There are several reasons to thoroughly clean your headphones. That is particularly true if you use them frequently. Clean headphones are less plagued with microbes—whether you have a set of over-ear cans or truly wireless earbuds.

The Benefits Of Cleaning Your Headphones

Naturally, we won’t recommend disassembling your headphones for no reason, but there are a few points worth taking into account.

A study shows that unclean headphones may transmit diseases. You have a higher chance of contracting an ear infection if you share headphones with someone who has one, and the opposite is true.

Additionally, using headphones often might make your ears damper, which makes germs more likely to flourish there. Contrary to what we may hope, there is no five-second rule for germs; sometimes they just fall to the ground. You don’t want to place anything directly on your ears because as soon as the buds reach the ground, they are covered with more germs than you can count.

Requirements For Cleaning Headphones

You’ll need a few basic things before we get into the details of each kind of headset. All things on the list below may not be used, but it is still useful to have and offers an excellent starting point for doing things thoroughly.

• Towel or paper towels
• Toothbrush
• Tweezers
• Q-Tips
• Rubbing alcohol (greater than 63%), Diluted bleach, or Hydrogen Peroxide
• Hand soap
• Gloves
• Goggles (at least glasses)

The essential equipment is the same whether you want to clean over-ear, on-ear, or earbud headphones. Your headphones will be thoroughly cleaned and any germs or viruses that may be present will be eradicated using the necessary instruments. A stray drop of rubbing alcohol or weak bleach is simple to remove from your hands, but it may be very painful or even harmful if it gets into your eyes. Please be prudent and cautious while cleaning up your cans. After finishing, you need to have a set of very spotless headphones.

Let’s get to the exciting stuff now that we’ve cleared things up. Regular over-ear and on-ear headphones will be used initially.

Over-ear or On-ear Headphones – How to clean?

You should remove the ear cushions from your headphones, depending on the model, and stretch the headband as far as it will go so you can reach every nook and corner. 'Clean headphones' are those that are free of dust and filth inside as well. Take your toothbrush and go to work once you take off the ear cushions. As much of the bigger grit and particles as you can remove with a brush. Avoid unintentionally moving the dirt about while you are near the drivers. After that, proceed to remove any hairs or debris that could be stuck with the tweezers.

Now you may start the disinfection process now that all of the large material has been removed.

To do this, set your headphones down on the towel and get your preferred cleaning solution. In addition to diluted bleach or alcohol (63%), which is often advised to destroy viruses, hydrogen peroxide will also work. Avoid soaking the cotton ball or paper towel since alcohol is toxic to leather and plastic. No need to give your headphones a shower—just use enough to give them a thorough cleaning.

To obtain a sense of how much pressure you need to use to remove debris, start with cleaning the ear pads before moving on to the headband. Work your way down to the ear cups and check your technique because as you get close to the drivers, you need to be more exact.

Avoid getting any liquid within the drivers of your headphones since most headphones don’t play well with liquids. Hold your headphones at a 90° angle and make sure the open drivers are parallel to the ground to make this simple. Gravity will now force the liquid away from the internal components as you gently wipe them. You are welcome to utilize Q-Tips to access any challenging locations. Once you’re satisfied with how your used headphones now seem, dry them off by patting them down with a towel or paper towel.

Earbuds – How to clean?

The modest size of earbuds necessitates a steadier hand than that of headphones, which makes them somewhat different from enormous over-ears. Although the danger of inner ear discomfort and infection is higher when using earbuds than when using over-ear headphones, the reward is well worth it.

Take off the ear tips first, being careful not to drop them. Then, carefully wipe the ear tips with a Q-Tip to get rid of any earwax and debris that may have accumulated there. When you’re finished, focus on the earphones themselves.

If your earbuds came with a cleaning tool, use it to remove any earwax that has accumulated while being careful not to push it deeper. Q-Tips should you not have a cleaning instrument. To remove any leftover earwax, gently dab at the nozzle, being careful not to press too forcefully as this might tangle the fibers. It can be worth the expense to just get a new set of foam ear tips if your current ones are a touch too worn. Warm soapy water works wonderfully against bacteria and germs if you use rubberized ear tips.

Wireless Earbuds – How to clean?

The procedure is almost same for genuine wireless earphones and conventional earbuds. The main difference between the earbud varieties is that a charging case has to be sanitized as well.

Set the earphones aside after cleaning them, then go to the casing. You will follow much the same steps with the Q-Tips here. After finishing, take the earphones out of the case for a while to allow everything to dry. Place the buds back in the case once you are certain that all the liquid has drained.