Our everyday consumer technology devices can wear out more than the car you drive to work every day. But in particular, due to their regular proximity to gross parts of the human body like our ears, hair and skin, our headphones and ear tips take a hard time when it comes to nasty things like earwax, oil, sweat and nasty bacteria sticking to them. Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to clean these wearables, but you need to be extra careful when doing so.
While modern headphones and earbuds are pretty tough, and many offer some sort of protection against water, dirt and dust, cleaning them can be a delicate operation, and one wrong move could send your audio to an early grave. Don’t fret though! As experts in all things AV, we’ve put together this guide to teach you how to properly clean your headphones and earbuds without damaging them.
How to clean headphones
Like any good piece of consumer technology, your everyday headphones will require a little TLC to keep them feeling and performing as well as they did right out of the box. Cleaning your headphones — and by that we mean on-ear or on-ear headphones — will also help reduce skin oils, dust and bacteria that breed on your ear pads and headband. So let’s grab a tool and get to work!
Step 1: Many headphones from big companies like Bose and Sony have removable ear pads. If yours falls into that category, go ahead and carefully remove each pad, then fully expand the headphones. This will ensure that you can touch every part of the device.
Michael Bizzaco / Digital trends
Step 2: Now that the drivers are exposed, use a soft-bristled toothbrush to remove any dirt and debris that has built up on top of and around the speakers. If you have a rocket blower or can of compressed air handy, you can use either of these products to blow out dirt and debris.
Step 3: If there are any unruly hairs stuck to the driver’s body, use a set of tweezers to pluck them out.
Step 4: Dip a Q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and carefully tap the many nooks and crannies of your headphones, being extra careful around the driver. If you’re worried about liquid getting into the speakers, you can hold the headphones at a 90-degree angle (with the drive units facing down). In this way, all excess alcohol will drain from the headphones.
Step 5: Many ear cushions are made from some type of cushion covered in leather or vinyl. To clean them, we recommend wiping them down with a bacterial wipe, while using a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to get into any seams or crevices. Alternatively, you can also use a washcloth dipped in warm, soapy water instead of bacterial wipes.
Michael Bizzaco / Digital trends
Step 6: Before reinstalling the ear cushions, use a dry cloth to remove any excess moisture.
How to clean your headphones
Cleaning ear tips can be a bit more complicated than wiping down headphones, but it mostly depends on the type of tips you’re using. Many headphones have removable silicone ear pads that can become clogged with earwax, dirt, pocket hair, and other nasties. For this guide, we’ll be cleaning the AirPods Pro 2 (we also have a more detailed post on cleaning all of Apple’s AirPods), although most of the following steps can be applied to any set of wired or wireless headphones.
Step 1: Begin by gently removing the silicone ear wax. AirPods Pro only need a slight pull to detach from the main body, and most earbuds are similar.
Michael Bizzaco / Digital trends
Step 2: To clean the ear pads, you can soak them in warm, soapy water or dip a Q-tip in some isopropyl alcohol and clean the inside and outside of the ear tips with a cotton ball.
Step 3: The hardest part of cleaning the headphones is getting to the built-up dirt in the speaker grills and air vents. To start, try using a rocket blower or can of compressed air to remove the worst dirt.
Step 4: Your next cleaning tool should be a wooden toothpick. As gently as possible, work the edges of the grills and vents with a pickaxe.
Michael Bizzaco / Digital trends
Step 5: Use a Q-tip dipped in some rubbing alcohol to pick up any debris left on the grill and vent surfaces.
Step 6: Fill another Q-tip with alcohol and dab the body of each earpiece.
Step 7: The charging case for your headphones can also be full of nasty stuff. If you still have that rocket blower or compressed air handy, use them to blow out all the nooks and crannies inside the case.
Step 8: It’s Q-tip time again! Take a cotton swab soaked in alcohol and tap the inside of the case. Be extra careful around the metal pin contacts that allow your headphones to charge inside the case.
Michael Bizzaco / Digital trends
How often should you clean your headphones or earbuds?
Your headphones and earmolds don’t need a lot of dirt, but regular maintenance can help improve comfort and performance. We suggest you clean your headphones and earmolds once a week, especially if you use them at the gym or as part of your daily commute or during work hours.
Help! My headphones or earmolds cannot be cleaned
Sometimes you do everything you can and the headphones still look and feel dirty. Don’t worry though, as most manufacturers offer replacement ear pads and ear cushions. If you’re in a situation where you need to replace them, it’s probably a good idea to get more than one replacement set at a time, just in case you need another ear pad or tip.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn