Best way to clean speakers. Woofers,midrange and tweeter?

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MelonSplitter

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I need to do some spring cleaning on my speakers. When I took off the front grills there was a bunch of dust and the speakers were faded big time. What could I use on them to make them "look" like new again? Armor All maybe?
 
Don't put Armor All on them. I wouldn't put anything on them. I would wipe them down with a microfiber cloth and use some duster cans if necessary. You don't want to get any chemicals on any of the drivers. Can you really see how "faded big time" they are when the grills are on? It's probably fading from UV and nothing is going to fix that, short of refinishing/repainting.

You should mention what type of speakers they are and model numbers. That would help us help you.
 
You could probably use a microfiber duster. If its kinda thick use alcohol, alcohol dries quickly doesn't leave an aroma or residue.
 
don't use anything on the drivers. Most are paper and yeah paper just loves to get wet....

did you keep them in direct sunlight?
 
I ended up just cleaning them with a damp rag rung out really good. This seemed to work pretty good. Thanks for the advice.
 
timta2 said:
... I would wipe them down with a microfiber cloth and use some duster cans if necessary.
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This would be the best response here, although the word GENTLE is not mentioned (probably assumed, lol).
Cones can be paper, poly, woven, or composite. While paper is obviously bad to get wet, even the water resistant materials have glue seams and foam surrounds that could be weakened by alcohol or cleaners... and many seemingly water resistant materials could have bad reactions to chemicals.

Besides, isn't volume-max the proper setting to let the speakers self-clean? :p
 
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With the actual drivers (mid range and woofer) I'd use a Swiffer Duster, but be gentle. As for the tweeter, I would leave that alone as they are sensitive drivers.

For the cabinet, I've always used Pinesol spray and had good luck with it.
 
qbanb8582 said:
You could probably use a microfiber duster. If its kinda thick use alcohol, alcohol dries quickly doesn't leave an aroma or residue.
Click to expand...

Don't underestimate the solvent qualities of alcohol. It will tear some glues right apart.

I had an old Sony CRT with an anti-glare coating. Decided alcohol would be a good idea for your reasoning. Next thing I see is my screan all permanently streaked and smeared.

Had to use more alcohol to remove the anti-glare coating altogether.
 
I know this ship has sailed, but just in case anyone else comes across this thread:

If your speaker has had grills on it, chances are the small amount of dust that makes its way onto the driver(s) is not going to affect anything. Your best bet is to leave the driver(s) alone, and only clean the cabinet(s).

But if you must clean your driver(s), for whatever reason, dry cleaning is best. Microfiber cloths are OK if you are very delicate with your movements, but cleaning with any cloth implies that some amount of pressure, however little, is usually required.

Swiffer dusters are a better option, so long as you gently move the fibers across the driver(s) without applying pressure. The fibers should pull dust to them; you do not need nor want to clean the driver(s) with pressure.

Personally, however, if I absolutely must clean one of my drivers, I prefer a non-disposable duster. Swiffer brand and other disposable dusters tend to leave behind fibers when used on textured surfaces. You are more likely to leave fibers around dust caps, etc., with disposable dusters than with more traditional dusters, especially if your drivers are made of a more textured material such as Kevlar or carbon fiber.

Whatever you do, never clean a driver using solvents. Even water is often not recommended. The paper in paper cones, for instance, is treated with a blend of chemicals in order to achieve a desired rigidity, weight, and other characteristics. Any solvent you use can mess with this blend and thus change the characteristics of the cone material. You do not want this to happen, as any change to the cone can significantly alter the speaker's sound profile.

Even metallic cones, although more resilient to cleaning than paper cones, can be chemically treated. So be careful.

Also, and this should go without saying at this point, but tweeters are often especially delicate. In almost all cases, even if you clean the other driver(s) on a given speaker, it is best to leave the tweeter alone altogether. It is just not worth the risk.

Lastly, and to round out the solvent advice above, do not blow on your speakers. Your spit can do more damage than you think it can. (Canned air is sometimes an option with woofers, but be careful with smaller drivers as the air stream may be too strong for the driver to handle without damage.)

Edit: A few notes on alcohol: Alcohol is most definitely a solvent, and not a weak one at that. The reason people often recommend using it for delicate work is due to alcohol's preference to quickly evaporate at room temperature before it has a chance to work upon all but the thinnest of layers on the surface it is used upon. But apply too thick of a layer of alcohol and it will not evaporate quickly enough to remain gentle. Most screen wipes, for instance, will apply enough alcohol to break down food particles (gross, I know) and smudges. This amount of alcohol will take several seconds to evaporate, which may be too much time, depending on the usage.
 
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TESLA said:
I know this ship has sailed, but just in case anyone else comes across this thread:

If your speaker has had grills on it, chances are the small amount of dust that makes its way onto the driver(s) is not going to affect anything. Your best bet is to leave the driver(s) alone, and only clean the cabinet(s).

