Beyond your voice, the microphone is an announcer’s most important tool for our trade.  It’s also the most neglected.  The computers get a nice bag to reside in, the microphone gets left in all sorts of environments, often tossed into a basket or bag with other wires or objects, banged around after a hard day of use and someone spitting and/or sweating on it.

How many of us, however, actually clean our microphones?  Over the past few years, I’ve started to see a trend of more announcers using their own microphones to help stop the spread of germs.  When I started doing it about 10 years ago, I was seen as a “diva”, now it’s not uncommon to see an announcer bring his own windscreen, disinfectant wipes or even his/her own microphone to a facility.

Not only does it offer a comfort level of knowing your equipment, you also know who has been holding the microphone.  And the mics, well they get a lot of spit on them.  And spit carries germs.  While I could scour the internet for all kinds of gross images and stats, stopping here is a good idea.

Whether you carry a small bottle of Lysol, wipes, sanitizer, etc., always remember to clean your microphone.

My microphones are cleaned nightly, especially if others have used them.  During the recent Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball tournament, the microphone received a wipe down after every National Anthem performance and halftime.  I keep the wipes, which I found in smaller packages similar to wet-naps, in one of my announcing bags and dispose of them immediately after use.

Sometimes just getting a soft windscreen and replacing it every few months is a good idea, but check the hard windscreen on your microphone.  Some mics, like Shure’s SM58 allow you to change the hard windscreen when it gets clogged with debris.

Whether you’re a busy announcer, or only have a few games, you really don’t want to miss a game because you came down with a cold or other illness from the microphone.