I’ve Degunked My Life With This $14 Kit
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your account’s‘Saved for Later’section.
Comment
As someone who works from coffee shops, airplanes, Pilates studios, and my 9-month-old’s play mat, my laptop is often subject to the harshest conditions. It was in such dire straits last month that I searched Amazon for “keyboard cleaner,” desperate for anything that wasn’t asprayorgoo.
This kitcaught my eye mostly because of its compact size, but also because of the sheer number of reviews and its high ratings. As is so often the case with things that come with so many attachments, I didn’t think I’d end up using all of them, but the price was low enough that I figured it would justify even two of the ten attachments, if they worked well.
New! You can now save this product for later.
To my surprise, I keep finding delightful and different uses for the attachments. After a quick and shockingly productive sweep of my MacBook Air keyboard with both the large and small brushes inside the kit, I was curious to try the metal pen tip between the keys, where some stubborn debris lurked beneath. Then, I took the rubberized case off of my iPhone and used the pick around the tiny, beveled edges of the screen, speaker, charging port, and the volume and power buttons. The amount of crud I unearthed with each tool was both unsettling and satisfying, kind of like a deep-cleansing facial where the aesthetician proudly shows you all of the gunk that’s come out of your pores.
The next attachment I became obsessed with was the fuzzy “flocking sponge,” which looks a lot like a long, miniature microphone. This, I learned, was perfect for cleaning out the inside of my AirPods, as well as the inside of their case. I’ve also used it to polish away oil and sunscreen from some of my gold-vermeil-coated earrings that have seen better days.
After my polishing success story, I turned my attention to the cleaning-lens pen, a small stamplike tool that promised to restore my iPhone’s camera to factory-setting clarity. I gave the lens a brief spritz from the cleaning spray (my least favorite item in this kit, mainly because it’s impossible to refill and less effective than whatever you can get at your local optical shop) and dabbed away. In the weeks following, the photos I’ve taken in portrait mode have never looked crisper. I haven’t needed to swap out the lens-pen cleaning tip yet, but the kit comes with four replacement pads, so I’ll definitely do so before a wedding I’m attending later this summer, when I want to be sure my shots come out looking extra sharp.
Even the case itself is useful, with its chalkboard-eraser-style cleaning-cloth attachment; I’ve used it on my laptop, Kindle, and iPad screen, both dry and wet.
One caveat: I haven’t yet used the plastic key puller, in part because the other attachments are so effective at getting unwanted debris out of my keyboard. However, if you’re looking for a truly heavy-duty cleanse and feel a little bolder than I am when it comes to taking apart pricey electronics, I’m confident that it’ll do the trick.
More nifty cleaning aids
More From The Strategist
- The Strategist Fall 100
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- The Strategist Summer 100
- I Replaced My Tretinoin With This $30 Retinal Cream
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
