If you wear earbuds when you hike, bike, climb, or jog, you might give them a wipe down every now and then. Big brands, like Apple and Beats, recommend cleaning earbuds after each use, but I’ll be the first to admit: it’s easy advice to ignore.
I’ve worn the same pair of Beats Studio Buds for two years while jogging and have never rinsed them off once. My husband’s the same. His Apple AirPods have logged hundreds of miles of road cycling sans cleaning. Gross? Very. Risky? Yes.
So, if you’re looking at your earbuds and thinking, yep, these are pretty nasty, here’s how to keep them and, in turn, your ears in tip-top shape.
Why You Should Clean Your Earbuds
When you place earbuds into your ear, you subject them to all kinds of gunk, says Dr. Douglas Hildrew, an otolaryngologist with Yale Medicine. When ear wax and sweat mix in the ear canal, they create a sticky goo. That gook can latch onto dead skin cells, bacteria, and environmental debris like dirt and air pollution particles. “That mixture is going to get stuck on your earbuds and tends to find the nooks and crannies in the wire mesh,” says Hildrew.
What Happens When You Don’t Clean Them?
Dr. Michael Yong, an otolaryngologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, says earbuds and headphones can get quite dirty and harbor a ton of grime if you use them often—especially during exercise. “This includes oils and sweat from the ear, but also dirt and bacteria transfers from your hands and fingers [to your ears], especially with ear inserts,” he says.
If they camp out inside your ear, you may wind up with an ear infection that could have been easily prevented by cleaning your earbuds, he says.
Bacteria Can Build Up in the Ear Canal
Bacteria love warm, dark, humid environments like your inner ear. When you’re exercising outdoors and perspiring with a dirty plug in your ear, your ear can get wetter and warmer, explains Hildrew. That can create an ideal environment for pathogenic bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in which they can multiply rapidly and lead to otitis externa (aka swimmer’s ear), an ear canal infection. (FYI: You don’t actually need to go swimming to get this kind of infection.)
Swimmer’s ear can be pretty uncomfortable: your ear canal fills up with a sticky discharge and may become smelly and painful, explains Hildrew. Your hearing could become muffled—or you could develop dermatitis, a common condition that causes the skin within your ear to become itchy, scaly, and inflamed, Yong adds.
Ear infections can be treated with antibiotic ear drops, so if you hold off on seeing a doctor, you could develop swelling in your ear canal that can take a few weeks to settle down, says Hildrew.
How to Clean Your Earbuds
When cleaning your earbuds, your technique and how often you clean them matter. If you use the wrong cleaning product or rub too aggressively, you can ruin your earphones.
As for the frequency, cleaning them after each workout is ideal—especially if your earbuds come in contact with sweat, sunscreen, or dirt. But even once a week is better than nothing, says Hildrew.
Keep in mind that each brand has a slightly different set of instructions, so it’s worth checking out the specific steps for your product. But in general, here are the items you’ll need to clean your earbuds thoroughly:
- A dry cloth (you want to use a lint-free cloth such as a microfiber towel or an old T-shirt)
- Rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol
- A clean toothbrush
- Distilled water
- Hand soap
- Micellar water
- Putty, tape, a tooth flosser, or hydrogen peroxide if your earbuds are extra grimy
- Paper towels
1. Clean the Case
First, take your earbuds out of the case and unplug the charger from the wall. Because the case can get gunky, too, you’ll want to clean it well.
Run a dry cloth along the outside of the case. If it’s visibly dirty, splash a tiny amount of isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol onto the fabric to rinse off any bacteria.
You don’t want any liquid to touch the tiny metal prongs your earbuds attach and magnetize to because they can become water-damaged and stop working. Instead, glide a dry, soft-bristled toothbrush along the prongs to eliminate lingering earwax or dust.
2. Wash the Silicone Tips and Mesh
If your buds have silicone tips, twist them off and wash them with rubbing alcohol or soapy water.
To clean the mesh grilles—the soft, wiry panels in the earbud—dip your toothbrush into a cup of micellar water, and while holding the earbud upright so the mesh is facing you, gently rub the bristles, in a circular motion, across each mesh panel for 15 seconds.
Place the buds mesh-side down on a paper towel so that the paper towel will absorb the remaining moisture. To remove any residue left behind on the mesh from the micellar water, rinse the toothbrush and, this time, saturate the bristles with distilled water. Repeat the same steps as you did to cleanse the mesh at the start.
Set them aside to dry for at least two hours before returning them to your case. You want to avoid introducing any extra moisture to your ear (remember, germs love warm, wet environments, says Hildrew).
If earwax is stubbornly caked on, adding a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide (three-percent concentration only) to the toothbrush can help break it up. Resist the urge to use something sharp or abrasive, as that could damage the mesh. Pat the mesh dry with a paper towel.
3. Wipe Down the Body of Your Earbuds or Headphones
As for the body of the earphones, run a dry cloth or cotton swab over the metal charging points (the little magnetic dots on them that click into the tiny metal prongs in the charging case). Doing this will help remove any residue left behind on your earbuds from hair products, sunscreen, or insect repellant.
Splash a bit of distilled or soapy water or rubbing alcohol onto the cloth (don’t douse it!) and glide the dampened cloth over the rest of the earpiece.
If you see any remaining grime, use the end of a tooth flosser to carefully scrape it out. Tape or putty can suck up any remaining debris as well.
Cleaning Over-the-Ear Headphones Is Even Easier
Cleaning over-the-ear headphones involves a different—and much simpler—strategy. All you need to do is wipe the headband cushions, front and back, and sliders off with a damp cloth.
Rub the cloth over the front and back of the cushions in small circular motions. Wipe down the inner parts of the headphones with a dry cloth; a wet cloth could ruin the delicate electronics inside.
Some brands, like Bose, recommend using rubbing alcohol on the plastic exterior; others, like Sony, say solvents can wear down headphone materials. So, read any instructions that come with your buds.
While it might seem like a nuisance to clean your earbuds after every workout, it only takes a minute or two, and doing so could save you an earache and a trip to the doctor’s office.
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