1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,920 Hey Jonathan, do you think you can help me out with these? 2 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:23,640 Sarah? These are fully- earwax. 3 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,760 I've noticed this myself when using my old ear pods over the years. 4 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,360 They clog up in the mesh of these headphones, and at points it got so bad that I couldn't 5 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:38,160 even hear out of them. In fact, these are Sarah's second pair after clogging up her last set. 6 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:42,320 So I think this is probably a pretty common problem. 7 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,440 Being a bit of an earwax producer myself, I've often wondered if seeing a bunch of earwax 8 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,520 on my ear pods meant that I'm ruining my ears. 9 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:54,440 But after reaching out to a local hearing specialist, he told me in an email that, 10 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,720 Everyone has different earwax, some softer, some harder. 11 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,560 Having no earwax is a genetic anomaly. 2. 12 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,960 I always worry that I'm pushing earwax further in my ear, but he said that oftentimes you're 13 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:13,520 actually helping remove earwax from your ears, hence this mess. 14 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:19,400 3. Also, if you are someone who cleans their ears frequently, that could be causing your earwax 15 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,800 to become softer, making it all the more easy to clog your ear buds. 16 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,960 4. If you're seeing lots of earwax, you don't need to worry about your health, just the 17 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:34,640 health of your ear pods. Obviously, the easiest and most wasteful solution to the problem is to just buy a new set of 18 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,520 ear pods, which is what Sarah did the first time hers got clogged, but that's untenable. 19 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:45,560 Apple does service ear pods, but it's $70 each for a repair or replacement. 20 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,040 Or it's $50 just to get a battery service. 21 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,240 From what I can tell, it's the same service, just one's cheaper. 22 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,040 So make sure to say battery service to save $20. 23 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:02,840 So between $100 and $140 to deal with a naturally occurring body excretion, it all seems steep. 24 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,080 There have got to be better ways. 25 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,520 In doing this research, I came across a little startup called PodSwap. 26 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:16,560 Founded by Florida entrepreneurs Emily Alpert and Emma Stritsinger, the company swaps your 27 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,040 old AirPods with refurbished ones, and then they refurbish yours. 28 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,160 Remarkably, they've worked out how to replace the battery and clean ear pods. 29 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:31,000 At $50 to swap a pair of first gen AirPods and 60 for a second gen set, they're certainly 30 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,560 a compelling option. 31 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:44,800 So I got this pair of AirPods from a colleague, I can just show you what they look like. 32 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,080 How often do you deal with ear pods like this? 33 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:59,200 It's nothing we haven't seen before. Yeah, I mean, it's no secret that AirPods are pretty gross, so this is something we 34 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,200 deal with every day at PodSwap. 35 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,520 Like it's no surprise that people have sound issues when they send their AirPods to us 36 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:12,040 because they're so filled with earwax, so this actually is one of the reasons why you 37 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:18,320 made experience issues with sound on your AirPods. Does the earwax get really smushed through the mesh? 38 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:25,280 Yeah. We've seen ear pods that were shocked people can even hear out of because they're so 39 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:32,080 caught up. Like from the back through the front, it's just unbelievable, but they've been out since 40 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:37,840 2016, so it makes sense that someone's using them for the past four years and it just builds 41 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,560 up. We have to open them up and really get in there. Let's just say that. 42 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:49,000 So then, what does it mean for me as I embark and try and clean these ear pods? 43 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Oftentimes when you attempt to clean them yourself, like we have a lot of people who 44 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,320 damage them ultimately, so careful out there. 45 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,840 Yeah. Well, thanks for all the help. 46 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:09,400 Okay, so let's see what these PodSwap ear pods look like and how clean they are. 47 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:15,120 Oh yeah, okay, let's see this other one. 48 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:22,600 Okay, these are pretty clean, so I wonder what's going on behind the mesh. 49 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,720 Let's find out. 50 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,480 So one of the concerns I have with cleaning AirPods is that the earwax has been pushed 51 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,600 through the mesh and so all I'm going to be doing is cleaning the surface and not actually 52 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,800 addressing the problem. So I want to know how bad it can get behind the mesh. 53 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:46,240 So I'm going to sacrifice these old ear pods that I've had since my iPhone 5 and see what's 54 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:52,400 what. Cue the music. I have no idea what I'm doing. 55 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:58,040 So there's a seam here and I want to get into it. 56 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,240 Looking at, I fix it, they use a knife. 57 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:10,240 I believe that these are glued together and with a bit of heat and a bit of pressure, 58 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,480 maybe I can pry these apart. Let's just see. 59 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,480 It's warm. Oh yeah, it's warm. 60 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,960 Oh yes, yes, it worked. 