Have you ever got anxious because your headphones got wet in rain? Or did you forget your earphones in your pocket while washing your clothes? In any case of wet earphones, we believe they are broken for sure. Today, we will talk about what you can do to save your headphones from water damage. Sure, dry headsets would be so much better, but do not worry! We will cover all of the things you can do to save your pair of headphones. These steps can also be used in your other electronic devices. Keep your headphones safe from water, but when they got wet, do not bother. Just follow this article, we will mention below some tips and steps to increase your chances to save your headphones from water damage.
What happens if your headphones get wet?
Despite popular perception, it is important to note that water alone does not harm headphones. Types of water have different effects. Distilled water would be less harmful than any water. The issue is caused by other minerals and contaminants, and iron in water, these contaminants might be minerals, environmental contamination, and even microorganisms. These contaminants can spread within your headphones and reach key contact points when exposed to water. As a result, they can cause an electric current to flow in places it shouldn’t, resulting in ‘short circuits.’ This is why it is strongly advised that you do not switch on your devices immediately after being soaked in water. This can cause enough electric current to harm your headphones above fixing. Aside from that, rust is another issue that might arise as a result of your headphones coming into touch with water. It is called corrosion. Corrosion is the slow, steady breakdown of metals, such as electronic parts, once they come into touch with a corroding agent, such as water. The most typical and obvious outcome is what we all know as rust. The same impurities that make water conductive are also responsible for increasing its pH (acidity) and putting some metals in danger of corrosion. Water, for example, is corrosive to most metals due to impurities such as chemicals and minerals, whereas organic matter especially targets carbon steel. But they all do the same thing: they corrode metal components. Corrosion is a gradual process, and your headphone may be asymptomatic for days. Some headphones fail for a few days and work fine after that few days.
How water type affects the damage?
As previously stated, water is not to blame for the water damage to your headphones. The issue is caused by the other substances found in the water droplets that got your headphones wet. As a result, different kinds of water have varied impacts on electrical equipment. Seawater, for example, is extremely corrosive due to its high salt content, but deionized water is safe for most metals except carbon steel. Tap water, on the other hand, falls midway in the center, with a pH of 7. Finally, distilled water is the safest for electronics since it has had all of its pollutants removed via several rigorous processes. Don’t confuse distilled water with deionized water. The process involved, as well as the end results, differ. The steps involved in producing distilled water include heating, evaporation, and recondensation. These subsequent procedures successfully eliminate all contaminants from the final product, rendering them totally safe. Unfortunately, the washing machine uses regular water and does not sterilize the water, so if you forget your headphones in your pocket. It would be hard to fix.
Steps to fix water damage on your headphones
Now, we will give you an easy program that consists of six guide steps. This is the most common and effective route you can use.
- As a start, you should get a dry, soft towel and wipe your water-damaged earphones to dry any visible water droplets. Your towel for drying purposes should be cotton for the best results. You should use your dry towel to enhance your drying process. You will get the excess water to decrease the risk of earphone damage.
- This step may change according to the type of earphones. After becoming wet, there’s a good possibility your earbuds’ ear tips will contain some water. The same is true for the earpads of the headphones. Their foams are sponge-like in their ability to absorb liquid. As a result, these removable pieces must be removed promptly and dried separately. For earbuds, just peel the tips off the earpieces with moderate effort. Depending on the type of your earbuds, some may take some twisting. Later, dry your earbuds with air using a gentle cloth. Unlike ear tips, detaching headphone ear pads is a little more difficult. While some ear pads are removable and readily snap out, others are bonded and may require a prying tool to remove. However, a flathead screwdriver or a blunt knife would suffice.
- Thirdly, you have to disassemble your headphones. Although it may appear to be a difficult process, disassembling your headphones is the only method to remove the water inside and to reduce the risk of water remaining inside. There is no common way for removing your headphones/earbuds. How you proceed will be determined by the brand and model. Disassembly will also necessitate the use of specialized tools, such as a flat screwdriver. If you have Apple AirPods or any other water-damaged Apple headphones, you may skip this step. When someone tries to open the casings/shells of Airpods, the circuits are intended to fail. They are designed to be tamper-proof.
- To dilute the water that has become trapped inside your headset, we will need to use distilled water. As previously said, distilled water is safe to use because it has through the appropriate purification steps. These techniques eliminated contaminants that carry electricity and make water corrosive to headphones/earbuds circuits. Distilled water is cleansed, thus diluting the water within your headphones/earbuds will assist in disperse out all the latter’s contaminants, decreasing their conductivity. It will also reduce the corrosive characteristics to safe levels. You should not do this step if you wet your headphones with distilled water. If you did not, you should get a custom box and put your wet earbuds/headphones in. Then you should fill your container with distilled water. You should gently shake the box for five to ten minutes to rinse dirty water from your earbuds without complications. After you can use a Q-Tip swab and soft cloth to dry the parts.
- After cleaning your earbuds from dirty water, you have to shake them gently to get the distilled water drops off. Because it is not recommended to use traditional drying techniques on your headsets, such as hairdryers and sun drying, the easiest approach to remove excess water is to softly shake your headphones/earbuds.
- A desiccant is any item that, by collecting moisture in the air, may aid in the drying process of a wet product, such as water damage headphones. Uncooked rice, quick oatmeal, and silica gel are examples of home desiccants. Uncooked rice is by far the most popular home desiccant. There are several instructional videos and publications that demonstrate its effectiveness. Rice and other forms of starch may also cause a smear and get inside electronic equipment. Furthermore, uncooked rice takes 48 hours to completely dry your headphones. In comparison, silica gel simply needs to dry overnight. This provides you greater flexibility in bringing your gadget to a service facility if the need arises.
