Karaoke Forums

What do you recommend for keeping your mics clean that won't harm the mic? I am not just talking about sanitizing but also for the stickiness from too many Margharita hands.

I use the Sanitizing wipes you can get (IE Dettol in the UK).....but every now and then I have to pop the top off and get the Gunk off the innards.......Uuuurgh

Sanitary wipes & taking the ball off & cleaning out the inside & outside, taking out the foam (carefully) & clean it with soap & hot water.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I rotate my mics out every night. I have several mics so I'll take home the ones used for the night and clean them. I just take out the inner screens and clean and sanitize.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Thank you. I wouldn't have known about taking them apart.

Screw off the top and pop out the spongy inner lining. I take a little sink brush and scrub out the inside. Then I wash the sponge in soapy water, spray with a disinfectant and leave it out to dry. I don't scrub the outside of the mic head because the paint comes off. I have used a toothpic to get out any stuck in gunk, but if I stay on top of the cleanings you usually don't have that problem.

If you've never taken apart your mics to clean them before, the first time is bound to be an awakening experience. They will be gross !

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

All of the above are correct, and good advice. However, if you use foam windscreens, you shouldn't have to dis-assemble the mics that often. Just change /wash the windscreens after every show, and clean the mics themselves maybe once every week, or even every 2 weeks.

Most of the ick is caught in the foam screen.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Ick Ick Ick. This is a really d-a-r-k side of karaoke.

I never liked the foam things because anywhere I went where they used them, they looked like they had harbored every bit of spit, bacteria and viri that has ever been on earth. Hadn't thought about them being cleanable.

Don't know why but last weekend our mic handle got really sticky and even though I borrowed a wet cloth from the bar maid and sponged it a bit, it stayed that way all night. Now the thought of cleaning the insides, too, is rather daunting. I'm used to cleaning up gross animal things but humans are a whole other story.

They aren't talking about those external foam things, which I think most KJs here dislike. (I can't *stand* them.)

They are talking about the foam inside the grille of the mic.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Honestly, how many kjs actually clean their microphones every night OR every week?

A very low percentage i'm sure. I spray lysol on mine, but notice that most other kjs do nothing at all, e-v-e-r.

Those are the same ones the rarely ever redo or clean their karaoke books. Most karaoke shows on the mainland i've been to never even wipe the dust off of their speakers or players.

DON'T get me wrong. I think it should be a health priority, but most kjs shows i've been to just pack up and unpack the same equipment every night and don't do anything until it breaks down on them.

It DOESN'T MEAN they're bad kjs- just that their priorities are different, and cleaning a funky microphone (unless it's disgusting or someone's complained) i'm sure doesn't come to mind daily...or even weekly.

Unless you've got a strict routine or form of OCD, then perhaps you'd clean every cdg as well, wipe your books down daily, clean the insides of your mics, dust off your equipment, clean your cdg player lasers every 400 hours as recommended, and arrange your saved songslips alphabetically and neat in an organized folder.

I can see a newbie going crazy and keeping everything shiny and clean, but after years of doing karaoke night after night, you realize it's not AS necessary, and you'd rather get home and into bed after a long night.

...Every few months for a book update or to maintenance equipment, or if it's dingy and dirty or sticky, i believe is reasonable.UNless you have LOTS of times on your hands.

I DO believe in professional pride, but over doing it seems a little kooky to me. I could be wrong.

If you have actually seen the mics after a couple months, yes you will want to clean them AT LEAST once a week, with some kind of antiseptic wipe nightly.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

The first time I cleaned my mics convinced me. They were so gross. Like I said I literally had to get a toothpic and poke out the hard crusties from the head and the inner foam was stuck to the indisde of the mic. Yuck !!

Maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I clean mine regularly. It is nice that I have so many extra mics because I can switch them out. It really takes but 5 minutes to do.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Plus if you've never cleaned them before, you'll actually hear a difference in the sound becoming clearer after the cleaning.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

A mild soap and water solution works pretty well between shows. During cold
and flu season, I pack along some Clorox disinfecting wipes and hit the mics
a couple of times an hour. One sheet will usually stay moist and last the whole
night. I only use two Shure SM58 microphones at a typical show, so it takes a
couple of seconds and nobody has ever noticed. I fear that the singer in prelude
to the wipe down might feel insulted if they saw me disinfecting a mic when they'd
finish singing.

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"Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."

I never clean my mics - I spray lysol on the singers instead before each song

Good idea !
That would solve the congestion I often experience from the smell of stale
perfume and bathroom Polo.

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"Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."

I DO use good accoustic foam windscreens, and they are cleaned and or rotated after every show. This is after YEARS in the business. If your singers get sick, it's kinda tough on the show.

Continual spraying with disinfectant without cleaning leaves it's own gunk, and can actually affect sound, causing a muffled effect.

Not only do I do the above, but add ultrviolet disinfection.

Same with books. Wiped down with disenfectant wipes before every show.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

i alsso like to lightly mist mics with lysol during ashow if i think a singer is sick

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:angel:

You may want to consider this product: http://www.saniguard.com/

I'm ordering some now, I'll let you know in a few weeks how I got on with it...

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Kroaky's Karaoke