But if you must clean your driver(s), for whatever reason, dry cleaning is best. Microfiber cloths are OK if you are very delicate with your movements, but cleaning with any cloth implies that some amount of pressure, however little, is usually required.

Swiffer dusters are a better option, so long as you gently move the fibers across the driver(s) without applying pressure. The fibers should pull dust to them; you do not need nor want to clean the driver(s) with pressure.

Personally, however, if I absolutely must clean one of my drivers, I prefer a non-disposable duster. Swiffer brand and other disposable dusters tend to leave behind fibers when used on textured surfaces. You are more likely to leave fibers around dust caps, etc., with disposable dusters than with more traditional dusters, especially if your drivers are made of a more textured material such as Kevlar or carbon fiber.

Whatever you do, never clean a driver using solvents. Even water is often not recommended. The paper in paper cones, for instance, is treated with a blend of chemicals in order to achieve a desired rigidity, weight, and other characteristics. Any solvent you use can mess with this blend and thus change the characteristics of the cone material. You do not want this to happen, as any change to the cone can significantly alter the speaker's sound profile.

Even metallic cones, although more resilient to cleaning than paper cones, can be chemically treated. So be careful.

Also, and this should go without saying at this point, but tweeters are often especially delicate. In almost all cases, even if you clean the other driver(s) on a given speaker, it is best to leave the tweeter alone altogether. It is just not worth the risk.

Lastly, and to round out the solvent advice above, do not blow on your speakers. Your spit can do more damage than you think it can. (Canned air is sometimes an option with woofers, but be careful with smaller drivers as the air stream may be too strong for the driver to handle without damage.)

Edit: A few notes on alcohol: Alcohol is most definitely a solvent, and not a weak one at that. The reason people often recommend using it for delicate work is due to alcohol's preference to quickly evaporate at room temperature before it has a chance to work upon all but the thinnest of layers on the surface it is used upon. But apply too thick of a layer of alcohol and it will not evaporate quickly enough to remain gentle. Most screen wipes, for instance, will apply enough alcohol to break down food particles (gross, I know) and smudges. This amount of alcohol will take several seconds to evaporate, which may be too much time, depending on the usage.
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it sounds like i shouldnt clean them at all. operating a nuclear plant sounds safer now. i use a big fat microfiber cloth on the woofer, the cone is like plastic glass kind of thing. i fold the cloth into a cudgel type shape and go over it in circles. but i feel i dont have to, dust mainly sticks to horizontal surfaces.
 
dioxholster said:
it sounds like i shouldnt clean them at all. operating a nuclear plant sounds safer now. i use a big fat microfiber cloth on the woofer, the cone is like plastic glass kind of thing. i fold the cloth into a cudgel type shape and go over it in circles. but i feel i dont have to, dust mainly sticks to horizontal surfaces.
Click to expand...

Honestly...don't clean them. That is the correct choice. Speakers cones were not designed to be cleaned. There were designed to accurately assist in the reproduction of sound. The mass from the dust will have negligible effect on sound reproduction. However, what the dust does have an effect on is people who OCD tendencies that will let it bug them and may go as far to say "I hear a difference".

If you are the person who likes the grills removed, then call the manufacturer and ask. Only they can give the right answer. While the people here are knowledgeable...their knowledge isn't with your exact speaker. And we all know what a little knowledge can be. ;)
 
You can use alcohol swabs and a light touch for aluminum cone speakers. Soapy water and a light touch for poly cone speakers. Crappy masking tape for paper speakers that do NOT have a sticky coating (just keep pressing it against the speaker lightly so it doesn't stick to the cone but does stick to some of the dust). If it's a paper cone with a sticky coating then you can't clean it at all.

Don't clean surrounds. Never clean tweeters. When necessary sometimes you can clean the coil gap somewhat with either masking tape around a very thin piece of cardboard (or a thick piece of paper, maybe oaktag type stuff) or an alcohol swab. In any case, just be careful. Speakers are precision parts that are hard to clean. Often times they aren't worth cleaning. I'd say only do so when you have to. Don't clean them just because they look a little uglier than they used to.
 
Woofers have several millimeters of Xmax...the distance it can travel in one direction from rest. So you can press gently with a cloth with no fear of damaging it.

Dry cloth for max safety. Spray (like a spray bottle, not a hose) some water mist on the cloth if you have more serious dust issues. Or use Windex (or equivalent) if that's all you got.

The only speakers I would recommend not cleaning are mylar based drivers such as Magnepan, Martin Logan, Radio Shack Linaeum, or any ribbon based driver. They are quite delicate. Though electrostatics like Martin Logan's can be the exception as they inherently attract dust.
 
westrock2000 said:
Woofers have several millimeters of Xmax...the distance it can travel in one direction from rest. So you can press gently with a cloth with no fear of damaging it.
Click to expand...

The cones tend to be very easy to break or bend out of shape, and you should be careful when applying pressure to try and apply it evenly to both sides of the driver so the coil isn't pushed down at an angle, potentially forcing one side of the coil to rub against the magnet.
 
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