61 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:31,480 Hey, oh, okay, but I do need to get the speaker off now. 62 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,480 Yes. Oh, I got it. Okay. 63 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:45,120 Here we go. Interesting. It's not full of earwax, but it has gone through ever so lightly. 64 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,680 When the light goes through it, it's orange. 65 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:54,480 So that's delicious. 66 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:58,360 All right, so I think this is a design issue. 67 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,960 With the release of the AirPods in 2012, Apple made a big deal about how these headphones 68 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,040 could fit comfortably in more people's ears. 69 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:11,320 They use this funnel shape to help, but what doesn't help is where the mesh is placed right 70 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:18,240 near the tip. So if you're a waxy individual, you can probably see the problem. 71 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:24,360 So what about cleaning them? Well, I discovered this cute little thing recently. 72 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:28,920 It's an earbuds washing machine from a company called CardLax, who also make a portable 73 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:36,640 muscle stimulator, no matter. Now, this is a Kickstarter, and they kindly sent over a prototype to try cleaning one 74 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,360 of these AirPods. So let's see what it can do. 75 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,360 And if you want to pre-order one, they're currently going for about $50 on Kickstarter. 76 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,360 All right, gloves. 77 00:06:54,360 --> 00:07:19,160 Not bad. 78 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:23,000 Still some residue here and there. It looks like it was used. 79 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:28,760 It's probably good for maintenance. But what if you want to try it the manual way? 80 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:34,560 Looking at some videos on YouTube, I also learned of a Irish phone repair shop called 81 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:39,600 Phone FixCraft that's been posting very gross microscopic videos of AirPods being cleaned. 82 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,960 It looks like he has a thin pick he uses to clear the wax and then scrubs it with some 83 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:47,440 sort of liquid and brush and sucks it out with a vacuum if it's really bad. 84 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,000 Oh God, I can't watch this anymore. 85 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,240 So when in my interaction with the ear specialists he mentioned, hearing aid cleaning tools, 86 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,880 which is interesting, so we ordered a set off Amazon for about $12. 87 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:19,720 Look at these fine picks and brushes. It might be a big help. 88 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,400 Oh my gosh, it's really coming out. 89 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:31,080 All right, let's go up to Sarah and get her to see how well I've done. 90 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:37,080 Sarah, I think I've cleaned them. 91 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,080 Oh my gosh. 92 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,080 Let's see if you can guess which one I cleaned manually and which one I cleaned with the 93 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,320 earbuds washing machine. All right. What do you think of how they look? 94 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,000 This one looks way cleaner than this one for sure. 95 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,520 I guess the real test is by trying them out. 96 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,520 Yeah, let's see if you can actually hear music. 97 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,680 Okay, let's try this side first. 98 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:08,440 Okay, so I still have to like turn it up a fair bit to see what it sounds like. 99 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:16,640 It does sound better. Okay, let me try the other side. 100 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:24,600 I don't know if they sound better. Okay, here's the thing is I have to still turn my audio up to like more than halfway 101 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:28,120 to hear something. Right, now put them both in. Okay. 102 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:33,120 This one sounds better than the other. This one does sound a little better. 103 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:38,200 Okay. But they're still not like they were when they were brand new. 104 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,320 So I hope these are charged up enough. These are from PodSwap. 105 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:46,880 Let's see if we can... Oh wow, it's way louder already. 106 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,880 Oh really? Yeah, insane difference. 107 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,440 Oh, this one's way better. 108 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,680 Like I can turn it down to here and it sounds loud enough. 109 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:04,240 Clearly I've failed, haven't I? Yeah, I'd say so. 110 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:10,480 Okay. Well, we have a conclusion. 111 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:17,160 Very sad one. 112 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,600 So I wasn't able to do it myself. I'm quite surprised and disappointed. 113 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,040 Emma and Emily at PodSwap certainly know what they're doing. 114 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:32,720 Me on the other hand, don't. God, this makes me want to keep on trying until I get it. 115 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:37,560 The disposability of AirPods has been an issue since they came out almost five years ago. 116 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:41,160 So it's no surprise that we'd want to keep them running as long as possible. 117 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:45,360 And as annoying as it may seem, I think maintenance is an important way to reduce the likelihood 118 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:52,600 of your AirPods getting filled with earwax. So if things do get bad and your batteries thin, PodSwap offers what seems to be the 119 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:57,840 most cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of breathing new life into older AirPods. 120 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:06,160 Which is remarkable considering how tightly these things are glued together. 121 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:11,720 Thank you for listening into this Mac Address. If you too are a producer of earwax, give us a like. 122 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,320 And if you've clogged up a set of earbuds before, might as well subscribe. 123 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:20,400 I'm also curious if any of you have found a really great working solution to this problem. 124 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,280 Let me know in the comments below because I'm desperate to figure this thing out.