With the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping worldwide, many venues have been shut down. These include buildings like schools, universities, churches, theatres, bars, arenas, stadiums, and event centers. Almost every one of these facilities has a sound and or lighting system (or both!).

Knight Sound and Lighting wants everyone to stay safe and that is why we recommend cleaning and sanitizing your sound and lighting equipment. This will help ensure the safety of your staff, students, co-workers, visitors, etc.

If you work in the sound and lighting industry, you are pretty familiar with the equipment that is being used and how it is handled – both figuratively and literally. Think of how many people are touching the equipment and then multiply that by all the little buttons, knobs, touchscreens, keyboards, wall control stations, switches, etc. There are A LOT of “common surfaces!”

As life – and business – gets back to normal, we encourage you to take the time to wipe down, clean and sanitize these areas (especially the “hotspots.).

A couple of tips for cleaning your sound and lighting equipment (NOTE! These tips are meant for low-voltage equipment only!)

• MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF and UNPLUGGED. You don’t want to risk damage to equipment and possible harm to yourself. Some equipment power supplies hold a very long charge, even after being unplugged for a couple of hours. Best practice would be to keep the unit unplugged for 24 hours before cleaning.
• Consider using a very soft, clean (new) 1-2" paintbrush to remove dust and debris before cleaning (but be sure not to push dust further in to cracks and crevices).
• Make sure to focus on sanitizing “hotspots:” buttons, sliders, knobs, keyboards, the system mouse, touchscreens, switches, powerstrips, etc.
• Don’t forget microphones, windscreens (windscreens can usually be washed by hand and sprayed with a disinfectant), beltpacks, mic stands and clips, cables and any other “common surface.”
• NEVER spray or pour any cleaner directly onto electronics. Use a cloth, Q-tip, swab, cotton ball etc. that already has the cleaner added to the fabric.
• You can always use household cleaning products that kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses (use as directed) but you may want to look into some other options.
• Rubbing alcohol (99%) is a great and cheap option. It not only kills viruses and germs, but is usually “electronics safe.”
• Make sure that the equipment completely dries! You can use a small air compressor or canned air to make sure everything is dry before turning it back on for use.
• You can also use sanitizing wipes – just be careful on the type of surface you are cleaning (and use as directed).
• If you have touch screens please use a safe cleaner that is specific for touchscreen devices and read instructions. PLEASE NOTE: It is usually recommended to use a microfiber cloth for touch screens.
• New technology! There are devices online (like this one*) which use UV light to kill 99% of bacteria and viruses. These are super cool. Think of it using light to clean your lights!!!!

If you have any questions or concerns or would like our expertise please call us toll free (866)457-5937. If you have a large scale dimming rack that needs cleaned, checked and dusted, we can help with that as well. You can call us at (866)457-5937 or you can fill out this form to be scheduled for a visit.

*Device not tested, nor endorsed by Knight Sound & Lighting.