It is essential to clean your headphones or earbuds when needed. Even the CDC recommends cleaning your electronic gadgets as a precaution to avoid speeding germs. If you use your headphones longer, you may find greasy stains, hair, grime build-up, and a foul smell on them. And that’s obvious because you use it almost all day. Now you are wondering how to clean your headphones without damaging them; keep reading this step-by-step headphone cleaning guide.
In this guide, we’ve included links to all the necessary steps and tools to clean up all kinds of headphones, including true wireless earbuds.
Keep Reading: The best wireless Earbuds under $50
Tools & Items to Clean Headphones
First things first! Before we go any further with the cleaning guide, here are a few essential items that you need to buy to clean headphones properly.
Microfiber Cleaning Cloth
A microfiber cleaning cloth or towel is composed of nylon and polyester. The diameter of each strand is thinner than the human hair, which ensures that it can clear debris and dirt from your headphones.
Rubbing Alcohol
Commonly used as a topical antiseptic, rubbing alcohol is a cleaning liquid used to disinfect and clean various household products and surfaces. There are two types of rubbing alcohol in the market, namely isopropanol and ethanol rubbing alcohol products.
Cotton Swab
Typically, cotton swabs are used to clear ear canals, but anything that can easily fit in ear canals can also be cleaned using the same cotton swabs. In our case, it will be the earpiece of earphones or the curvatures of the ear cups in a headphone. They are also called Q-tips in some markets, which is merely a product or brand.
Silica Gel Packets
These packets are used to absorb moisture and to keep things dry. Many consumers use silica gels where there’s a chance of moist build-up. The headphones have foam pads and plastic, which can quickly deposit moisture. Using silica gels, you can ensure that your headphone remains moist-free.
Why is Cleaning Headphones Important?
One of the main reasons to keep your headphones clean is to experience the best audio performance. Usually, debris and other impurities block the pathway for the sound to travel. This can eventually lead to a faded audio quality or a complete sound. It would be best if you clean the debris every once in a while with cotton swabs.
What Happens When You Don’t Clean Your Headphones?
When you don’t clean your headphones often, they are going to get dirty. Impurities will deposit on the inner earpiece of the headphones, which will impair sound quality. If you don’t wipe the outer surface of the body, they will start getting sticky with substance. And the worst part is, they will begin to give a foul odor, which will deposit on your hand. You will notice a bad smell on your hands when you subconsciously reach out to rub your nose.
Easiest Way to Clean Headphones or Earphones
The easiest way to clean your headphones is,
- Take a stick of a cotton swab.
- Then, take each tip and insert it into your earpiece.
- Now, rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise until all the debris gets on the swab.
- Once done, remove the cotton swab and discard it.
How to Clean Over-Ear or On-Ear Headphones
Over-the-ear or on-ear headphones have a protective covering and big listening ear cups. You can’t clean them with a cotton swab, so there’s a different approach to cleaning them.
- Remove the ear pads and clear the visible debris using a soft brush.
- Now, use a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol to clean the stains on the headband.
- Using the same microfiber, gently rub the surfaces of the headphones to clean sticky stains off.
How to Clean Bluetooth Earbuds and Neckbands
The Bluetooth Earbuds require extra cleaning, and for that, you might have to do a bit of work.
- Firstly, remove the ear tips.
- Now, hold each earbud with the opening face down.
- Use any soft brush or toothbrush to clear the large particles out.
- If there are tough build-ups like wax, you will need a cotton bud.
- Dip the cotton bud in hydrogen peroxide and barely touch the wax.
- It will start dissolving the resin. Make sure not to insert the whole thing in it.
- It will take hardly a minute until the wax build dissolves, then remove it.
- You can remove the wax by gently tapping the earpiece or using the brush.
How to Clean the True Wireless Earbuds
The process of cleaning true wireless earbuds is similar to that of cleaning the standard one above. The only difference is true wireless headphones come with a separate charging case, which also needs cleaning. You can use the same cotton swab to clear off the debris and sticky materials from the charging case. However, don’t rush to put your wireless earbuds inside the housing. Let the moisture dry before you go ahead and charge your wireless earbuds.
