Sweat Can Damage Your Earbuds

Sweat Can Damage Your Earbuds 

And Other Devices If You’re Not Careful.
Here’s What Experts Recommend.
Originally Published July 29, 2024 in “Wirecutter” By Rose Maura Lorre. Rose Maura Lorre is a writer on Wirecutter’s discovery team. She has reported on turkey fryers, composters, body pillows, and more.

What does protecting earbuds from sweat have to do with SwampButt Underwear or keeping our backsides dry? On the surface, not anything. But since so many of us like to bike or run or walk with our earbuds in, it is a good time to wear that SwampButt Underwear. If the inside of ones ears are getting sweaty enough to ruin earbuds, it’s reasonable to assume that backsides are wetter too. That same person could benefit from a pair of sweat wicking SwampButt Underwear.

More often than people may realize or care to admit, everyone uses their personal tech devices in ways that border on abuse.

Rigging a sports bra strap as a makeshift smartphone holder. Wiping away brow sweat with your smartwatch. Licking or sucking on AirPods before sticking them in your ears, ostensibly to create a tighter seal or to clean them. (Yuck! Seriously, don’t.) Whether on a run, at the gym, or just going about their everyday lives, many people have been guilty of those things and more.

While modern devices are designed to withstand everyday wear and tear—including exposure to small amounts of moisture—they’re not entirely invincible, especially when summer rolls around and life gets a lot sweatier.

Although it’s rare, some gadgets can be destroyed beyond repair by perspiration, which can deteriorate your tech over time. “Elements in your sweat can build up and clog, corrode, or break down all sorts of things,” says senior staff writer Lauren Dragan, our in-house headphones expert. Adds senior editor Caitlin McGarry, who heads Wirecutter’s tech coverage, “Sweat is more actually damaging than water due to its salt and mineral content.” (Though if your gear does sustain water damage, we have some suggestions on how to fix it.)

Fortunately, you can take several measures to ensure that your sweat doesn’t do any real damage to your smartphone, smartwatch, or earbuds in the long run.

Check your devices’ IP ratings (especially your ear gear)
An IP (ingress protection) rating is a two-digit code that grades how well a device resists water and dust. The first digit measures protection from dust on a scale from 0 to 6. The second digit measures moisture resistance on a scale from 0 to 9, and the higher the number, the better the device’s ability to keep sweat or water from getting inside.

Lauren recommends buying IP-rated devices at the level that fits your lifestyle. “If you’re just someone who occasionally glistens on a warm day, IPX4 is fine,” she says. “But if you’re an ultra-marathoner in a humid place who sweats heavily and uses a lot of sunscreen and hair gel, get a much higher set of numbers.”

If anything’s going to get ruined by sweat, it’s probably your earbuds.Caitlin agrees. “Anything above an IPX4 is resistant to sweat,” she says. “But if you’re regularly running marathons in the rain, you might want to look for a device with a higher IP rating for more protection.”

Based on our experts’ personal experiences, if anything is going to get ruined by sweat—and should therefore be something that you purchase with higher IP ratings in mind—it’s probably your earbuds.

“I personally have murdered a pair of first-generation AirPods by wearing them for near-daily workouts over the course of a year,” Caitlin says. “The exposure to sweat corroded the earbuds’ batteries, which was visibly evident by the blue-green substance that oozed out of the stems of both ’buds.”

Lauren heard a similar cautionary tale from a Wirecutter reader who managed to “kill” her earbuds in just a few hours. “She ran into a friend on a run and wanted to chat as they jogged,” Lauren explains. “She didn’t have pockets, so she tucked her earbuds into her sports bra … and left them there for the jog, a coffee, and the commute home.”

All of our wireless earbuds picks come with a rating of IPX4 or higher. If moisture resistance is particularly important to you, consider our top-pick workout headphones, the JBL Reflect Aero TWS pair, which has an IP68 rating, or our budget wireless earbuds pick, the IPX7-rated EarFun Free 2S pair. Don’t forget that the plastic or leather earcups found on many headphones are also susceptible to sweat damage and therefore need to be wiped down on the regular. “I’ve certainly heard of foam earcups on headphones degrading quickly by not cleaning it all or not enough,” says staff writer Roderick Scott, who covers smartphones, tablets, and accessories. “Seriously, it looked like the material aged 40 years in the time span of a few months.” Limit how much your devices come into contact with your skin
Your sports bra or the elastic waistband of your shorts is not the best place to store your tech, especially during or after a workout.

Although you can’t always avoid close contact—earbuds can go only in your ear canals, for example, and a smartwatch is made to live on your wrist—the more you can do to put a layer of protection between you and your stuff, the better. Caitlin recommends using an armband or running belt for your phone. Note: You can also use the latter to stash your earbuds once you’re done working out.

The running belts we recommend, such as our top pick, the SPIbelt Large Pocket, aren’t fully waterproof, so if you ever go out for a run in the rain, be sure to slip your phone into a plastic zip-top bag before putting it inside your belt for more protection.Clean your devices frequently
Although perspiration probably won’t wreck your things, it will definitely make them a lot more disgusting. We recommend cleaning your tech at least once a week, but if you engage in a lot of sweat-inducing exercise, consider wiping your things down every day or even after each use.

“I just clean my phone, earbuds, or headphones immediately when I get home with a microfiber cloth,” Roderick says.

For a deeper clean, Wirecutter’s guides to cleaning smartphones, smartwatches, and headphones and earbuds list all the supplies you need and walk you through the steps. The whole process usually takes five to 10 minutes.

Don’t forget that a similar rule applies to any summer day spent in or near water. Whether you tend to sweat heavily or not, Roderick recommends “assessing your tech for any accidental damage, as well as any sand, sweat, or water exposure after returning from the beach, pool, or lake.”

Opt for a silicone band on your smartwatch
Over time, sweat can do a number on fabric and leather smartwatch bands. Plus, they’re not the most comfortable materials to wear when you’re working out. Our tech experts say that a silicone band is best when you exercise because it’s more sweat-resistant and easier to wipe down.

Keep silica packets where you stash your tech
Don’t store headphones “for a long time in a humid environment or when they’re wet, even if they are water-resistant,” Lauren explains in our guide to cleaning earbuds.

If you live in a particularly steamy place, or if you tend to keep your gear in a gym bag (which can get surprisingly humid inside), she recommends throwing a silica-gel pack into the pocket where you store your phone and other devices. The packs suck up moisture, plus they’re reusable and cheap, or even free if you save them up over time (they often come in the packaging for everything from shoes to medicine). Just make sure to keep the packs away from kids and pets.

Never charge or put away your device while it’s damp
If your phone, watch, or audio gear is moist with water or sweat, “do not, under any circumstances, try to charge it immediately,” says Caitlin. If you do, you run the risk of damaging parts of the charging port. Letting your stuff—including all your tech accessories—fully dry before storing it is one of the easiest ways to make your devices last longer.

This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Annemarie Conte.