How to keep your workspace clean - Part 3

In the previous articles we talked about how to keep your workspace clean, by hiring a janitorial cleaning company, cleaning your office desk properly and cleaning your keyboard, your mouse and mousepad. Now, we’re gonna show you how to clean some other daily office items, like your ID badge and badge holder, headphones and ear buds and even your phone.

How to clean your ID badge and badge holder

Did you know that your ID badge is the most bacteria-laden item of all? This daily used object is often forgotten when it comes to cleaning your office items. So maybe you should consider cleaning it right now, given that it’s not even so hard to do it.

Here are a few easy steps for you to clean your ID badge and badge holder:

• Remove your ID badge from its holder.
• Use a paper towel or a lint-free towel and slowly damp it in alcohol or any household cleanser. Do not use bleach, because it could remove the printed text.
• Lightly rub both the ID and the ID holder.
• Wipe them with a dry towel or let them try on their own.

How to clean your headphones and ear buds

Even if you’re using them to listen to your favourite music on your way to work or at your office, for different calls, the headphones represent an essential item in your daily life. And because you use them so often, you rarely remember or take time to clean your headphones, so maybe this article will help you find out what is the best way to clean your headphones.

If you’re wondering why to clean your headphones, disinfecting your headphones and cleaning out the ear wax is both good for your hygiene and offers you a better sound quality.

No matter if you choose to use in-ear or over-the-ear headphones, you should clean them regularly, especially if you also use them to exercise. Sweat and dirt can cause the presence of germs, bacteria and even a bad smell.  

According to some studies, headphones increase bacterial growth inside the ear, that can be passed from one person to another if the headphones are shared. Even if you don’t share your headphones, you should know that if you touch them with dirty hands, place them on a dirty surface or just tossing them in your pocket or your bag next to other dirty objects before placing them in your ears, you can be exposed to ear infections.  

So here’s a list of reasons for why you should clean your headphones regularly:

• Helps preventing your headphones from damage and increase their lifespan.
• Offers you high-quality sound.
• Maintain  a good hygiene by preventing all bacteria to get into your ears.

And here are a few tips on how to clean your headphones:

Things you need

• A cloth
• Hand sanitiser or rubbing alcohol
• Q-tips or cotton buds
• Soap
• Water
• Blu-tack

How to clean ear-phones

The first step in cleaning your ear-phones is to clean the driver unit, meaning the part that is inserted into your ears.

• Hold your earphones with the mesh side facing downwards and use a dry soft toothbrush to gently brush the wire mesh and dislodge any dirt or ear wax. Tap the non-mesh logo side to get rid of the debris.
• With a bent paperclip and some blu-tack, go over the wire mesh and remove the remaining dirt and dust.
• Dampen a cloth in rubbing alcohol or hand sanitiser and wipe the metal mesh and the wires

The second step is to clean the ear tips. If they are detachable silicon ear tips, here’s what you have to do:

• Remove them and soak them in soapy warm water for about 5 minutes
• Rinse them, wipe them and let them dry on a paper towel

How to clean headphones

Because they’re made of materials like plastic, leather or foam, cleaning your headphones properly could be quite a challenge.

So here’s how to clean your headphones like a pro, without getting worried that you’ll have to buy new ones:

• Remove the ear pads.
• Use a small cloth dampened in soapy water to wipe the exterior of the headphones
• Wipe with dry paper towels and let them dry on their own
• Wipe down the exterior of the ear pads with a cloth dampen in rubbing alcohol or hand sanitiser. Dampen a Q-tip/ cotton bud in alcohol/ hand sanitiser and use it to clean the nooks of the ear pads.  
• Dab alcohol/hand sanitiser over the surface of the foam mesh, then gently rub both sides together (left and right), to kill the bacteria residing in the ear pads and help dislodge any grime.
• Leave the ear pads to dry on paper towels before reattaching them.

For an advanced cleaning method, you can use a hearing aid vacuum, that uses small vacuum pumps in order to effectively extract ear wax and dirt.

In order to feel that you properly cleaned your desk office items and you now work in a clean office environment, there’s only one item left for you to clean. Maybe you don’t even consider it as being an office item, given that you’re using it all day long, but your phone is the most accessed daily item and you should take a look at how to clean your phone in a professional and effective way!

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