[random person]

I just bought the Shure E3 canal phones and I love them!

The foam sleeves are the ones I like best by far-- what I'm not sure though is how long it is safe/hygienic to use them before replacement. I note in the thoughtful E5C review that the reviewer said that the foams might last as long as a month but I wonder if that's true if you are using the phones while running, etc. This is a concern also given the manufacturer suggesting that the reusable inserts be cleaned every use, and the foamies, of course, cannot be cleaned! Makes me think they should be replaced every few days/hours of use -- making it pretty costly/inconvenient, and making it more attractive, over time, to think about custom molds instead. I certainly don't want ear infections but I wonder about the appropriateness of using foamies more than a few days. What say all of you? Also, any more experiences with custom earpieces? The E5C review says that may distort the sound and may not be worth it -- is that consistent with what others have experienced too? Thanks for any/all thoughts!

 

[terrymx]

actaully they could be clean. i clean them with with water and soaps (dishwasher soaps expand them back the most). dry them with napkins and leave them over night and the re-expands again. they havent given up on me yet.

 

[random person]

Thanks terrymx. How often do you wash them? Every day, less frequently?

 

[terrymx]

everyday might wear them out, i would say not more than twice a week.

i had both the e2c and e3c foams (not interchangable), they are very different from each other. i think that the e3c foams are little harder than the e2c and probably will last longer also.

 

[Oddball]

I just washed my e2 foamies after around six months of use and I can attest that washing them helps. Can't tell you how they sound as they're still drying, but they don't look as grayish anymore. And they're now more "springy" than "crunchy." Plus they smell like the Dawn apple-scented dish soap that I washed them with. Cool.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I stick my foamies in the laundry basket. They go through the spin cycle and dry cycle. They come out ready to use, like new.

 

[gorman]

I asked pretty much the same question, some time ago, and Sugarfriend (he works for Shure) said that, depending on use, one ought to get from two weeks to a full month of good performance out of a couple of foamies. This was not counting the possibility of washing them (which, if I understand things correctly will progressively diminish their "expansion" ability).

 

[random person]

Hi Gorman -- thanks for the headsup. I was actually hoping that two weeks or so was the ticket for the foamies -- without washing. Sorry to have duplicated your prior thread but searching seems to be currently disabled on this forum for now! As soon as it is up and running I'll look for your thread. (I may call Shure too -- they seem to be very helpful in general.)
Still seems odd though that Shure says to disinfect the other sleeves before and after EVERY use but that the foamies would be ok maybe for up to a month -- maybe it's the nature of the material making it less likely to get gunky/funky?

 

[gorman]

Don't worry about asking! I'm not one of those guys that always come up wise and say "the search function is your best friend"... I enjoy a good conversation, always. Plus... the search function is disabled!

I managed to find a post of mine where I quote the post I was referring to. This is what I mentioned:

Quote:

I asked a similar question regarding Shure's foamies. Somebody from Shure said that the average lifespan should be around the 20-50 compression/decompression cycles.

So... I guess it really depends on how often you insert them and how often you take them out.

 

[Jeffreybar]

I wash my foamies about once a week, and I'd say I get about a month of good use (meaning they still expand well and give close to full isolation) out of them. They will keep going for up to like 2-3 months after that and still have OK isolation, but then they really need to be replaced.

To wash them, I suggest antibacterial handsoap and warm water. It tends to be milder than dish soap (and therefore less likely to cause a rash), but the antibacterial part is good to kill off anything that may grow in them. Really I can't imagine going more than a couple weeks at a time without washing my foamies -- scary stuff. Also, make sure that you work the soap into them pretty well and let them sit and foam for like 30 seconds before rinsing them (and rinse them well).

It really is kinda unfortunate that the foam sleeves are so expensive (especially since they must cost like 3 cents each to make): I would like to replace mine once a month, but if I did that I'd spend more in a year of foam sleeves than I spent on the drivers.

 

[gorman]

Yeah, I'm wondering if there are less expensive options for foamies...

 

[Jeffreybar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffreybar I would like to replace mine once a month, but if I did that I'd spend more in a year of foam sleeves than I spent on the drivers.

Oops. Bad math, bad. I was counting the cost of a bag of five pairs as a single pair of foamies. So, in fact, I can replace them every month and it's still not too too bad. But still, I'm cheap and I wish they were cheaper too.

 

[random person]

Yeah -- I been doing the math too. Mostly I'm comparing it to the cost of getting custom plugs -- I am worried though that there is a risk they won't work as well as the foamies! Any experience out there? I've PM'd lindrome but was wondering if others of you have tried the custom ones and liked them?

 

[random person]

Well I just got off the phone with Shure (very helpful people there) and they said that the foams should last anywhere from one to three months depending on usage. As for cleaning well they told me that many people use rubbing alcohol to clean them -- especially on the smoothe part that collects the most wax. Other advice? Keep you ears clean! (Who knew?)