How to safely clean wax out of your earbuds

Earwax can muffle music or worse - kill your earbuds entirely. It's not hard to keep things in working order.

Humans are disgusting creatures. One thing I always notice when I see someone else's earbuds is a bit of earwax hanging off the end. Earwax serves its purpose for the body, but the waxy substance can do some serious damage to your earbuds. This ranges from making your music sound muddy, all the way to killing the speakers entirely.

Here's how to safely clean earwax from your earbuds!

• Materials you'll need
• How to clean your earbuds
• How to prevent your earbuds from getting dirty

Materials you'll need

Earbud speakers are delicate, so we won't use anything too heavy to clean them. Here's what you need to clean your earbuds:

• Warm, soapy water
• 2 new, soft toothbrushes
• Hydrogen Peroxide - 3%

How to clean your earbuds

1. Remove the gel or foam ear tips from the earbuds.
2. Place these in the warm soapy water and let them soak for at least thirty minutes.
3. Brush any excess dirt or wax from the ear tips.
4. Rinse the ear tips with clean water and let them air dry.
5. Dip the other toothbrush in the hydrogen peroxide.
6. Shake the toothbrush to get rid of as much excess peroxide as possible.
7. Hold the earbud with the speaker facing downward - you don't want any liquid getting in the speaker, and you don't want any of the dirt getting pushed deeper into the speaker.
8. Brush in one direction to prevent dirt from going into the speaker itself.
9. Use some hydrogen peroxide or clean water to gently wipe around the speakers to clean any other dirt or wax.
10. Let the earbuds dry for at least 12 hours, again with the speakers facing downward if you can.
11. When you're about to use the earbuds again, playing some music on full volume for a few seconds to shake out any leftover liquid.

How to prevent your earbuds from getting dirty

Prevention is the best medicine, and preventing dirt is more important than cleaning that dirt up in the end. The best tip for keeping your earbuds from getting dirty is to regularly and safely clean your ears. The ear tips will likely pick up a bit of dirt regardless, but these are less delicate than the speakers inside your earbuds.

What say you?

How often do you clean your headphones? Let us know down below!