Cleaning your headphone jack can surely improve your music, allowing you to receive clearer and cleaner audio feedback than when you allow dirt to accumulate there. Since your headphone jack is the main outlet or port that helps permit your headphones or speakers—to receive audio from your device, it requires regular cleaning. Like any other piece of equipment, however, it requires a careful process that reduces or eliminates damage chances.
Music, and all kinds of audio material, is an essential part of our everyday lives. Most of us rely on our audio devices to receive various auditory materials, including music, news updates, movie dialogues, or even virtual gaming vocals. So, that single round port that’s meant for headphone or speaker connectivity requires frequent cleaning. However, we have to remember that your audio device—whether it’s a smartphone, computer, tablet, or whatnot—is an electronic gadget. Soap and water can easily damage your device’s wires and small parts. You need to use appropriate cleaning methods for your gadget’s headphone jack.
To help you with this, we listed some of the common ways to clean your headphone jack effectively. Note that you should adopt the procedures with complete care to avoid damaging your device. But, first, let’s talk about our headphones.
Why do we need to clean our headphones?
Headphones, like all your other electronic gadgets and accessories, require regular cleaning. If you take out the covering of your earbuds, for instance, you’ll notice that it isn’t as pristine as it used to be back when you first bought it. You’ll see that it’s covered with accumulated dirt, including dust, earwax, hardened oil or grease, maybe even some hard-to-identify stuff.
Our daily use of our headphones inevitably exposes it to so many possibilities. Our earbuds, for example, get to be subjected to our sweat and earwax excretions. They are, of course, also exposed to dust, lint, and other diminutive irritants found in the air, in our pockets, or even from its usual storage place. Thus, your headphones, whether it’s the one with headbands, the on-ear ones, or the in-ear ones, require regular cleaning, as well. You’d surely want to avoid any ear or skin infection that may be caused by such a collection of germs in your favorite audio accessory.
You should also check your headphone cable and plug for corrosion and collected dirt as such accumulation can eventually damage or affect your headphones’ audio feedback in time.
Ways to Clean the Headphone Jack
As we mentioned, your headphone jack requires regular cleaning, as well. Provided below are several surefire ways of cleaning this crucial audio port.
Compressed Air
Easily purchased in any electronic store, a can of compressed air is one of the most accessible and most recommended materials for headphone jack upkeep. This can have a thin and lengthy tube attached to it that gets to blow out accumulated dirt from your headphone jack. Most technicians use compressed air as they clean various parts of the computer, including its fan and hard drive. Cleaning your headphone jack via compressed air is safe—it doesn’t damage your headphone jack and your audio device.
Cotton Swab
If you notice, the cotton swab’s diameter is similar to your headphone jack’s. Carefully insert your cotton swab into your audio device’s headphone jack and gently rotate it inside to remove dust and other accumulated dirt.
You can also dip your swab into a bit of alcohol, squeezing the cotton swab until all the extra liquid is removed, then insert the swab into your headphone jack. After doing so, get another dry cotton swab and carefully insert it into your headphone jack to remove any alcohol that stays, ensuring that your headphone jack is not only clean but also dry.
Headphone Plug
While this method isn’t a recommended cleaning process, you can do this if you don’t have any alternative cleaning tools. When repeatedly inserting and removing your headphone plug from your jack, you can remove the accumulated dirt inside. If you choose to do so, you should remember that this method isn’t as effective as the two ways mentioned above.
You can also spray a bit of alcohol into your plug and remove any dripping with a clean cloth or cotton ball. Insert your headphone plug into your device’s headphone jack, then repeat. Do this until you notice that the inside of your headphone jack is clean.
Be reminded, however, that alcohol is a corrosive liquid. It would be best if you used it sparingly, especially for cleaning electronic devices. Make sure that you do not leave any alcohol inside your headphone jack, as well.
Paperclip
Nevertheless, you can also use a paperclip to clean out your headphone jack. Unfold your paper clip, first, then wind some small amount of tape at its tip. Your tape can help remove any accumulated dirt inside your headphone jack. Insert your taped paper clip into your headphone jack and gently rotate it inside. Ensure that you don’t leave any of the tape in your headphone jack; however, this will cause audio connection issues later on.
Needle
Alternatively, you can use a long needle if you do not have any paper clips. As with the paper clip, however, this object has a sharp tip that can damage your headphone jack if you’re not careful. Wind a small amount of tape at its tip and carefully insert it into your headphone jack. Gently rotate it inside until the collected dirt is removed.
Conclusion
It is essential to remember that your headphones and your audio device’s headphone jack require regular cleaning. Such maintenance provides you with uninterrupted enjoyment of your daily listening experience. It hinders you from catching any skin or ear infections, as well. Dirt, ear wax, grease, and all such irritants get collected in the crevices of your headphones and headphone jack. You need to make sure that you remove them frequently.
Alongside this, you should also clean your audio device as such a collection of various substances may not only damage your electronic devices and accessories in the long run—they may also cause you various health issues if you’re not careful. Just make sure that you don’t damage your electronic gadgets during such cleaning processes.