A mini washer for your TWS earbuds is now a thing on Kickstarter

Cleaning your wax-laden TWS earbuds can be a gross and torrid affair. But there’s a possible solution brought to the table by a new Kickstarter project. The Cardlax Earbuds Washer (via Gizmodo) is an automatic pocket-sized washing machine that promises to polish and clean your buds.

The Earbuds Washer features a rotating soft brush attachment that first scrubs the gunk from your earbuds’ orifices. Once that’s done, the main compartment packs a rotating drum surrounded by a sponge that’s “soaked with an anti-bacterial cleaning solution.” The earbuds are placed inside the drum which rotates and polishes them as it turns.

The Kickstarter states it should take two minutes to fully restore your earbuds. While a pair of AirPods are the guinea pigs in the marketing material, the Earbuds Washer is also compatible with several buds from numerous brands.

The cleaning process uses 70% alcohol, so the project claims it’s 100% safe to use, even if your earbuds don’t sport an IP rating. Users can remove and wash the internal cleaning sponge and other internals, but you’ll probably want to completely dry it before placing it back into the machine.

Overall, the product seems well designed and imagined, even if it’s for a super-specific niche. That said, earbuds are growing in popularity, and so is personal hygiene amid the pandemic. The project also comes from a group that has prior Kickstarter experience, too, albeit with a credit card-sized muscle massager.

The Cardlax Earbuds Washer is available for $33 if automatic earbud cleaning is something you’re lacking in your life. The project has already quintupled its modest $5,000 goal, so it looks like this concept is in high demand. The first shipments are expected in June.