How to Wash and Maintain Your Earphone Pads: Expert Tips

• For a thorough clean, wash off your earphones with soapy water a few times each year.
• Make sure your earphone pads are totally dry before replacing them.
• If your earphone pads are leather, use leather conditioner twice a year to maintain them.

Cleaning with Soapy Water

Pull your earphone pads off the earphones. Find the elastic band along the base of your padded earphones and pull it off. Since you’re working with electronics, you don’t want to wash your earphone pads while they’re still attached to the earphones! If you don’t remove your earphone pads, you could end up damaging your equipment.

Remove any crumbs or hair with a lint roller. Roll a small lint roller over the surface of your pads as a preliminary way to get rid of anything sticking to your pads. Depending on how dirty your earphones are, you may need to use multiple sheets. You can find lint rollers in most stores that sell pet supplies.

Soak a clean cloth in soapy water. Fill a bowl with clean water, then mix in a spoonful of laundry detergent until suds begin to form. Dip a clean paper towel or cloth into the sudsy water and wring out any of the extra suds.

Wipe off the surface of your pads with the damp cloth. Clean off the surface of your pads, focusing on the areas that touch your ears the most. Wash the entire surface of your earphone pads—even if they don’t look dirty, there’s a good chance that they’ve collected a lot of dirt and sweat over the past few months. Don’t scrub your pads—instead, wipe them down lightly.

Loosen any gunk with a toothbrush and wipe it away. Take a clean, soft-bristled toothbrush and focus on the patches of dirt or grime stuck to your earphone pads. Continue brushing these stubborn spots until the dirt and other gunk loosens up, then wipe it away with your clean, sudsy cloth.

Leave your pads on a dry towel so they can air-dry. Drape a dry paper towel or cloth on a flat, dry surface, then lay your pads face up. Give your pads several hours or days to air-dry completely so they’re no longer damp.

Slide the dry pads back onto your earphones. Stretch the elastic band over the center of your earphones to put the pads back in place. Double-check that the elastic fits comfortably around the earphones and that the pads aren’t shifting.Tip: If you use your headphones every day, you may want to wash them off with soapy water once a week.

Performing Regular Maintenance

Brush off your earphone pads with a soft, dry cloth each time you wear them. Keep a clean cloth near your headphones so you remember to clean them each time you take them off. Gently wipe off the surface of the pads to pick up any lint, dust, or residual sweat. You want to wash or replace your cleaning cloth every month or so.

Replace your headphone pads once every few months. Keep an eye on your pads to see how they’re holding up. If your earphone pads are peeling, super worn out, or just in bad condition overall, look for a new set of pads online. Before making any purchases, double-check the size of your current pads to make sure the new ones will fit correctly. Some sites sell replacement pads for less than $10.

Treat leather headphone pads with leather conditioner twice a year. Pour a pea-sized amount of leather conditioner on a soft cloth and buff it into the surface of your leather pads. Place your conditioned headphones in a dry area so they can air-dry completely. Don’t condition your headphone pads more than twice a year, or they could get moldy. You can find leather conditioner online or in some stores.