How to Clean AirPods and Keep Them Clean

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We previously taught you how to thoroughly clean and disinfect your iPhone, and now we’re back with another ‘how to’ for cleaning Apple’s earphones. While they may be small, light, fascinating and truly unique, AirPods are also, unequivocally, little dust magnets. EarPods, Apple’s standard, 3.5 mm headphones, fall into the same category. And while the latter may be included with your new iPhone free of charge, going out and dropping $159 on the latter is no small decision to make; so protecting either investment is crucial – not only to help sustain optimal functionality, but also to properly and sanitarily dispose of all the dust, grime, wax, and other particles that manage to make their way inside as you use them. Here, we will provide three key steps to properly clean and protect your EarPods or AirPods so they’ll last as long as possible.

Prepare for Cleaning

  1. While EarPods are small, their truly wireless counterparts, AirPods, are even smaller, and are therefore even more susceptible to damage, loss, or both. It’s crucial to ensure you only use high-quality tools to go about cleaning and/or disinfecting your EarPods or AirPods.

  2. Start by taking a small, microfiber cloth and wiping gently around the outer-casing. NOTE: you’ll want to make sure you use microfiber as the fabric is historically non-invasive and won’t leave your shiny gadgets looking all smudgy and scathed.

Clean and Deep Clean

  1. While a swipe or two with the microfiber cloth is sure to be enough to wipe most of the grime and surface matter away, it’s important to understand that when they’re in our ears — AirPods and EarPods are collecting dust, wax, oil, dirt and grime; and when they’re not in our ears, they’re susceptible to attracting and collecting everything else.

  2. If the preliminary wipe down is unsuccessful, we would recommend using a standard Q-tip or cotton swab to wipe away dust and dirt from the harder to reach crevices, speaker grilles, and other recessed compartments that a cloth might not be able to reach. Alternatively, EarPod and AirPod owners can use the soft, pink flesh tip of a pencil eraser to dislodge or ‘erase away’ any dirt that just won’t budge.

  3. Alternatively, you could also use a splash of purified, mountain spring water on the microfiber cloth to help clean your headphones on a deeper level, but we would refrain from using any harsh chemicals like sanitizers, disinfecting wipes, tap water, or sprays, as they tend to have adverse effects on our products’ polish and luster.

Storage and Maintenance

  1. As in the world of modern medicine for humans, prevention is the best way to guarantee the longevity of your EarPods or AirPods. The best tip for doing so would be to check them regularly — every few days, at the least — to ensure that the dust and grime you’ve just wiped away doesn’t come crawling back.

  2. The good news is that once they’re thoroughly cleaned, according to the directions above, it’ll be even easier to maintain that cleanliness by periodically following-up, wiping away any residue as it becomes noticeable, and always ensuring that you store your EarPods or AirPods in a cool, dry, dark, (and preferably concealed) environment to ensure their enjoyment for years to come.

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