Hello my fellow Clean Freaks, thanks for opening up this week's newsletter. We are so glad to have you back! If you're like my Dad and me, a good song will get you in the mood to clean. That's why one of our most important cleaning tools is our headphones. We personally love Apple Airpods because they are easy to use and work great! So, today we're going to talk about how to get them nice and clean so your cleaning routine never skips a beat!

How to Clean Your AirPods & AirPods Pro

AirPods and their case could probably use a cleaning every day since they typically live among the lint and dust of your purse or backpack. I haven’t even begun to mention the earwax and sweat that starts to build up... 👀

Beware, that build-up of dirt isn’t just gross and stinky, it can damage the performance of the headphones. And, I’m afraid to say that dirty AirPods can contribute to ear infections. Cleaning your AirPods can help you avoid these problems. Also, you don’t need to put much pressure on the AirPods when you put them in your ear canal. By pushing them in too far, you are also shoving earwax further into your ear. That’s not good. 👎

What You’ll Need:

• Rubbing alcohol

• Water

• Container

• Microfiber Towel or soft cloth

• Q-Tips

• Fun-Tak

• Toothpick

• Air-in-a-Can

Full Shopping List Here

Instructions:

1. Blend your cleaning solution.

Fill a small clean container with a 50/50 solution of water and rubbing alcohol. You can use a small amount of isopropyl alcohol if you don’t have rubbing alcohol. In that case, make the ratio 70/30 of water to isopropyl alcohol.

2. Soak the silicone tips in the 50/50 mix. (AirPods Pro Only)

Remove the tips from your wireless earbuds from your AirPods Pro. Let them soak while you clean the rest of your AirPods. By letting them sit in the mixture for an extended time, the solution will better remove the ear wax and oils that have gathered over time.

3. Use your dry microfiber towel to wipe down the Apple AirPods themselves.

AirPods Pros have silicone tips, so you probably won't find much grime on the speaker grill. Feel free to gently brush with a dry soft-bristled toothbrush if you do find a bit of grime. Regular AirPods, though, tend to get quite a bit of buildup on the grill. To remove this, use the Fun-Tak. Roll the Fun-Tak into a ball and gently press it into the grill then slowly pull it back out. This will pull out the grime and not push it further into the mesh. Then, very carefully clean out the edges with a toothpick.

Caution: Be very gentle cleaning the grill because this area is very delicate!

4. Wipe the AirPods charging case with a Q-Tip.

Using a dry Q-Tip, wipe down the inside of the case. Be sure to wipe the AirPod case compartments. There should not be any liquid on the Q-Tip during this step as this can ruin the electrical components. The Q-Tip will pick up any dust and loose dirt particles. There is no need to use abrasive materials when dealing with the sleek surface of your electronic device.

5. Wipe the outside of the case with a damp towel.

Retrieve that microfiber towel once again. Dip it into the 50/50 mix and rub the towel along the entirety of the case. The towel will buff out the imperfections on the case and make it shine once again.

6. Retrieve the ear cushions or earbud tips from the 50/50 solution. (AirPods Pro Only)

Take another Q-Tip and scrub the silicone down. The Q-Tip will remove the grime that the solution loosened while soaking. For a final touch, take a can of air and blast out excess moisture.

7. Allow everything to dry for at least an hour.

Set case, silicone ear tips, and AirPods out to dry. Make sure to wait at least an hour to put them back together. Do not attempt to speed up the process with a hair-blow dryer or other sources of heat! This could ruin them.

After an hour, your AirPod Pros will be ready to use; and they’ll be in tip-top condition, nice and clean!

In most cases, this tutorial will work on all earbud-style headphones.

If you would like step-by-step video instructions, check out the links for both below!

How To Clean AirPods

How To Clean AirPods Pro

Clean Freak Of The Week

Are YOU the next Clean Freak of the Week?

Congratulations to Sheri on being the Clean Freak Of The Week! The winner of the Clean That Up microfiber towels!

This week we are giving away another set of my (yet to be released... 👀) Clean That Up microfiber towels! More info coming on those soon.

Just subscribe to the Clean Freak Weekly and you are in the running. Keep an eye on your inbox each week to see if you are the next Clean Freak of the Week!

See you next week! 💚

Brandon & James

P.S. If you're new here and want to catch up on previous editions of the Clean Freak Weekly you can find them here!

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