A grotesque image, but you get the idea—earwax isn’t cute, and you probably don’t want to see the gunk on your headphones. That said, an AirPods scrub-down is probably past due. But the process of cleaning out the headphones becomes a little tricky: Should you use a safety pin or pencil to pick out the wax? Wipe the buds with rubbing alcohol or water? Or should you—shudder—suck out the debris with your mouth? (Not a joke, this Reddit hack unfortunately exists.) “When the earbud is warm, the wax is still very pliable, and it’ll be gooey,” she says. Your ears can warm up the AirPods, so you should refrain from using or charging them for a couple of hours, at least, before diving into the cleaning routine. What does dry quickly, on the other hand, is rubbing alcohol. However, you never want to spray a liquid directly on a tech item—you’d want to spray the alcohol on microfiber cloth or dip a cotton swab before cleaning the electronic (more on that later). The only caveat, is if you’re an owner of the AirPod Pro’s. If your buds have those removable, flexible silicone tips, you can go ahead and remove them, rinsing them thoroughly with soap and water. Just be sure to let them dry completely (24 hours is best, to be safe) before you secure them back on your AirPods. You don’t want any water getting inside that speaker! According to Maker, it’s best to hold the earbuds facing downward before you start to brush. That way, you can let the debris fall without worrying about it getting stuck inside the speaker (ew). If the earbud is cold, as mentioned above, the wax should crumble right off. “You’re not going to get a snowstorm effect,” Maker reassures. “You might get one or two little things falling off.” As for the case, you’re going to do the same exact thing. Hold it upside down, brush the debris off the case, and let the wax fall down. Once most of the discoloration is on the swab (and not the bud!), you can touch the surface—if it has a squeaky-clean feel to it, you’ve done the job right. Here’s the ugly truth: Earwax easily builds up, and the longer you leave it, the more gunk will accumulate. That said, it’s high time to give your AirPods a cleaning. With these tips, it should be a fairly painless process.
