Here’s How I Clean the Dozens of Earbuds I Test for WIRED

Everyone has dirty The human ear is designed to create ear waves to protect itself from other garbage. This means that you put your precious new Airpods Pro into your ear holes and the dirtier they may get.

So what’s the best way to clean up all the idiots? Read the following to learn how to clean earplugs and earphones, and other ways to restore old doubles.

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Tools for cleaning headphones

Believe it or not, I found that the best thing to clean your earbuds (and phone jacks) is a soft-brain brush Toothbrush ($6 $8). Use this to dry first and have a little Distilled and deionized water ($17 per gallon) or Isopropanol ($10 for 32 oz) If there is something too stubborn to get rid of the ear holes. After that, make sure to dry the earplugs with a microfiber cloth.

If there is something big in your bud, feel free to remove it using a toothpick or a circulation tool. My favorite tool is These pop-up tools ($4) With metal nibs, you can grab hard wax and sluts.

Most modern earbuds have IP levelwhich means they are relatively dusty and waterproof; usually, if there is something wrong with your buds outside, you can usually rub water over them and then dry them with a towel. For ear headphones, I’ll try to keep them as dry as possible when cleaning, but as long as you avoid avoiding areas like charging ports, clean them with a wet rag or brush.

Get a new mat or tip

Most brands, Including Appleproviding replacement headphones and mats for headphones, which can really make older companions feel fresh again, especially when the foam collapses and is dirty. I recommend that you once you find additional stress or lack of high-quality sound isolation. The earplugs I just deformed over time, or when I lost one, I just replaced it.

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