How to clean your Air Pods

“’How to clean your Air Pods ‘: don’t they have more stupid questions, at  WatchGeneration  ? » Pack up your sarcasm: this is a question asked by many readers, who know that a mistake could cost them 79 € . But as these little things go into your ears, they accumulate various bodily secretions, which eventually form a layer of grime that you have to get rid of.

And even if your headphones are pristine, because you’re the only person in the world whose ears don’t produce an ounce of earwax, their case probably isn’t. Beyond the aesthetic aspect of the thing, the dust that settles at the bottom of the case can hinder the charging of the headphones. If the battery of one earphone drains faster than the other, or an earphone comes out of the case without having been recharged, you will have to get out rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs.

Clean the box.

Use a wipe moistened with 70% isopropyl alcohol, or a 10% household alcohol solution 1 , to degrease and clean the case. Avoid wipes and products containing bleach.

A cotton swab will allow you to reach the contacts at the bottom of the case, and a small brush will allow you to dislodge the dust that has slipped into the groove of the cover. A soft wipe to finish, and the case will be like new.

Clean the headphones.

Even if the headphones are “sweat and water resistant” , that’s no reason to immerse them in a can of cleaning product. Use a wrung-out wipe, or a cloth lightly dampened with 70% isopropyl alcohol. In particular, remember to go inside the stem, under the “button” of the earpiece, the place that rests on the antitragus of your ears, which is difficult to access but easily soiled.

Clean the grates. The small grilles that allow air circulation inside the earpiece can be easily cleaned with a toothpick or a small brush. You can proceed in the same way to clean the perimeter of the main grid, which will concentrate most of the earwax deposits, and which deserves to be cleaned at least every month.

The main difficulty concerns the grid itself, whose mesh is so fine that the curettes distributed with certain in-ear headphones cannot pass through. The click came while cleaning the cell of a vinyl turntable: the gels designed for cleaning diamonds , or the pastes used for cleaning keyboards , work wonders. Simply press the earpiece against the gel to loosen the dirt, the gel can be reused after rinsing.

You can use Patafix or Sugru to thoroughly clean the grid.  If you’re using Sugru, like in this example, let it dry for a few hours.

You can use Patafix or Sugru to thoroughly clean the grid. If you’re using Sugru, like in this example, let it dry for a few hours.

You have finished the activities with the children, and you still have some Patafix left  ? Form a patty, let it dry for a few minutes, and squeeze the headphones in the same way. However, be careful not to press too hard, otherwise you will permanently obstruct the grilles of your AirPods , which would be a shame. With all this, your headphones should find a new youth.