Listen to music while cleaning, listen to a podcast while shopping or follow an audio book on the train. Airpods and other in-ear headphones are part of our daily lives. So it’s important to clean them regularly to prevent the build-up of lint and earwax. Here’s how to clean them properly.
Whether you’re using Apple Airpods or other earphones, it’s essential to clean them regularly, otherwise dirt will accumulate on and in the earphones, quickly becoming unhygienic. The earphones quickly come into contact with earwax, or lint gets caught in them. That’s why Airpods should be cleaned at least every two weeks. But as most of these earphones are not waterproof, care must be taken not to damage the technology by allowing moisture to penetrate the openings.
Getting plush-free Airpods
If Airpods or other in-ear earphones are simply left on the coffee table, or carelessly tossed into the handbag, lint and dirt accumulate in the fine speaker grille inside. It’s best to start by using a small brush to brush out the lint and remove it. Make sure that the brush is clean and dry, so that the Airpods don’t fluff up. Alternatively, you can use a cotton swab and rub it over the grille of the Apple Airpods in light circular movements.
If the earpieces are already heavily soiled, you can scrape them clean with a toothpick. Proceed with care to avoid damaging the earphones.
Cleaning Airpods tips
If you use eartips with your earphones, detach them and rinse them under running water, without using soap or any other type of cleaning product. Then wipe them dry with a soft, lint-free cloth. If you feel that the tips are not completely dry, tap them on the cloth, opening side down. Once the tips are completely dry, you can carefully replace them on the Airpods.
Cleaning the outside of Airpods
It’s not just the mesh inside the earphones that needs cleaning, but also the casing. After all, Airpods are often handled or placed on surfaces that are not one hundred percent clean. So it’s best to clean the earphones with alcohol. Pour isopropyl alcohol, also known as cleaning alcohol, onto a cloth, such as a microfiber cloth, and wipe over the Apple Airpods. Make sure that the cloth is not too damp, so that the earphones don’t accidentally come into contact with too much water, as they are not waterproof.
Perspiration is also a liquid. If you wear your Airpods for sports, we recommend that you always wipe them with a microfiber cloth afterwards.
Cleaning the charging unit
In addition to the earphones themselves, you should also regularly clean the corresponding charging case. A microfiber cloth is particularly suitable for this purpose. If stubborn dirt has built up, we also recommend cleaning the charging unit with 70% isopropyl alcohol, which has an antibacterial effect. Here, too, you need to be particularly careful around joints and cracks to prevent liquid from entering the charger box. If you still need to leave it to dry, lay it open and upside down on a table.
If only lint has accumulated in the case, use the brush or cotton buds again to quickly remove the lint from your headphone storage.
