How to Clean your Headphones and Handsfree?

Fizza AtiqueLast Updated: Aug 6, 2021

These days it is more important than before to keep your handsfree and headphones clean. The reason behind this is the global pandemic that we are facing for almost the last two years. But even if Covid is over, keeping your gadgets cleans, especially those which have close contact with your ears is very important due to hygienic issues. Since the headphones are used daily, they get germs which can be very injurious for your health.

To keep yourself safe from skin diseases, it’s imperative that you should make cleaning headphones and handsfree a routine. In this guide, I will share my own experience regarding the cleaning of earbuds and headphones, so if you guys have something more to add, you are most welcome and can let us know by writing in the comment section at the bottom. So let’s start with the headphones cleaning guide.

Why should you clean your headphones?

While many people would not be pleased with the drill of clearing their headphones but sometimes disassembling handsfree or headphones for a good reason is a blessing for your own future health. For those who are still not convinced, in 2008 a study revealed that dirty earbuds may not cause direct infections but they can play a vital role in transferring it to others.

So if you share your headphones with somebody having an ear infection, it can be easily passed to you and with others with whom you will share it later on.

The same goes for you that if you have an ear infection, you can pass it to other friends upon sharing it. Furthermore, too much usage of gadgets (which is the new normal these days) increases the level of humidity in our ears which makes them bacteria friendly.

If your handsfree fall on the floor, you should clean them as soon as possible as they might have watched some germs from the floor that can damage your ears. Sadly, since children, we are told to keep our things clean, but we do not listen to it.

So in either of the case mentioned above, it is important to keep our hands free clean.

How to clean your headphones?

While different headphones and handsfree require different cleaning techniques due to the change in their shapes and sizes, but the main cleaning tool remains the same. Below is the tool list that you should have in order to keep your gadgets clean.

Paper towels
Toothbrush
Tweezers
Cotton swabs
Rubbing alcohol (more potent than 63%) or Diluted bleach or Hydrogen peroxide
Hand soap
Gloves
Safety goggles or Glasses

All the above things mentioned above will make your overall cleaning process streamlined. If you use the correct equipment as mentioned above, you will most likely be cleaning all the germs associated with your headphones. The alcohol or bleach easily washes off your hands but be careful as it comes in contact with the eyes, it can cause serious itching so it is better to use glassed.

So you have to disassemble headphones depending on the kinds you have. If possible you need to remove ear pads and extend the headband to the maximum extent so that your headphone gets cleaned completely. In short, you need to clean both inner and outer.

Cleaning large dirt and debris

When you are done with the above step, take your toothbrush to clean each and every inch of you headphone. However, you need to be careful with your headphone drivers.

So when you are done with removing dirt with the help of your toothbrush, you need to look for the smaller dust or some hairs that usually get stuck. To remove them, you need to grab tweezers as they offer enhanced precision.

Now if you are satisfied with dirt removal, it’s time for disinfecting your headphone.

Disinfecting your headphones

Place your headphone on a towel and get the cleaning liquid ie; hydrogen peroxide. So in order to apply it, you should choose cotton and dab it in the liquid. As the earpads are removed, clean them first and move to the headband first. Once you have completely cleaned it, dry them off with a towel.