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Oh no I washed AirPods with the laundry!

coolbreeze2

coolbreeze2

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 24, 2009
1,807
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I came home from working out and removed my AirPods, placing them in the case and shoved the case into my sweat pants pocket. Shortly afterwards I took the sweaty clothes off and placed them in the washer machine and started the machine! I realized I washed the AirPods when I opened the machine to place the clothes in the dryer. There my beautiful white case sat. It appears no water got on the inside with the AirPods; as a matter of fact, the AirPods works perfectly including pairing with iPhone, ATV, and AW3. However, the case is not working! I am so pissed at myself!

When will the new case that supports wireless be available. I could wait if it is soon. I'm pretty sure a case by itself is not available. I will have to spend another $159!! Ugh!!!
 
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coolbreeze2 said:
I came home from working out and removed my AirPods, placing them in the case and shoved the case into my sweat pants pocket. Shortly afterwards I took the sweaty clothes off and placed them in the washer machine and started the machine! I realized I washed the AirPods when I opened the machine to place the clothes in the dryer. There my beautiful white case sat. It appears no water got on the inside with the AirPods; as a matter of fact, the AirPods works perfectly including pairing with iPhone, ATV, and AW3. However, the case is not working! I am so pissed at myself!

When will the new case that supports wireless be available. I could wait if it is soon. I'm pretty sure a case by itself is not available. I will have to spend another $159!! Ugh!!!
Click to expand...

The only thing I would monitor would be the battery case. I think your AirPods themselves will be fine, given though they don't have a water resistance rating.
 
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I did the same thing last weekend however nothing works, AirPods or case. I setup a Genius Bar appt tomorrow because I read a replacement out of warranty was $69. But now I see on Apples website it’s $69 per AirPod plus $69 for the case. I think that’s more than new. Is it even worth driving 45 minutes to the Apple Store or should I just buy new ones? My only hope would be to get a nice tech who gives me a break I guess.
 
jjk454ss said:
I did the same thing last weekend however nothing works, AirPods or case. I setup a Genius Bar appt tomorrow because I read a replacement out of warranty was $69. But now I see on Apples website it’s $69 per AirPod plus $69 for the case. I think that’s more than new. Is it even worth driving 45 minutes to the Apple Store or should I just buy new ones? My only hope would be to get a nice tech who gives me a break I guess.
Click to expand...
Id still go there and see if they can help you. Never know... Ive been helped before when i thought i was beat.
 
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Well mine ran out of juice with no way to charge them. If I take them to Genius Bar I’m sure they can easily figure out it’s water damage (I remember before iPhone was water proof). So I guess I will be buying a new pair. However not soon. My wired ear plugs will have to do. Knowing Apple there is zero chance I can catch AirPods cheaper on Black Friday.
 
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coolbreeze2 said:
Well mine ran out of juice with no way to charge them. If I take them to Genius Bar I’m sure they can easily figure out it’s water damage (I remember before iPhone was water proof). So I guess I will be buying a new pair. However not soon. My wired ear plugs will have to do. Knowing Apple there is zero chance I can catch AirPods cheaper on Black Friday.
Click to expand...

MarcMller said:
Id still go there and see if they can help you. Never know... Ive been helped before when i thought i was beat.
Click to expand...

Well I let them sit for three or four days, I plug them in and got no light on the case, and when I tried the AirPods they didn’t connect or show up. This morning I drove to the Apple Store before trying them again, when the Apple tech looked at them they worked fine. So they didn’t replace them, but they appear to work fine. I told the employee what happened, he said there’s really nothing inside them that gets ruined when they get wet, and that they just tend to work when they dry out. He did say he wouldn’t make any notes about it so if they stop working in the future I still have the manufacturer warranty anyway. So good news is they work fine, bad news is I didn’t test it myself so I drove all the way to the Apple Store for nothing.
 
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jjk454ss said:
Well I let them sit for three or four days, I plug them in and got no light on the case, and when I tried the AirPods they didn’t connect or show up. This morning I drove to the Apple Store before trying them again, when the Apple tech looked at them they worked fine. So they didn’t replace them, but they appear to work fine. I told the employee what happened, he said there’s really nothing inside them that gets ruined when they get wet, and that they just tend to work when they dry out. He did say he wouldn’t make any notes about it so if they stop working in the future I still have the manufacturer warranty anyway. So good news is they work fine, bad news is I didn’t test it myself so I drove all the way to the Apple Store for nothing.
Click to expand...

Come on! You drove to Apple store because you wanted to, just like the rest of us :)
 
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Just gave my airpods a wash :(
The wife said why are your airpods in the machine? I said they’re not! (Looking at the AirPod case on the coffee table) ...as she popped the door on the machine and picked them out... doh!
Must of left them in my trouser pocket.

