forget it” without adding extra steps to your process. 

Once you link your Mailchimp account to ZeroBounce, you’ll automatically sync your lists, run a full validation, and push your verified emails right back to Mailchimp. It’s a simple method to find and purge invalid and risky email addresses: everything from spam traps, deactivated email addresses, etc. 

You should do everything possible to stop bad data before it begins negatively affecting your deliverability. With ZeroBounce’s Mailchimp integration, you can do this without adding extra tasks to your schedule.

You don’t have to export and re-import any of your lists manually. Plus, you can get free live support if you run into any unlikely snags.

Validate your Mailchimp list regularly

Rather than wait for “cleaned” emails to pop up in Mailchimp, prevent the problem in the first place. An ounce of email list decay prevention is worth a pound of scrambling around to fix the fact that your emails are all landing in spam.

But, what if you’re not using an email validator? It’s not too late to start. If you’re noticing “cleaned” emails in Mailchimp, it’s a good idea to be proactive and check your contacts to tidy things up.

In a nutshell, running your list through ZeroBounce before importing it into Mailchimp will stop any issues from snowballing. You’ll avoid bounces while keeping your sender reputation high. That means your emails actually reach the people who are counting on seeing them.

If you’ve never used email validation before, it can help rehabilitate your email list. Either way, it’s a necessary part of routine maintenance that protects your email list. Remember: your email database is your most valuable asset – treat it accordingly.Want to give ZeroBounce a try? Check 100 email addresses for free, every month.