The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Cleaning and Sanitizing AirPods - Insights

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Surprise! Those AirPods that you stick in your ears on a regular basis – sometimes for hours on end, often when you’re sweating in the gym – need an occasional cleaning.

Also: How to choose the best AirPods for you: Expert advice

Some people just give them a wipe and get on with their day, while others want to go all the way and fully clean and sanitize their AirPods.

Well, my AirPods Pro have seen a lot of use, and they could do with a clean, so I thought that I’d bring you along for the ride.

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links

If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

How to clean and sanitize your AirPods

Note that while I’m cleaning AirPods Pro here, the process is similar for the standard AirPods. Apple also offers an official guide on how to clean AirPods , but below is a more in-depth breakdown of how to get the most gunk out of your earbuds.

What you’ll need:

• A couple of Q-tips or a cleaner kit .
• A couple of lens wipes.
• Optional: A disposable surface for the cleaning process, like a paper towel (so your table doesn’t get covered in earwax).
• Optional: A reliable AirPods case will keep the earbuds and the charging cradle safe and secure.

The cleaning bench.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

I’ve come across people who use isopropyl alcohol for cleaning but I’m reluctant to drench AirPods in a solvent. I don’t think that dissolving earwax and pushing it deeper into the earbuds is all that good for them in the long run. Then there’s the possibility of damaging plastics.

Also: The best earbuds you can buy

These lens wipes are inexpensive and only contain 40-50% alcohol, so they’re less abrasive and fit for cleaning glasses, camera lenses, screens, and, in this case, AirPods.

1. Assess the damage

First, I assessed just how bad things are. My second-generation AirPods Pro are about a year old. Despite a lot of use, they look quite new. The charging case lives inside another protective case – one from ESR – and apart from being dirty, looks like new.

I highly recommend keeping the AirPods charging case inside another protective case, especially if you plan on selling or passing them on at some point. A protective case really does prevent scratches and chips.

Lots of “buildup.”

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

I noticed that there’s also a fair bit of muck trapped in the Lightning port.

A little bit of dirt in the charge port

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

2. Clean the case

I started with the case. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in this design, and they trap a lot of debris. Around the hinge area, where the AirPods sit, and the connectors at the bottom that supply power to charge up the earbuds all seem to be muck magnets.

Also: My search for the ultimate AirPods Pro case is over

However, it’s nothing that a lens wipe and a Q-tip can’t solve. I will wrap a lens wipe around the Q-tip to remove stuck-on dirt. I was actually surprised how easily it lifted off.

The Q-tip was particularly handy for cleaning around the charge connectors, however, be careful, because you don’t want to break the delicate connectors, because if you do that, you’ll be buying a new charge case.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

3. Clean the AirPods

Start by gently pulling on the silicone earbud tip to remove it. Then, use a Q-tip and wipe to clean inside and out.

The silicone earbud tips held quite a bit of debris.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Finally, give the earbud itself a good wipe, and you’re done.

Cleaning the silicone earbud tip.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

4. Clean the charge port

To clean the charge port, I urge caution. If it’s not filthy, leave it alone, because the risk to breaking it outweighs the benefits.

If you must clean it, what I do is roll up a lens wipe into a point and gently – with a lot of caution – use it to remove the worst of the debris.

Also: The best noise-canceling earbuds

Be careful, and don’t go full gorilla on it, because the last thing you want to do is break something.

Gently cleaning the charge port

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

My AirPods Pro definitely don’t look like new, but they do look a lot cleaner and are a lot more hygienic.

Mostly clean, but a lot more hygienic.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

FAQs

Why do you use lens wipes?

I use lens wipes because they are lint-free, use a tiny amount of cleaning fluid (so as not to soak things), and are designed not to harm plastics and the delicate coating on items.

How often should you clean your AirPods?

It really depends. Probably every few months would help to keep the AirPods looking fresh. However, It’s probably been over a year since I cleaned my AirPods Pro case, so to each their own.

Why do my AirPods sound muffled?

The build-up of debris or earwax can affect the sound output quality of your AirPods, so giving them a thorough cleaning to see if dirt is interfering with sound may save you a trip to the Apple store.

Can I use hydrogen peroxide to clean AirPods?

Never use hydrogen peroxide, solvents, or any abrasive cleaners to clean your AirPods as these can damage them.

The same goes for household cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. You should also never submerge your case or AirPods in any cleaning solutions or water. A Q-tip, lens wipe, and some meticulous cleaning is all it takes to get them in top shape.

Featured

We’ve used every iPhone 16 model and here’s our best buying advice for 2024

20 years later, real-time Linux makes it to the kernel - really

My biggest regret with upgrading my iPhone to iOS 18 (and I’m not alone)

Want a programming job? Learn these three languages

• We’ve used every iPhone 16 model and here’s our best buying advice for 2024
• 20 years later, real-time Linux makes it to the kernel - really
• My biggest regret with upgrading my iPhone to iOS 18 (and I’m not alone)
• Want a programming job? Learn these three languages

Also read: