I have been using an Onzow Zerodust to clean my stylus for a few years now. I read a few bad things about it the other day, and started looking into a different one.

I use a Soundsmith cart, and looked on their website to see what advice I could find. They advise the following. Pretty interesting, and cheap. Right up my alley.

Geno, what bad things did you read about the Onzow?  I would think one sticky thing is as good as the next.  I'm sure though that eventually the diamond gets coated with something that friction alone won't remove.  However, melting the glue that holds the diamond to the cantilever would be a disaster so solvents are worrisome.

I haven't had any issues with the Onzow that I have been using for about 6 months. I use that and a dry stylus brush, steering away from liquids. Between those two and a good magnifier it's keeping the stylus clean and working fine. Happy listening, Chris.

Interesting article and comments.  I use the DS Audio ST-50 which was mentioned but not proved to cause any issues.  Looking at my stylus under 70X magnification I can't see anything close to what those pictures in the article showed.  But I'm interested in what others are doing -- assuming you are looking at the results under fairly high magnification.

All of my LPs have been cleaned with the Degritter US machine so I am starting with pretty decent vinyl.

This looks like an interesting option:  Nagaoka Record Needle Cleaner  https://acoustic-tech.com/shop/nagaoka/nagaoka-hi-clean-801-stylus-cleaner/

I like the no chemical (except alcohol) approach.
I don't have a microscope, but using my jeweler's 20X handheld, I find my stylus to be very clean, except for occasional, errant dust that floats in the air everywhere. My old stylus brush beats that back.
I have tried those gel things, but they don't seem to do as much as the claims would suggest. They seem to trap the dust and need to be replaced.

I'll try the Mr. Clean pads in the future if I see anything building up.

 Just my opinion, but that black tip looks to be much bigger than the depth of a record groove. I don't remember where I saw it, but a magnification of a stylus tip in a record groove showed a lot less than I expected as actually in contact with the groove.
 There are going to be a lot of ideas about cleaning the tip of the stylus, but I have to remind myself that this is a microscopic job.
 About using just anything not specifically designed for the job at hand, there is a risk of damage in some way. Unfortunately, I can say this about some commercial products that were designed for the job as well! The idea of a sticky type of cleaner is appealing to me, as long as there is no residue. With Sticky tack or similar product, I would first stick it to a glass plate, then pull it off, and view the glass with a microscope. If there is even a microfilm left behind, then that is what you are playing with at the start.
Maybe if the chemical used to clean is safe for the stylus, an ultrasonic brush cleaner would be pretty decent at scrubbing.

 I just got done cleaning a new 180 gr. vinyl issue of the White album. Here's the thing, even though it hasn't been played, I can see where a stylus would get 'anything' left on that album surface. There was even a very small piece of vinyl from God knows where on the surface. How many yards does a stylus cover when playing a record? Just one side is more than enough, right?

I just had my 40 year old JVC QLY – 66F DD TT inspected and repaired together with having my ClearAudio Maestro MM Cartridge inspected by Sound-Smith, when it was returned they included a sample of the Blu tac.

Before I had the TT restored I used the ClearAudio product ELIXIR OF SOUND - STYLUS CLEANING FLUID together with their DIAMOND CLEANER BRUSH from CA "Safe cleaning device for your diamond stylus. Combine with our Elixir of Sound cleaning fluid for the best possible stylus care"

The Maestro v1 MM cartridge had heavy use from 2006 till 2014 when the TT power supply failed after 32 years. When the cartridge stylus was examined Peter said it was in good condition. The rebuild was not necessary. he advised I should be vigilant with stylus cleaning before and after each play and my stylus would be up to speed a good deal longer

Basically all that needed to be done to the turntable after 40 years was to replace some leaking capacitors in the power supply.

Don't neglect your mat either.  I use a Herbies mat which is slightly sticky and despite clean vinyl and a dust cover, it's amazing what accumulates on the mat.  Every once in a while I have to clean it by using packing tape around my hand.

I went with the Way Excellent II 3mmX292mm mat.  I tried to reproduce my stock mat as much as possible.  I would have gone thicker but the 1200G spindle is not over generous.

I've found the stickiness to be a real asset.  The mat holds on to fine dust and particles that get on the LP regardless of cleaning.  When I flip the record I have to pull it off of the mat.  When the mat gets dirty that adhesion is reduced.  I don't think the mat's stickiness is leaving anything on the record either.

I've had the mat over 3 years and it seem like new.

I use a center clamp and that requires some spindle to grab on to.  Something to consider.

Is your Technics stock?  KAB mods bring it to another level.  I'm assuming you have an older 1200 Mk?

I use a Mitchell Rega clamp so I have to have some spindle showing.  The arm height adjustment of the Technics is nice but when I changed to an Ortofon HS I had to shim my cart since I bottomed out the adjustment.