With the AirPods, you get both visual and acoustic pleasure in the ear. To enjoy the Apple headphones for as long as possible, you should clean the AirPods regularly. We have some tips on how to clean AirPods properly and clean your AirPods case without damaging the sensitive hardware.
As with all white things, you can immediately see every tiny speck of dust, earwax pieces, or other impurities on the Apple AirPods. You can get your expensive headphones clean again with the right moves.
Are the AirPods waterproof?
Clean the charging case only with dry or semi-wet clothes and do not clean underwater. The delicate first and second-generation headphones are neither waterproof nor -protected. So you should also wipe sweat and raindrops off the headphones in the short term to prevent damage.
The case should not come into contact with water. If the charging case gets wet, open the lid, turn it over and let the liquid run out.
How to clean AirPods – Get the headphone clean
Do not put your AirPods in water or clean the headphones under the tap! Instead, proceed as follows:
- Use a soft microfiber cloth to remove coarse dirt.
- For heavier dirt, you can also moisten the cloth a little.
- In this case, let the headphones dry before you put them into the charging case or turn them on.
- You can also clean the removable silicone attachments when you remove them from the AirPods. Yet, you should avoid using soap or other cleaners.
You can clean the microphone and speakers with a dry cotton swab. Be careful not to push the dirt further into the case. It would be best not to use a toothpick to pick out dirt, as it could damage the delicate electronics.
According to apple, if you want to feel safe in current times, you can also clean the AirPods with a disinfectant. Use a cloth for the cleaner and only treat the outside of the headphones. Do not let the liquid get into the speaker grille. Apple recommends using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol) for external cleaning.
If you have the appropriate accessories at home, you can also carefully clean the AirPods with compressed air. Cleaning clay or type cleaner also helps to get the dirt out of the case.
Cleaning the AirPods housing
Cleaning the housing requires some skill but is easy to handle. It is a bit more complicated with the small openings of the microphones and the speakers. With a bit of dexterity, you can also master this task.
Take a brush and go over the small grids of the speakers and the small recesses for the microphones. With a bit of patience, you should be able to remove most of the dirt.
Be especially careful not to push the grilles into the inside of the case. If there is still some dirt, take the cotton swabs, drip some alcohol on them, and use them to clean the small grids.
How to clean the AirPods charging case?
The charging case should also only be cleaned with a dry or damp cloth and should not be held underwater. Above all, you should make sure that no liquid gets on the charging ports. You can also disinfect the surface of the case with a damp cloth.
A cotton swab or a small brush is suitable for cleaning the inside, for example. It would help if you refrained from using plasticine on the case, as this can cause the contacts to stick together.
To enjoy your AirPods for as long as possible, you should clean the AirPods regularly after use, but always be careful. You should avoid moisture if possible. This applies to both cleaning and daily use of the headphones.
So if you have the AirPods in your ear during sports or a rain shower, you should look for the dry as soon as possible.
If you use AirPods with android and want to know the battery life, here you read how to check AirPods battery life on Android.
You’ll need these to clean your AirPods.
The good news is that cleaning AirPods isn’t particularly difficult and doesn’t need any sophisticated tools. In principle, you can clean your Apple headphones with everyday household items. You may have to buy one or the other utensil, but these are also available in principle in any supermarket. You need four things for cleaning AirPods:
Appropriate cloth
First, you need an appropriate cloth. A microfiber cloth is ideal. This is a unique material that is also used for eyeglass cleaning cloths. Cloths for cleaning the laptop or smartphone display are also made of the material.
If you do not have a microfiber cloth, you can get a suitable cloth in a well-stocked supermarket, eyeglass store, or laptop or cell phone store. Or, any other cloth will do. It must be lint-free and soft. Otherwise, it is unsuitable for cleaning AirPods.
Clean cotton swabs
Second, you need clean cotton swabs. Usually, you have some at home. Otherwise, you can easily buy them at the supermarket or drugstore. They must be as lint-free as possible. However, many cotton swabs are similar in texture.
Some have a firm and smooth surface, and others have a rather soft and fuzzy surface. So make sure the cotton swabs you use are smooth and lint-free. Otherwise, you run the risk of damaging your headphones while cleaning them.
Brush with soft bristles
Third, a brush with soft bristles is beneficial. You may have an ink box at home. If you don’t have a brush, you can now get them individually or as part of an ink box at drugstores and some supermarkets.
You can find individual brushes in the drugstore and well-stocked supermarkets. In any case, make sure that you take a brush with soft bristles. Your Apple Watch looks bad? Here is an article on how to clean Apple Watch Band.
Pure alcohol or isopropyl alcohol
Fourth, it doesn’t hurt to have pure alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, or ethanol on hand. This is beneficial if you are dealing with extremely dirty AirPods. If you don’t have any pure alcohol or ethanol in stock, you can buy it at a pharmacy.
Some supermarkets now also carry it. If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to go to the pharmacy. Or, you can order some on the Internet. The most common sizes are 500 milliliters or one liter. In the meantime, there are also smaller quantities for 200 milliliters.
Be careful when cleaning AirPods
When it comes to cleaning AirPods, you need to be very careful. First, Apple’s AirPods get dirty quickly, or you can see them quickly on them because they are white.
Every tiny speck of dust and every bit of dirt is immediately noticeable there. On the other hand, you should pay particular attention when cleaning AirPods. The delicate parts are sensitive hardware that becomes defective quickly.
If you do not handle them correctly. For example, if you apply too much pressure or expose them to too much moisture. Thus, the first rule when handling the AirPods is to handle them carefully and gently.
If you have more questions, please let us know. Hope you got the answer on how to clean AirPods. We have more tips for the Apple AirPods for you:
