i washed my earphones!!!

[terry29]

within a day of purchasing my new ipod, i accidentaly did laundry without realizing my ipod earphones were in a pocket. miraculously, they still work, but im not certain that the quality hasnt suffered. was anyone else dumb enough to do this? if so, please let me know what happened to yours.

also, ive had multiple light scratches on the back already. when are they going to come out with some new iskin cases or even isee cases? im worried that by the time it comes out, i wont need one because mine will be scratched to death.

 

[toughboy]

YOU WASHED THEM?! oh Gosh!..
I dont know much about earphones, but if i were you, i would dry it as quick as possible, so they wont have rust on them, and maybe (MAYBE!!) you will not loose much sound quality...

why dont you just go and change them as you still have your guarranty unexpired??..

i love those iSkins too.. especially the "glows at dark" ones...
Take care of your iPod, I'm sure they'll soon be selling on the market...

 

[Eniregnat]

Distilled water or DI (de-ionized) should have no minerals or contaminates. Just good old H2O. If you want to try and wash off any residual soap or minerals, and perhaps slow any further corrosion I might just rinse them in a little DI water and then dry them in air or with some 97-99% isopropyl alcohol.

This printed, I think that is more work than is necessary. Considering what a new pair of Apple earbuds costs, I don’t think that the work is worth the return. I once washed a set of the Koss Plugs and I noticed no difference in sound. In Cambodia, I had some equipment get dunked into a river and the Sony Earbuds sounded grainy afterwards (they didn't sound great to start with). I have gone through 3 pairs of the Sony w.ear Headphones and they have survived being soaked by rain. I don't know what this says other than they may or may not be damaged.

As for the scratches. Sorry man. Try DrBott.com. I would expect them to have something soon. Until then, what about this.

I spend my work day wearing expensive AKGs for work, so I like light weight headphones when I am working at home.

 

[rainman::|:|]

Brasso (available in cleaning section) will help take out scratches-- works best on the front plastic but it can help on the back too. Just rub it in with a soft cloth, wait for it to dry,and buff it off. It's a very mild abrasive for cleaning and polishing metal.

pnw

 

[sparks9]

Scratches? So what? Does it really matter?

 

[davy the bunny]

I also washed my earphones, sadly within the first few days of getting my earphones. Electronics aren't always damaged by water alone, they get damaged when they are turned on while still wet or if there is a current built up that can pass through the water. Before you try to use them again, just make absolutely sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are completely dry and hope and wish. I hope that you are/were more lucky than I was.

 

[Eniregnat]

davy the bunny is correct, try not to power them up wile wet.

If your really worried, the above process that I described above has worked on equipment (then new 486's and a 286 SwissTech)that was submerged for some time. I don't know about the desktops, the SwissTech was submerged for about a month in the back of my old Honda. It still works some 5 years later. Chances are if you rinse well with DI water and then dry with 97-99% pure isopropyl alcohol and let dry you wont be doing any additional damage. It’s your call.

So, how do they sound?

 

[sparks9]

Stupid!!! Why don't you just wash the iPod too while your at it!

 

[King Cobra]

Well, sparks9, you don't wash your iPod because you have the risk of destroying a $400 selection of equipment. The earplugs are probably $20 (guessing).

Which do you think would you rather wash if you had to choose?

Also, even pure liquid water poses a risk of shock. Pure water acts as a weak electrolyte, meaning it will conduct some electricity in a current.

DO NOT use ionized water at any point to clean your plugs. The ionized solution acts as a strong electrolyte and can conduct a halfway decent current if enough strong oxidizing ions are in there.

Alcohol might also work to clean the iPod and evade currents since alcohol is not an electrolyte. It may not help remove a lot of the pure water from the earplugs, but you can force some of it off.

Also, you could dry the plugs off by keeping them in a large, dry room for a while. You can get some more water to evaporate.

 

[iJon]

who cares, if they mess up go buy some new headphones, those ear buds are terrible. mine have always broken, but on the other hand i just plain hate earbuds, i like sonys street styles.

iJon