Sweat Smell Airpods Max (and silicone ear cushions)

[Andain]

Hello everyone, if this was posted before I do apologize as I did attempt a search and couldn't find in particular what I was interested in.

After 2 years of being on the fence, finally got them brand new off Amazon for a bit of a discount.

Thing is, I use them a lot, walk a lot with them too (no actual work outs as these are not work out headphones, have the beats fit pro for that). After only 1 month they got unbearably smelly.

I"ve scorched the whole of reddit but wanted too see what the folks of MacRumors are sharing as well.

First off, I will not spend $500 on headphone to waste 1-2 days a week (drying waiting/process included) just to wash my ear cushions. I waste less time for my weekly laundry lol. It's simply outrageous. Never had any smell issues with any of my headphones (be it in-ear/on/over ear) in my entire life. Actually, before buying these, had my Beats Solo Pro (day 1 late 2019 purchase) every single day for basically short of 4 years, in the summer scorching sun, same process, long walks, long listening sessions etc. And absolutely no smell issues even when a high level of sweat was on them.

An apparent fix would be silicone ear cushion covers that run around $15-25, but they seem to more often than not interfere with the sound quality AND noise cancellation and bluetooth reception as the cans may sometimes loose connection. Has anyone used the silicone covers (for the cushions, not the headphones) for an extended length of time ?

IF there is not fix for this, this would be the textbook definition of a dealbreaker.

Can't spend $69 a monthly basis for ear cups.

 

[russell_314]

This would be my recommendation

 

[floral]

I thought it was generally accepted that you do a quick wash on earbuds (you know, things that regularly lurk around stuff like earwax and ear sweat... gross!) every week or so to keep them fresh.

Obviously don't dunk them in a bathtub. Just rub a damp cloth over the touchy parts every week or so and it should be fine.

 

[Andain]

I thought it was generally accepted that you do a quick wash on earbuds (you know, things that regularly lurk around stuff like earwax and ear sweat... gross!) every week or so to keep them fresh.

Obviously don't dunk them in a bathtub. Just rub a damp cloth over the touchy parts every week or so and it should be fine.

Yes, indeed, I haven't mentioned it in my original post. I clean all my gear (keyboard, monitors,phone, macbooks, even tv remotes, dualsense controllers etc) on a weekly basis with some Zeiss Wipes (strongly recommend them, here's a link : https://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-Mo...=1694460897&sprefix=zeiss+wipe,aps,168&sr=8-6)

But all of that takes me 10 minutes, maybe 15.

The thing is, simply "spraying" the ear cushions will not cut it. They are made out of a fabric mesh whatever it's called. It's basically like regular laundry. You can tell by the smell of the odor is strongly impregnated in the cushions, it's not just "on the surface sweat".

 

[floral]

Yes, indeed, I haven't mentioned it in my original post. I clean all my gear (keyboard, monitors,phone, macbooks, even tv remotes, dualsense controllers etc) on a weekly basis with some Zeiss Wipes (strongly recommend them, here's a link : https://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes/dp/B0030E4UIQ/ref=sr_1_6_pp?crid=30UGQSXAQ4XYA&keywords=zeiss+wipes&qid=1694460897&sprefix=zeiss+wipe,aps,168&sr=8-6)

But all of that takes me 10 minutes, maybe 15.

The thing is, simply "spraying" the ear cushions will not cut it. They are made out of a fabric mesh whatever it's called. It's basically like regular laundry. You can tell by the smell of the odor is strongly impregnated in the cushions, it's not just "on the surface sweat".

Right, which is why rubbing a cloth over it would properly clean them (I hope?)