Surprising! These AirPods, which you regularly insert into your ears and sometimes for hours, for example when you sweat in the gym, need a good cleaning regularly. Some people just wipe them off and continue with their day, while others go all the way by completely cleaning and disinfecting their AirPods.
Mine have been used a lot and deserve to be cleaned, which is why I decided to help you with this task.
Here’s how to clean and disinfect AirPods
Although I’m cleaning AirPods Pro here, the process is similar for AirPods as well. Apple offers official guidance on how to clean your AirPods.
- A few cotton swabs.
- Some wipes to clean glasses.
- Optional: a disposable surface for the cleaning process, such as a paper towel (so your table isn’t covered in…wax).
The cleaning bench. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
I’ve seen people use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning, but I’m hesitant about soaking the AirPods in solvent. I don’t think dissolving the earwax and pushing it deeper into the earbuds is a very good thing in the long run. There is a risk of damaging plastics.
The eyeglass lens wipes I use are inexpensive, and only contain 40-50% alcohol. They are therefore non-abrasive and suitable for cleaning glasses, camera lenses, screens and, in this case, AirPods headphones.
1. Assess the damage
First, I assessed the seriousness of the situation. My second generation AirPods Pro are about a year old. Despite heavy use, they look brand new. The charging case is in another protective case – an ESR case – and apart from being dirty, it looks new.
I highly recommend keeping the AirPods charging case in another protective case, especially if you plan to sell them at some point. A protective case really helps prevent scratches and chips.
Lots of things piling up. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
I noticed that there was also quite a bit of gunk stuck in the Lightning port.
A little dirt in the charging port. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
2. Clean the case
I started with the case. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this design, and they trap a lot of debris. The hinge area, the AirPods slot, and the connectors on the bottom that supply power to the earbuds are all dirt magnets.
However, there’s nothing a glasses wipe and a cotton swab can’t fix. I wrap an eyeglass wipe around the cotton swab to remove the stuck-on dirt. And I was surprised how easily the dirt came off
The cotton swab came in particularly handy for cleaning around the charging connectors, but be careful not to break those delicate connectors, because if you do, you’ll have to buy a new charging case.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
3. Clean AirPods
Start by gently pulling on the silicone tip to remove it. Then use a cotton swab to clean the inside and outside.
The silicone tips of the headphones also contained a lot of debris. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Finally, wipe the earbud itself well, and that’s it!
Cleaning the silicone earpiece tip. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
4. Clean the charging port
To clean the charging port, I urge you to exercise caution. If it’s not dirty, don’t touch it, as the risk of breaking it outweighs the benefits of cleaning.
If you need to clean it, roll an eyeglass wipe into a point and use it gently – very carefully – to remove larger debris.
Be careful and don’t push yourself, because the last thing you want is to break something.
Gentle cleaning of the Lightning port. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
My AirPods Pro definitely don’t look new, but they are much cleaner and more hygienic.
They are cleaner and more hygienic. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
Audio Headphone Cleaning FAQ
Why use eyeglass lens wipes?
I prefer eyeglass wipes because they are lint-free and require a minimal amount of cleaning fluid.
This avoids soaking the items you are cleaning. And they are designed not to damage plastics and the delicate coatings of objects.
How often should you clean your AirPods?
It really depends. A frequency of a few months would keep the AirPods looking new.
However, it’s probably been over a year since I last cleaned my AirPods Pro case.
Why is the sound from my AirPods muffled?
Buildup of debris or earwax can affect the quality of sound output from your AirPods.
A thorough cleaning can save you a trip to the Apple Store.
Can I use hydrogen peroxide to clean AirPods?
Never use hydrogen peroxide (known as hydrogen peroxide), solvents, or abrasive cleaners to clean your AirPods, as this may damage them.
The same goes for household cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.
Likewise, you should never immerse your case or AirPods in cleaning solutions or water. A cotton swab, an eyeglass lens wipe and meticulous cleaning are enough to give them shine.
Source: “ZDNet.com”