At the start of a new year, you may be inspired to drink more water or get more exercise. Yet, if you use in-ear earbuds like Apple AirPods, we have another resolution for your list: Regular cleaning.
Per Ahmed Ashour, an IT professional and educator who previously worked at Apple’s Genius Bar, your earbuds can get really “gunky” really quickly. This can lessen sound quality and even potentially permanently damage your devices. It also, you know, gross.
The fix? We recommend this earbud and smartphone cleaning kit for getting it done — and especially now that it’s on sale for 20% off in white and black if you clip the on-page coupon. This is a solid price for something that reviewers say is “keeping my AirPods and iPhone spotless” and making their devices sound new.
Gunk isn’t just gross — it’s lessening your sound quality and harming your devices.
From earwax to dust to general lint and goo, headphones are magnets for mess. Ashour says this gunk “will literally block certain frequencies from the sound in the headphone.” Meaning, “you will get a muffled sound, you’re going to lose a lot of bass, you will lose a lot of mid and lower tones and it might sound muddy,” Ashour said.
Further, Ashour says that regular cleaning can help with maintaining your devices long-term, even giving you more time with them. “Once earwax gets inside your AirPods [or other earbuds], there’s really not much a … technician can do,” Ashour said. “The real trick is to [clean your earbuds] consistently, to not let it build up an absolutely disgusting mess.”
This cleaning kit is loaded with special tools to clear every nook and cranny.
The kit includes a metal tip to efficiently reach tiny spots, two brushes to clean the speakers and microphones of your earbuds and a sponge to clean the speaker and the inside of your earbuds’ case. It even comes with a microfiber cleaning cloth and spray for wiping those screens!
After cleaning their headphones, users are reporting “major differences in sound quality,” even recouping sound that was lost from gunk and debris. “After I cleaned it my speaker sounded like new,” one wrote. “I was having trouble with my AirPods, having to turn the volume way up and still not hearing well,” another said. “I used this on them and I was very impressed with how much stuff it got out of them! The sound is so much better now.”
Bonus: It works for WAY more than just headphones.
Another benefit of this cleaning kit is the flocking sponge designed to deep clean the AirPod case, which doubles as a wireless charger. “You want to clean the case where the AirPods rest, because you’ll get earwax gunk on there too,” said Ashour.
In addition to your headphones and their charging case, reviewers love this set for cleaning their phone’s charging ports and speakers, laptops, tablets, smart watches, all sorts of cords and connectors and even their hearing aids.
Some say they own multiple sets to keep in their car, work bag, office and home, to always ensure they can clean their devices. “The multi-tool has everything I need to clean tricky spots like charging ports, lightning cables, and connectors without any hassle,” KimberlyFrancis wrote. “It’s compact and easy to store, so I keep it in my bag and use it regularly.”
Hot tip: first using a brush, then going in with the metal points.
“Brushes are great because they have teeth, so they can grab stuff, Ashour said. “Then you can use the pointy tip to pick up the last bits of earwax and gunk that didn’t get caught.”
Just remember to do so gently, Ashour notes, you don’t want to be too rough when you scrub the mesh.
Users compliment the array of metal tools that “get in all the places that dirt and grime like to hide in.” Further, they complement how the “super soft” microfiber cloth won’t scratch your screens and how the little set gives you everything you need.
And no, you can’t just use a Q-tip or tissue.
Do you really need a special tech cleaning kit? According to Ashour, yes. As he describes, things like paper towels and tissues “leave tiny little fibers on the surface of silicone” and can worsen streaks. Further, things like Q-tips or cotton swabs can get little strands of cotton stuck and can potentially further block your sound.
“The benefit of a specially designed tool that’s metal is that it wouldn’t leave any residue at all,” Ashour explained. “With a specialized tool, it’ll be faster to clean and it’s less likely you’re going to be leaving cotton fibers or something on the AirPod and then putting it back in your ear.”
Pick up this smartphone and earbud cleaning kit at Amazon while its on sale and take a look at what Amazon reviewers have to say about it.
“Major differences in sound quality with using this product. Instructions were helpful and I have my AirPods back to normal. I highly recommend this product to anyone dealing lost of sound.” — Mercedes Nesh
“I ordered a Something similar product from Temu. and it was useless then i saw this at amazon and gave it a try. It worked like a champ compact and i can use it on anything that has a speaker or Microphone. Don’t waste your money any place else. This is the real deal” — Amazon Customer
“Got these to clean my earpods and hearing aids. Lots of little brushes small enough to do the job. Would buy again.” — Amazon Customer
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The Real Deal: We use deal trackers and commerce experience to sift through “fake” hike-and-drop deals and other deceptive sales tactics. Products will usually be rated at least 4 stars with a minimum 15% discount. (And when there’s an exception, we’ll tell you why.)