Nothing much to add to all the tech wizdom above...just wondering how one finds info on disinfecting/ cleaning mics between users?
There will likely be an Audio Engineering Society convention panel on "coping with Covid" and cleaning hardware is one of the topics. In fact the panel has a
Zoom meeting in about 2 hours...
Shure just updated their guidance on cleaning (3 days ago). DPA has guidance. PointSource guidance will be forthcoming if it's not already available. AKG is kind of vague, as is
Sennheiser (so far anyway, we're working with them).
The April 8, 2020 webinar at
www.practicalshow.tech (use the Archive
tab to find) has a presentation by Denise Woodward of
IATSE Local 16, and she provided the info she had amassed at that time. I know Denise has edited and updated her findings but I'm not sure the downloadable assets have been updated by PST. The big take-away - DPA cleaning varies with the type of mic. Miniature mics should not have alcohol, solvents of any kind, or most chemicals used on the mic cable as they will strip the plasticizers from the outer
jacket and cause the cable to become intermittent and fail. DPA recommends... wait for it.... olive oil. Yummy! Our actors will smell like pasta and salads which may be an improvement! The mic
element itself can be cleaned with with isopropyl (they have guidance on this).
For most hard surface items the use of 70% isopropyl alcohol (the 'prep pads' the nurse uses before giving an injection are perfect). The manufacturers won't tell you how long to leave it wet (that's up to you figure out, but we'll have some guidance in the
AES panel that can be traced back to health authorities), but what you don't want is to have liquids running into the device. Remember that the important parts are those touched and handled by other persons... Some of the guidance the panel has received is that consoles will not tolerate frequent cleaning and 'wet' cleaning is discouraged.
Finally, so far the biology is indicating that infectious levels of virus do not survive on surfaces for as long as previously thought. If an item is not used for several days and is otherwise clean and free of debris, gunk and soil, the item is likely safe to re-use. That may not sit will with some parents, teachers, students, or administrators so a certain amount of 'sanitation dog and pony show' may be necessary to assuage them.