Sanitizing vocal mics

[Tim2723]

Serious question guys. Is there a good product that can be sprayed onto a vocal mic to kill the germs? Something to use between proper washing of the filter and screen.

[Perry]

An interesting question indeed of which an answer would come in handy for all those house SM58's.

A quick Google search turned up this:

http://homerecording.about.com/od/productreviews/gr/microphome_review.htm

[mandroid]

I Got a Packet of Desiccant "DO NOT EAT" with each of my Rode NT 5 mics condensers need to be kept dry,
as indicated by the manufacturer.
so the foam wind screen would also serve as a washable covering ..
screen ball from 58's can be unscrewed and Boiled, I suppose.. 57's have a foam windscreen.to wash.

[foldedpath]

Buy a box of alcohol swabs, and wipe the surface of the grill. That's the only part you'd risk touching.

I wouldn't use a spray; too much risk of getting something inside the capsule that shouldn't be there.

[jim_n_virginia]

I always carry foam windsocks to cover over the mics. We jokingly refer to them as condoms.

I have never cleaned any of my mics but then again I don't put my lips anywhere close to them or other people's mics.

[journeybear]

I agree with folded path. Sprays might not damage the filament but why chance it? If you're playing in a pub or bar/restaurant there ought to be some HandiWipes or similar product available. Personally, I'd wrap the screen with the wipe and let the alcohol seep into the screen a bit first and then wipe, rather than just wiping. For your own mike, as mandroid suggests, remove the screen and boil, every now and then. Of course, if it's just you using your mike you needn't be too concerned about doing this. If you're using a house mike, the HandiWipes approach should do. And wouldn't be a bad idea, for that matter. ;)

[Tim2723]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I clean our mics periodically by washing the screen and inner foam in mild detergent. The problem was that earlier this week they held a raffle in one of our venues and the manager used our mics to make announcements. He had a cold and is one of those guys who thinks he has to put the mic in his mouth to work it. Today I feel a cold coming on and can't help but wonder. I try not to let anyone use our mics, but sometimes it happens. We even keep our mics in separate cases and don't even share them with each other in the hope that only one of us will get sick at a time.

[fredfrank]

I think I would have switched out the instrument mic for the one he was talking into after that. I don't think my mandolin would have minded. Even better, put the mic he used on the banjo!

[Tim2723]

I knew we'd get a banjo joke in eventually! :))

[journeybear]

Inevitable. :))

[NickAlberty]

That's why I always take my own mic to all my gigs. It started after one of our gigs at Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar & Grill" in OKC. They have different bands there all the time. I got really sick the next day and it lasted for two weeks. I have no proof, but I'm sure I picked it up from a mic. So now I just take my own everywhere. Most sound men don't care anyway. I just tell them I'm using my own and gently hand them their mics to keep.

Works great for me. I do have mine labeled though. Makes it easy to identify.

[Ted Eschliman]

I used to sing jingles, and often the studio I freelanced would be left with lip-stick stained mics on the stands after previous late-night sessions. The engineered laughed about the fact that the singers really "getting into it" would virtually swallow these "community" mics in heated sessions. To reduce sibilance he'd often place windscreens in front of the mic with material that resembled stretched panty hose, and those same folks wouldn't go near the screens. The thought of putting there lips near that was too disgusting.

True story.

[Mike Bromley]

I take a small squeeze bottle of Purell hand sanitizer, and spread a glob of the alcohol-based gel over the screen ball. It evaporates quickly, while leaving that reassuring hospital scent right under your schnozz. This also serves to determine if the mic is feedback-prone....

[JonZ]

Swizzle it around in a glass of Jack Daniels for a few seconds.

[schloss]

I have seen people use those hand held ,portable UV lights . Very cheap and effective. Sold at CVS drug stores. Germs are the reason I do not allow anyone other then me to play my stringed instuments.

[Willie Poole]

Take a tip from Adrian Monk, use handi-wipes....I`m sure most of you watch Monk on TV.....Willie

[Elliot Luber]

A wind screen can be replaced. A mesh can be wiped down. I wouldn't spray anything on the diaphragm. I don't see any harm in letting someone handle youR mandolin, assuming you wipe it down occasionally. I mean I wouldn't loan a stranger my clarinet, but a mandolin. No harm there.

[Tim2723]

Yeah, nobody but nobody plays my flutes and whistles. mandolin, OK, but flutes are right out.

