You can make use of String.replaceAll method:
String replaceAll(String regex, String replacement)
Replaces each substring of this string that matches the given regular expression with the given replacement.
You can create a set of symbols you want to remove using regex, for example:
[*+"#$%&\(",.\)]
and then apply it to your string:
String myString = "this contains **symbols** like these $#%#$%";
String cleanedString = myString.replaceAll("[*+"#$%&]", "");
now you "cleanedString" is free of the symbols you've chosen.