The popular True Wireless headphones from Chinese giant Xiaomi, known in different regions as Airdots, Redmi Buds or Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic, have become the standard of budget sound. However, their design, which involves a deep landing in the ear canal, has one significant disadvantage: they are very quickly contaminated. Earwax, skin fat and dust gradually clog the acoustic mesh, which leads to a decrease in volume, wheezing or the complete disappearance of sound in one of the channels.
Many users mistakenly believe that the device is out of order, and rush to carry it into service or buy a new pair. In most cases, the problem is solved by a simple hygienic procedure. Regular cleaning not only restores the original sound quality, but also prolongs the life of the speakers, preventing moisture and bacteria from entering the body.
In this guide, we will detail how to safely and efficiently clean Xiaomi Airdots headphones. We will look at dry and wet cleaning methods, ways to clean hard-to-reach areas, and precautions that will save your equipment from irreversible damage. Following these guidelines will help you avoid typical mistakes, such as the use of sharp metal objects or aggressive chemistry.
Signs of pollution and necessary tools
Before you start to act, you need to make sure that the problem is pollution. The first and most obvious sign is a decrease in the volume in one or both headphones. If you have to twist the volume of your smartphone to hear music as clearly as before, then the acoustic channels are clogged, and this is also indicated by the appearance of characteristic crackling, hissing or distortion of high frequencies.
Visual inspection often confirms the guess. Look deep into the wire: if you see a yellowish or dark brown coating on the speaker grid, cleaning is necessary immediately. Ignoring this can lead to the fact that sulfur penetrates deeper into the membrane itself, and then it will be almost impossible to restore the device. Xiaomi Airdots do not have official high-level moisture protection, so any liquids should be used with extreme caution.
To perform a high-quality procedure, you will need to prepare a special set of tools. You should not use improvised means at random, as this can lead to damage to the body or electronics.
- 🧶 Cotton sticks (preferably with a thin base and a tight nozzle).
- 🧻 Dry wipes made of microfiber or lilaless fabrics.
- 🧴 Isopropyl alcohol (concentration 70% or higher) or special cleaning spray for electronics.
- 🪥 Soft toothbrush (necessarily dry and clean) or antistatic brush.
- 📎 Stationery plasticine or sticky mass for cleaning (optional).
⚠️ Warning: Never use sharp metal objects such as needles, pins or paper clips to pick through the speaker grid.The sharp edge will easily pierce the protective membrane, resulting in irreversible sound distortion or complete failure of the speaker.
Preparation of the device for cleaning
The effectiveness of cleaning depends on proper preparation. You can't just take an earpiece and start rubbing it with a brush. The first step is always to remove the silicone earpieces. They take the brunt of the dirt and moisture. Take them off carefully by pulling the base, trying not to stretch the rubber too much so that it doesn't break over time.
The removed hoods should be washed separately. Use warm water with a little soft soap. Wash them thoroughly, removing all the sticky plaque, and leave them to dry on a paper towel. Importantly, you can only put them back on the headphones after drying completely. Moisture under the hoods can cause contact oxidation or corrosion of the dynamic head.
While the nozzles are dry, inspect the body of the Xiaomi Airdots headphone itself. Remove visible large pieces of dirt with a dry wipe. If you have the opportunity, blow the sound hole (not with your mouth to avoid adding moisture, but with a pear to clean the optics or a can of compressed air at a minimum distance) This will help to dislodge surface dust before the main cleaning.
Make sure the workspace is well lit. You have to work with small parts, and good light will help you notice the smallest remnants of contamination. It is also recommended to spread all the tools in front of you, so as not to look for the right thing in the process, holding the earpiece in your hands.
Dry cleaning methods of the speaker mesh
The main step in the procedure is to remove the sulfur from the acoustic grid, and you should always start with dry methods, take a dry soft toothbrush or an antistatic brush, walk along the surface of the grid in light, sweeping movements, and move from center to edge to drive the dirt outward rather than pushing it deeper into the body.
If dry cleaning didn't work, you can use a sticky-weight method. Ordinary clay or special cleaning clay is great at pulling contaminants out of the pores of the mesh. Crush a small piece of clay in your hands, stick it on the end of the earpiece, press it slightly and pull it back abruptly. Repeat the procedure several times until the clay is no longer mud.
For more delicate work, use a cotton swab. Press it slightly against the net and gently scrolle it. Don't push hard so that the cotton villi don't get stuck in the grid cells, creating a new problem. If you use a cotton swab, make sure it's dry. Wet cotton can leave villi that stick to the grid.
☑️ Checklist for dry cleaning
After each step, check the result. Turn on the music on your phone and evaluate the changes. Often, even a simple dry brushing will return up to 80% of the lost volume. If the sound is cleaner but still not perfect, you can move to more radical, but neat methods using solvents.