The flutes are the reason I don't use external foam windscreens. You have to get right up to the mic with them.

[Matt DeBlass]

Next time just dose your mic screen with a little hot pepper spray, that'll keep 'em from putting it too close to their mouths.

[Rob Gerety]

A good fresh pint works well

vToepYWmOq4

[journeybear]

I disagree - ruins the pint! :))

And Matt - hot pepper spray? :disbelief: Ouch! Too much! :)) Actually, that won't prevent someone from getting too close, but it should discourage that person from doing it a second time! :))

[Matt DeBlass]

I disagree - ruins the pint! :))

And Matt - hot pepper spray? :disbelief: Ouch! Too much! :)) Actually, that won't prevent someone from getting too close, but it should discourage that person from doing it a second time! :))

some people, but according to this timely article (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/21peppers.html), it might draw in a few more

[journeybear]

Yes, well, those types are public masochists, and very hard to dissuade from any untoward behavior. They can be very disruptive at a gig. Taze 'em, they just grin. :grin:

I know habañeros and Scotch bonnets can be wowzers - in fact, right now in my fridge I have a bottle of Matouk's Calypso Sauce (Scotch bonnet) that I use very sparingly because it is just silly hot (you need a gallon of stir fry to handle a teaspoon) - but I once had a 1 oz jar of these tiny dried Javanese peppers, not much bigger than a tic tac, that my mom gave me for some reason. They were so hot I had to be real careful. Lasted me years and years. The problem with these super hot peppers is they tend to lack subtlety and flavor, but a case can be made for Scotch bonnets, in small quantities. Very small. ;)

Hmmm ... maybe this would be another use for that Matouk's ... :whistling:

[pops1]

When you get used to the heat of scotch bonnets then you can taste the flavor and the hotter the pepper the better the flavor. Scotch bonnets are one of my favorites, along with habeneros. Don't use the seeds and they won't be too hot and you will love the taste. :grin:

[journeybear]

While we're in this general area, what do people think about handling your instrument after using hand sanitizer or Handi-Wipes or such? Is there any chance the alcohol or other contents could damage the finish? How much time should you wait until it's safe? I know alcohol evaporates quickly, but I wonder about the other ingredients. Depending on the product, my hands often feel a little tacky for a while.

[Cheryl Watson]

For years I've used Listerine and a toothbrush periodically on on the grill of dynamic vocal mics. Spray could damage the insides of a mic. I use my own vocal mic at gigs but sometimes the soundmen do not want to change them out--then eeewww! I don't eat a mic but once in a while my lips might brush the mic on a soft passage and I don't like sharing mics. As far as expensive studio mics, I keep a pop screen in front by a few inches and no one touches the grill with their mouth.

[Charlieshafer]

U.V. lights! Try This. (http://www.amazon.com/Purelight-Light-Sterilization-Ultraviolet-Hand/dp/B000X2INSG) Sure, it's an Amazon ad listing, but they do work well. You can find this same thing everywhere. We've used a version of this for water purification in the backcountry and it works just fine. No mess, either. It does work by damaging the DNA of organisms, which is why you get skin cancer under prolonged exposure to U.V. radiation. Ergo, don't think aiming it at a germy friend will do anything other than mutate his DNA in unkind ways.

[esslewis]

CWTwang has it -- since seeing Paul McCartney's stage guy cleaning their mics with Listerine and a toothbrush on their recent tour video, that's what I do too. Every 6-8 weeks or so. Mmmmm... minty fresh. And I'm the only one who uses my mic and I absolutely try to never use someone else's mic. Yeccchhhh.....

[Ken]

A "back in the old days" tale about the joys of sanitary microphones. Many years ago at a little outdoor festival I got to sit in with the White Anglo Saxon Protestant Jew Grass Survival County Line Band (I am not making that name up, honest). It was a windy day and the wind was playing havoc with the mics and there were no wind screens anywhere, so off come my boots and my socks go onto two of the mics, these are slightly used socks mind you. The socks worked fine for us and stayed on for the rest of the groups, although we did get the giggles when a singer from one of the other groups was really working close to the mic.
Ken

[esslewis]

Ewww...... now we know where that stubborn mutant strain of Athlete's Mouth developed, Ken.

[journeybear]

Hmmm ... I thought it came from putting one's foot in one's mouth. I know that's how *I* got it ... :grin: