Hearing noises above 70 dB over a long period can start damaging your hearing and audio above 120 dB can cause serious harm to your ears. However, if you have to work in a noisy environment, the good news is that you can prevent hearing loss by using hearing protection devices such as earplugs or earmuffs. But when they get dirty then how do clean headphone earmuffs?
Now, the question that arises here is how to clean headphone earmuffs to increase the product’s lifespan and protect yourself from harmful ear infections as dirty earbuds are the most common reason for painful ear infections.
Reasons Why Earmuffs Get Dirty?
There are potential reasons why earmuffs get dirty.
- The ear wax of your ears accumulates from the corners of your headset foam pads to your headphones. using headphones for a long time makes your ears sweaty and sticky because of ear wax.
- Headphones foam pads specially velour foam pads catch dust and grime very easily, which needs to be cleaned to maintain better sound quality.
- Headphones earmuffs are made up of soft material that easily absorbs sweat and makes earcups filthy.
- Sebum (an oily, waxy substance produced by your skin) makes the parts of earmuffs that are in contact with your skin dirty.
How to Clean Headphone Earmuffs:
The process of how to clean headphone earmuffs consists of the following steps.
What are the Materials Needed to Clean Earmuffs?
To clean your earmuffs, the material you required are:
- Microfiber cloth
- Q-tip cotton buds
- Soapy Water
- Soft-bristled brush or toothbrush
- Rubbing alcohol/ Hydrogen peroxide
Cleaning Process:
Cleaning headphones and earmuffs is somehow trickier. Make sure you clean them carefully and do not end up on amazon buying another headphone earmuff for you. Following are the Step-by-step instructions for cleaning the headphone foam pads.
i. Removing excess Dirt and Debris:
First, make sure your headsets are not connected and turned off before starting the cleaning process. Remove the exterior parts of headphones such as foam earpads.
Now, wipe out excess dust and debris with a small piece of microfiber cloth. As it doesn’t damage sensitive parts of headphones earmuffs. Use Q-tip cotton buds to clean the inside corners of ear pads.
ii. Cleaning the Earmuffs with Soap and Water:
Take a small piece of cloth and dip it into a mixture of soap and lukewarm water. Make sure there is a small amount of water on the cloth and the inner sound attenuating parts of the headsets will not get wet, not even a little bit because it will cause serious damage to the sound quality of your headset.
iii. Drying the Earmuffs:
Before reattaching the earmuffs, dry them with paper towels or leave them to air dry completely. Make sure you remove every drop of liquid so that they did not affect the sensitive electronic parts of the headsets. Otherwise, you will be in great trouble.
iv. Sanitizing with Rubbing Alcohol:
To kill harmful bacteria that are residing inside the headphone’s earmuffs, dampen the microfiber cloth in isopropyl alcohol and gently rub it from the right to the left side and left to the right side of the headband and earmuffs.
Then take a Q-tip cotton bud, soak it in rubbing alcohol, and clean the nooks of ear pads and headbands gradually. It not only removes bacteria but also maintains the shiny look of your headset.
Tips for Maintaining Clean Headphone Earmuffs:
1. Regular Cleaning Schedule:
The cleaning schedule of earmuffs depends upon the usage and varies from person to person. If you have excessive use of headphones daily, you should clean them daily. If you use headphones often, there is no need to rinse them with alcohol regularly.
i. For daily users:
Daily headphones users should use neat and clean earmuffs. As dirty ear pads not only result in a shorter lifespan but also caused serious and painful ear infections. It is better to clean their headphones on daily basis, instead of ending up in a hospital. Neat ear pads are also essential for experiencing better sound quality.
ii. For Occasional Users:
A person who uses headphones two or three days a week should clean them according to the above procedure at least once a week. However, if you are cleaning your headphone once a week, you should keep in mind that the surface that needs to be cleaned, should be moistened.
2. Avoid Using Harsh Chemicals:
To clean your headphones, we suggested you avoid aggressive solvents such as ethanol, acetone, and chemicals containing bleach. As they are harmful to the headphone’s outer surface and ruin the shine of your headphones.
You can use a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75 percent ethyl alcohol wipe, or Clorox disinfecting wipe to clean headphones ear pads. These chemicals are suitable for the headphones and did not affect the manufacturing material of headphones earmuffs.
3. Storing Headphones Properly:
Headphones are the precious assets of many gamers and streamers. Therefore, it is necessary to store them properly to increase the product’s life and maintain its sound quality. Follow are the few methods to store headphones properly:
- If your headphones earmuffs have a case, place them in them when you are not using them, it will save them from dust and protect them from getting damaged.
- If they do not have a case, then instead of throwing them in your hand-carry bag or your backpack, purchase online an attractive case for them. You can also easily find them in electronics shops. Taking care is better than losing them or tangling with other stuff.
- Avoid bending the wires of headphones too much, it might cause damage to the cord and affect the sound quality.
- Keep your headphones on a stand, if you frequently use them. Make sure the stand is capable enough to support the headband of your headphones.
Conclusion:
Dirty headphones earmuffs badly affect the sound quality and you experience muffled unclear sound. You should clean them frequently if you do not want to compromise on sound quality.
Furthermore, it is also observed that dirty earmuffs not only result in causing infection in the ear canal, known as swimmer’s ear, but they also caused acne due to the pressure and friction that dirty earmuffs put on your skin.
Cleaning earmuffs by using the simple steps described above is better than doctor’s appointments. However, you should follow these steps cautiously, a little mistake results in the failure of the sound quality of your headphone.
FAQs:
How to remove the smell from headphones pads?
Because of the accumulation of ear wax and sweat, headphones begin to smell. However, if you take proper care of your earmuffs and frequently rinse them with soapy water and alcohol, you can easily prevent your headphones earmuffs from smelling bad and maintain better sound quality.
How to clean earphones from ear wax?
If your earbuds have a cleaning tool, use its metal tip to clean the ear wax, but do not push it further in. However, if you do not have a cleaning tool, use a Q-tip-shaped cotton swab, dipped it in soapy water, and gradually clean the earwax with it. Clean earmuffs separately with earphone tips, so that the wax does not get jammed in the corners of headphones.
How to clean headphone headbands?
You can clean the headband of your headphone similarly to the earmuffs, with the help of a microfiber cloth or soft bristle brush with soapy water. However, if there is a really bad stain that cannot remove by soapy water and rubbing alcohol then you can use a melamine foam eraser sponge on the headband of your headphones to remove the stain safely.
How to remove oil from headphones?
A soft-bristled brush or microfiber cloth with soapy water is enough to remove skin oil from areas of headphones earmuffs that are in contact with your skin.
How to clean gaming headset ear pads?
Gaming headset ear pads have lots of wax and skin oil accumulated in them because of long-lasting use and contact with the skin. However, you can use a soft-bristled brush to loosen the ear wax then use a microfiber cloth dipped in a solution of mild soap and water to remove ear wax and dirt from gaming headsets. If there is any debris inside the earcups, make sure you also remove them while cleaning your headset.
How to clean wired earphones?
Use soapy water and alcohol in an above-described manner to clean headphones earmuffs, headband, and wire of the headphones to kill bacteria and germs living on their surface. The alcohol will evaporate on its own and you will not have to worry about the water entrance in sensitive parts. However, you can treat the wire of headphones in the same way but stick to a dry cloth, when you are cleaning its jack.
