The headphone jack has been a standard feature on phones for decades, but the headphone jack is being slowly phased out of smartphones. Most smartphones that are released in the next year or two will be released with no headphone jack. This means that you’ll need to buy a set of earbuds to listen to your music. Here are tips to help you choose the best earbuds for you. But one thing that unites all earbuds is that they eventually get disgustingly gross, with a buildup of earwax and debris that can hinder sound quality and reduce overall volume output. As a result, you should take the time to clean them once in a while.
Here we go over how to clean your earbuds, whether you have hard plastic or soft rubber-tipped earbuds. We cover a variety of methods for cleaning that anyone can perform.
Why Should You Clean Your Headphones?
Clean headphones are more sanitary, but you also want to maintain your headphones. Whether you use over-the-ear or in-ear headphones, you should clean them regularly for both hygiene and maintenance reasons. This is especially true if you use your headphones while you exercise, as so many of us do. Sweat can build up and make the ear cups smell bad. Ear wax can clog drivers and reduce not only volume, but also sound clarity. Then there’s all the dirt you can’t see like bacteria and other microbes that might make you sick. Clean headphones are just more sanitary. If you touch a contaminated earbud, you could spread the virus to other surfaces, or become infected with it if you touch your mouth, nose, or eyes.
Headphones can be the source of a variety of bacteria. They can be shared and passed from one person to another if they are not cleaned properly. Even if you don’t share your headphones, think about what your earbuds have touched and whether you want to put that inside your ear. A variety of staphylococcus is one of the most common bacteria that can be transferred from your ear to your earbuds. An overgrowth of this sort of bacteria could also cause an ear infection. Cleaning your earbuds will help you reduce this risk.
Beginning With the Basics
There are several ways to clean up your electronics, but a less is more approach is always the best way to go. So let’s begin by going over the simplest and least risky ways of cleaning the buildup from most earbuds. Begin with the most basic cleaning tools and work your way up until the earbuds are adequately clean. There’s no need to get invasive with a toothpick if a puff of air takes care of it, right? Always start small before jumping to extremes, and use only what the job calls for. Many of the tools mentioned here are common household items. You can buy cleaning kits for earbuds that have a lot of similar tools, but you may already have what you need.
Forced Air to Clear your Earbuds
While blowing air from your mouth into your earbuds might knock away some dust or flakey earwax, it will most likely be inadequate, and you could inadvertently deposit tiny bits of saliva onto something that goes in your ears — not exactly sanitary. Try the following tools: A bulb/rocket blower Canned air For hard plastic earbuds, point the dirty speaker grills away from you and toward the floor. Try pointing the blower up and into the earbud speaker grills, away from your face. You don’t want to let debris fly towards your eyes, and you want gravity to help your mascara stay in place.
It is not easy to get the best earbuds out there. To make the right decision, make sure to get a pair of earbuds that have soft rubber tips and that you can remove easily. You will also need to make sure that the earbuds are made of durable materials. If you decide to clean the tips with water, let them dry overnight before putting them back on the earbuds.
If you’re using a cleaning product to clean the earbuds, then make sure to test it on a surface that is completely clean before using it on your earbuds. If it does not work, then use another cleaning product. If the earbuds still don’t look clean after cleaning, then use a microfiber cloth to clean them.