If you’re like most people—you likely own various portable electronic devices. It indicates that you have many charging cables and small electrical cables attached to your headphones and earbuds. As you’ve observed at some point, these cables are typically fragile and prone to breakage, particularly at the points where the wires meet the plug and device connectors.

Fortunately, there are ways to treat cables with more care and protect them to extend their lifespan. Here are some tips for maintaining your charging cables.

1. Wrap Cables Properly

Most people who wrap their cables for smartphones and tablets follow the manufacturer’s lead and wrap the charging cable in a back-and-forth fashion, bending it sharply from side to side, then looping it around itself to secure it. However, this can create sharp bends in the cable that causes kinks and deteriorated insulation. Instead of wrapping your cables so tightly, you should wrap them in loose loops. And to secure your USB C lightning cable, you can weave the ends between the loops or use a simple twist tie.

2. Protect the Cable End With a Pen Spring

Try using a pen spring to prevent the charging end of smaller cables from breaking. Take the spring from any pen, elongate it slightly, and roll it onto the charging cable. Then, transfer the spring to the cable’s charging end. The spring will prevent your fast charge cables from bending excessively, which is one of the leading causes of charging cable failure.

3. Wrap a Paracord Around the Cable’s End

A more attractive approach is to wrap some paracord around the cable’s end. Cut a length of paracord by discarding the white centre strand and melting the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Then, beginning at the charging end of the cable, weave a ‘cobra’ knot around the cord. After tying 1 to 2 inches, complete the project. Similar to a pen spring, this will prevent your fast charge cables from bending excessively.

4. Avoid Stretching the Cable

Occasionally, people get tempted to force a cable into a socket by stretching, resulting in a sharp bend at the outlet. However, it’s not good to create a corner bend in a USB C lightning cable, as doing so repeatedly will eventually cause it to break. When you can’t help but put a sharp extension in a cord, move closer to an outlet or reconfigure the cable’s position.

If you need a durable USB C lightning cable, Energea is the place to go!