How to Clean iPhone Speakers: Methods

Cleaning your technological devices may be one of the things that you overlook the most in your everyday life. Through a constant flow of going to work, cleaning your living space, caring for your family, finding time for self-care, and everything else in between in your busy life, you could very easily overlook the importance of keeping your electronics clean and functional.

While it may seem like a pain, with proper preparedness and knowledge, cleaning your electronics is a breeze. In this article, we will unpack the importance and easy technique of cleaning out the speakers on your iPhone without damaging the grate itself.

Read on for the top cleaning tips and tricks.

Why Should I Clean My Electronics?

This may seem like a silly question, but as our elementary school teachers told us: there are no such things as silly questions.

However, sometimes we put things off because we are so busy. We may not realize our tech is due for a good scrub until something actually happens, like our charging port not working, a broken button, or someone makes a comment on how nasty our headphones are in front of our boss.

Read more about why cleaning iPhones should be common practice so that the whole cleaning process itself is easier and more effective.

It Is a Legitimate Personal Health Practice

There are many benefits to cleaning and caring for your electronic devices beyond just how they look. Cleaning them also helps keep you safe, as a new study suggests your keyboard, for instance, is about 20,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat on a bacterial level.

This goes for your iPhone as well, including all the nooks and crannies such as the charging port and speakers. Dirt, grime, and bacteria all build up and become a hotbed for germs.

By cleaning the smallest and most annoying parts of your phone, you can cut down on the number of germs crawling around on your already germ-laden device.

It Increases the Efficiency of Your Device

On top of the health considerations, it is healthy for your device. It is not uncommon for your device to deteriorate and become less efficient over time. This could be due to the natural degradation of devices and parts such as your phone’s battery, or it could be because of abuse or lack of care for your device in general.

In the case of phone speakers, there is a natural degradation, but care also extends the life of your speakers in both volume and tone. Because of this, keeping up on proper care is important for the life of your speakers’ long-term efficiency.

With these two major upsides of cleaning the annoying parts of your phone, we will now explore the most efficient and effective methods to keep up with the care of your phone. Before that, we will look at preventing debris from getting into the speakers in the first place.

Prevention

Preventing the debris from entering the iPhone speakers is perhaps the most effective way to keep the speakers clean and efficient in the first place. While you cannot keep it out completely, it is still a helpful step to keeping your speakers clean.

The Case You Have Matters

The first piece is keeping a case on your iPhone. Because of the construction of the more recent iPhones with the speakers on the bottom of the phone flush with the bottom, dirt and grime can easily enter any time the bottom of your phone comes in contact with a surface. A case gives a bit of a buffer between the speakers and the surface.

We at Andar have worked hard to create beautiful and effective cases for your iPhone that can help keep debris out of your iPhone speakers. The Marshal is especially effective because of its larger clearance from case bottom to speakers themselves. Cleaning the case itself is also important for the prevention of dirt and dust buildup!

Like with all of our Andar products, it is made with beautiful full-grain leather that is meant to last and improve its look with age. We have spent a lot of hours making sure that our cases are both great-looking and functional for all different uses.

Storing Your Phone

While the case you have definitely impacts the amount of debris that comes into your iPhone speakers, there are also practical choices of where you store your phone that will impact it. For example, storing your iPhone in a micro-fiber bag or clutch will fill up your speakers with debris. In addition, keeping it in your work pants that have dirt and sand all through them will fill up your speakers, scratch your screen, and limit the lifespan of your phone overall.

Because of this, consider storing your iPhone in a more tech-friendly way that does not batter your phone as much. This cannot always be achieved in the long run and in all situations, but it is something to consider if it can be done with how you use your phone day-to-day.

These little tips and tricks will really help extend the life of your speakers and phone in general, but there are still going to be pesky little pieces of debris that make it through your preventative measures, so now we will get into the cleaning methods that will be as effective, easy, and painless as possible.

How To Clean Your iPhone Speakers

This process will be broken down into a “dos” and “don'ts” list for cleaning your iPhone speakers. We will break down the common mistakes made when trying to clean out the speakers and some helpful alternative ways to keep your speakers loud and free from grime.

The List of “Don’ts”

We all make mistakes from time to time… but making an iPhone-based mistake can prove pricey. When it comes to cleaning your iPhone speakers, there are things that many people use that are either inefficient or, worse, do some serious damage.

Avoid any sharp metal object. You have probably seen people use a disassembled paper clip to clean out the speakers and many other parts of their iPhones.

This is really not recommended as this can both damage the grate and actually work against you. It can push the dirt further into the speaker and thus continue to block the sound from escaping.

Avoid using any liquid cleaners to loosen the debris. This includes any form of cleaning alcohol. While in some areas of the iPhone and electronics, in general, you can use liquid cleaners, the speakers are not one of these areas.

The liquid will damage the hardware of the speakers themselves, so while it is effective at cleaning the outside of the speakers, the insides will suffer.

Avoid compressed air canisters. These have been a mainstay in electronic cleaning since Bill Gates was a nerd in his garage, but they have very little place in this guide. They do not generally damage the speakers if used properly, but they are not very effective at lifting the debris from the grate.

The List of “Dos”

There are a few products that will make cleaning out your iPhone speakers much easier. Overall, these products are cheap and easy to find and can save you money in the long run by keeping your phone functional!

Add these to your check-out cart:

A small soft-bristled brush. These are easy to find and very affordable. Use the brush at an angle to scrape and flip the dirt and debris up and out of the speakers themselves. This is perhaps the most important product for this task.
Cleaning Putty. After you have done this, consider investing in a cleaning putty for electronics. This is also easy to find at an electronics store. This will effectively lift the dirt instead of squishing it further into the speakers, so it is an essential part of this process. Put a little bit of it on a paper clip and gently press and lift the dirt off of the grate. (Also, this is just super satisfying to watch.)
Small Air Blower. Lastly, try investing in a small air blower. It is easy to find and use. The non-compressed air will be softer on the speakers and more effective at blowing the dirt out and not in. Once again, keep it at an angle to keep the dirt from falling down further into the speakers.

A Little Maintenance Goes a Long Way

You ever heard that preemptive care is the best cure? That’s true for medical health and your iPhone’s health. Luckily, by following a few simple tips and tricks, cleaning the speakers on your iPhone can actually be kinda fun.

Keeping on top of things like this will work to your advantage and keep the speakers from seeming muffled and ineffective because, let’s face it, you do not want the video you are showing your friend to flop because they cannot hear a single thing. A little maintenance on this little thing can keep you from being frustrated in the moment!

Sources:

Gross Alert, Your Computer Keyboard Is 20,000 Times Dirtier Than A Toilet Seat | Huffington Post

Why the iPhone and Other Phones Lose Battery Life Over Time | Business Insider

Do Speakers Wear Out? And If So, What Causes It? | Geek Musician