They’re currently in a cup of rice, will give them a go in a few hours, fingers crossed!

[Update]
All good! they stayed connected to the phone the whole time and both work like normal. In fact a bit better as the small grilles are now cleaner! (I wouldn't recommend it though!)
 
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So I actually have a small issue with mine. They are always on now. I kept having the audio stop while in my car, it keeps playing but no sound. Turns out my phone keeps connecting to the AirPods in the case. I also noticed when I put them in my ears I don’t get the normal connected chime.
 
Recognition said:
Just gave my airpods a wash :(
The wife said why are your airpods in the machine? I said they’re not! (Looking at the AirPod case on the coffee table) ...as she popped the door on the machine and picked them out... doh!
Must of left them in my trouser pocket.

They’re currently in a cup of rice, will give them a go in a few hours, fingers crossed!

[Update]
All good! they stayed connected to the phone the whole time and both work like normal. In fact a bit better as the small grilles are now cleaner! (I wouldn't recommend it though!)
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1516513167][/doublepost]How long did you leave them in rice?
 
jjk454ss said:
So I actually have a small issue with mine. They are always on now. I kept having the audio stop while in my car, it keeps playing but no sound. Turns out my phone keeps connecting to the AirPods in the case. I also noticed when I put them in my ears I don’t get the normal connected chime.
Click to expand...
I have the same issue!
 
jacjustjac said:
I have the same issue!
Click to expand...

Mine never started working properly even after they were completely dried, they work fine as far as listening to them, but if I was close to my phone it would always think the AirPods were in my ears
 
coolbreeze2 said:
I came home from working out and removed my AirPods, placing them in the case and shoved the case into my sweat pants pocket. Shortly afterwards I took the sweaty clothes off and placed them in the washer machine and started the machine! I realized I washed the AirPods when I opened the machine to place the clothes in the dryer. There my beautiful white case sat. It appears no water got on the inside with the AirPods; as a matter of fact, the AirPods works perfectly including pairing with iPhone, ATV, and AW3. However, the case is not working! I am so pissed at myself!

When will the new case that supports wireless be available. I could wait if it is soon. I'm pretty sure a case by itself is not available. I will have to spend another $159!! Ugh!!!
Click to expand...
I lost my AirPods charging case about 3 weeks ago. Well, I just found them tonight. They had fallen outside the car and landed in some snow, and then it snowed more. They only showed up today because the snow finally melted.

AND IT STILL WORKS! It has been outside in the rain/snow/ dirt for weeks and is still working. Crazy!
 
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When I threw my airpods in the laundry without the case, I initially thought it was fine, but then people kept saying I sound super muffled when I’m on the phone.
Bring it to Apple and they will exchange it for u.
 
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MarcMller said:
for free? Is there a warranty on the airpods?
Click to expand...
Airpods are under one year apple care like other products. Not telling you to lie but you don’t have to necessarily say you washed them. But mine was washed without the case so maybe yours wouldn’t be affected. Try talking on the phone and see if you are muffled first.
 
Hitting this late because I recently washed my airpods in the case. I thought they were toast, but throughout the day, they dried out and now work perfectly again.
[doublepost=1524424039][/doublepost]
jefffriscotx said:
dry them up, then you will be totally fine
Click to expand...
Mine dried out and came back to life after an extended cycle in the wash with some really muddy clothes.
 
Pinkberry said:
How do I dry them up? Do I just leave the case open to air dry?
Click to expand...
I washed my airpods and case, obviously by mistake, and they seem to be working ok now - thank God! I put them both in the sun for awhile - the pods recovered first - and then later I put the case in my jeans back pocket and hoped that good ol' body heat would do the trick! It has taken a good 24hrs - I actually put the case under my pillow that night - and I have them both charging at the moment! It didn't have any positive reaction until I plugged in the proper cable - had been trying on the iphone one! Sooo happy!!

Update - the pods are working well - the case is charging but only just! It charges the pods so don't know if the case battery will improve! Time will tell! I can get a replacement case for $99 aus!
 
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I started freaking out cause my mum had come in and said "OH no! I just found your Airpods in the wash!". At first i started pressing the back buttons continuosly but nothing came up, i honestly didnt remember if the were out of battery because i recall saying so. But i remembered that a few years ago my sisters laptop got drenched with water, and we blow dried it and it worked again so i did the same to my aipords. After a while no sign so i charged it. After a few minutes of freaking out and scrolling on the Apple Store, my sister suggested rice. On my way to the rice can, I opened them and it lighted up. tested it out and tried connectin to my device and it worked!! :))
 
Well it happened again, My airpods and case ended up doing a full cycle in the washing machine. The case appears dead but the airpods still work! Just picked up a replacement case from Apple and the pods charged up no problem and are working fine!
 
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