How to Clean Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro?
Cleaning AirPods and AirPods Pro is similar to other products. There is a complete guide on CNN and a kit you need to perform the process. Make sure to watch this video by Geek Detour.
How to Clean Ear Pads of Gaming Headset
Many over-the-head and on-ear headsets come with velour pads. These are specific pads made up of a special kind of fabric material. And you can only find it on gaming headphones. If you have one, here’s what it takes to keep them clean.
Usually, ear pads can collect dust on the surface, unlike earpieces that accumulate debris.
So alcohol won’t work here. Since Velour Ear Pads use fabric material, you can use regular detergent to clean it.
- Take any laundry detergent and mix it in warm water.
- Now dip your velour earpads into the warm water and let it soak.
- Gently scrub the velour pads together & see which areas need more scrubbing.
- Now rinse them with clean water and leave them to dry.
Things You Need to Know Before Cleaning Headphones
Different headphones are made up of other materials, and hence, they will require different products to clean. Here are some common elements from which many of these headphones are made.
Plastic, Silicone and Foam
Many headphones are manufactured with these three materials, especially the over-the-head ones. The plastic makes the exterior body, and silicone is used on wires, ear pads & headband cushions.
So, if you want to clean them, the best way of doing so is by using an isopropyl alcohol solution.
If the ear pads use foam, then don’t apply alcohol; instead, use a microfiber cloth to wipe it.
Metal & Wood
If you’re going for an expensive option, you’re indeed opting for an excellent build quality. The high-end headset may use materials like wood, aluminum, steel, titanium, etc.
For cleaning the surface of such a product, isopropyl alcohol can work best.
If you’re cleaning a wood-based headphone, then alcohol can ruin its surface finishes. Instead, use warm water with detergent to clean it up.
Fabric
If the headphones you’ve purchased have a pleather fabric (such as protein leather, faux leather, or synthetic leather), you can use regular isopropyl alcohol to clean them. However, if you have velour ear pads and they are removable, then you can remove them and rinse them in detergent-filled water, as discussed above.
What if they are non-removable? Then, you can use a toothbrush first to clear the debris and then use a small microfiber cloth. You can also smudge the stained areas with clean detergent water and then use the same towel to clean them with fresh water.
Cleaning Ear Buds and Microphone Openings
To clean earbuds, you can employ any of the above-discussed methods, and as for the microphone openings, you can remove the cover and then rinse it the same way as you would with the earpiece fabric.
If they are non-removable, use a small microfiber cloth to smudge the areas with rinsed water.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep your headphones clean, you must keep your ears and hands clean all the time. Believe it or not, you’re the source of all the problems, so you need to make sure that your hygiene is well-maintained.
If you have ear wax, it will be deposited in the earpiece. Similarly, if your hands are sticky, they will leave grease on the headphones. Also, it won’t be a great idea to leave them hanging around your table. Your headphones can accumulate a large amount of dust from the air. So it’s best if you make sure to keep them in a well-protected case.
Lastly, please don’t use your headphones after food, or at least wash your hands before you touch them.
Follow the above practices to ensure your headphones remain clean & clear of dirt.
It depends on where the dirt is accumulated on your headphones. If your headphones have earpieces with grime and debris blocking the soundways, then yes, it will impair the sound quality.
Use any of the above methods we discussed to clean all types of headphones & enjoy comfortable listening.
If you see ear wax build up inside the earpiece of your earphones, remove the ear tips & clean them first. Now, you can either use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to soften up the hardened wax.
You can even wash the earbud tips if you want and use cotton buds to properly clean them. Once it gets dry, you can put the ear tips back.
Drivers are delicate components. So, once the moisture reaches in, they will get fused. It is better to keep your earphones with a Silica Gel in a small bag for a few hours after cleaning it up.
The headphone jacks can also accumulate debris inside the socket. Now, you can’t use a cotton swab or pour alcohol to remove the dirt. If you do, you might damage your device. Therefore, the only way to clean your headphone jack is by blowing in compressed air.
You can find plenty of air dusters on the market. Just purchase a good one and use them.
They release a blast of compressed air that will ensure all the debris gets removed from the socket.