Wet cleaning and disinfection
When dry methods are exhausted, heavy artillery, isopropyl alcohol, comes into play, and it's perfect for electronics because it evaporates quickly without leaving any traces, and it dissolves the fats in earwax perfectly. Critically, never pour alcohol directly onto the earphone! The liquid can leak into the body and damage the battery or control board.
The right technique is to moisten the cotton swab profusely with alcohol, then press it hard against the edge of the vial or napkin. The wand should be wet, but it should not drip. Gently wipe the speaker net, trying not to wet the plastic rim around it. Alcohol will dissolve the old sulfur, after which it must be removed immediately with the dry part of the stick or with a napkin.
You can use napkins that are slightly moistened with alcohol to disinfect the earphone body. Wipe the outside surface, removing skin fat and bacteria. This is especially true if you have more than one person on the headphone or if you wear it in the gym. The cleanliness of the outer body prevents new dirt from coming in when you re-installe the earbuds.
⚠️ Warning: Avoid using acetone, paint solvents or aggressive household cleaners.They can melt the plastic of the Xiaomi Airdots body or make it cloudy and sticky.
After wet treatment, let the headphones lie down for 5-10 minutes in a well-ventilated place, guaranteed to remove the alcohol residue, and only after making sure the device is completely dry can you install dried silicone nozzles and check the operation.
Cleaning the charging case and contacts
Often users forget that dirt accumulates not only on the headphones themselves, but also in the charging case. Dust and pile, getting into the recess of the case, can interfere with the tight fit of the headphones, as a result of which the contacts do not close properly, and the device stops charging or charges unstablely.
To clean the case, use a dry cotton swab or toothpick wrapped in a dry wipe. Walk carefully through the indentations, cleaning up the accumulated debris. Pay special attention to the metal contacts (pins) at the bottom of the indentations and on the headphones themselves. If they are oxidized or contaminated, wipe them with a dry cloth or stick slightly moistened with alcohol.
| Element | Tool. | Cleaning method | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silicone nozzles. | Warm water, soap. | Washing and drying | Once a week. |
| Dynamic grid | Dry brush, plasticine | Sweeping, pulling | Every 2-3 days |
| Headphone case | Microfibre napkin | Wipe down | As pollution progresses |
| Charging contacts | Cotton swab, alcohol | Careful wiping. | When you have problems with charging |
Regular cleaning of the case also prevents the appearance of unpleasant odor that can occur due to the reproduction of bacteria in the confined space of the plastic case.
What if the sound is completely gone after cleaning?
Typical errors and precautions
In the quest to save your favorite headphones, users often make mistakes that lead to final failure. One of the most common is the use of a vacuum cleaner. The suction power of a household vacuum cleaner can be too great for a miniature speaker to just rip the membrane off the coil. If you really want to try, use the vacuum cleaner only at minimum power and do not bring the tube close.
Another mistake is using toothpicks without protection, a sharp wooden or plastic tip can easily damage the net, and if you use a toothpicker, make sure to wrap the tip of the toothpicker around with a small piece of cotton or soft tissue, which will mitigate the impact and prevent mechanical damage.
Keep your ears safe. Dirty earbuds are a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause inflammation of the ear canal or fungal infection. Regular hygiene of gadgets is not just a matter of engineering, but also a matter of health. When cleaning, try not to touch the insides of the ear with dirty hands immediately after the procedure.
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Use ultraviolet drying for shoes (small size) to disinfect headphones, place them in a UV camera for 5-10 minutes after cleaning - this will kill 99% of bacteria and prevent the appearance of odor.
If you notice that the speaker mesh is damaged or deformed, you better stop using the earpiece. The damaged mesh will not protect the insides from a new dose of sulfur and moisture, which will quickly disable the device, in such cases, it sometimes helps to neatly replace the mesh, if you can find a suitable size in the radio parts stores.
Pollution prevention and care
To avoid having to do a lot of time-consuming cleaning, you should follow simple rules of operation: try not to touch the headphones with dirty or greasy hands. If you just left the gym, let the device and ears dry from sweat before putting them in the case. The moisture in the closed case creates the perfect environment for germs to multiply.
Keep Xiaomi Airdots in a dry place. Don't leave the case open in a dusty environment or where pets can reach it. Wool and dust instantly clog the holes. Using silin protective covers for the case itself will also help keep it clean, although it won't save you from contamination of the internal speakers.
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to disassemble the headphones completely by unscrewing the screws or unplugging the body unless you have experience and special tools. Inside are miniature plumes and batteries that are very easy to damage. This will deprive you of warranty and can lead to breakage.
Following these simple guidelines will allow your headphones to last a long time and delight with clean sound. Remember that Xiaomi Airdots is a reliable device, but it requires careful treatment and regular care, like any other gadget that comes into contact with the human body.
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The main secret of a long life of headphones is not to wait for complete contamination, but to carry out a light preventive cleaning once a week, giving it only 2-3 minutes.