You've finally invested in a high quality vocal microphone and your voice has never sounded better. Unfortunately, the keyboard player in your band decides he wants to use your mic during his featured rap. You cringe as he practically eats the microphone. You can barely watch as he encourages audience members to scream into the mic. Afterwards he returns your mic, still operational but considerably wetter and unhygienic.
Microphones are subject to an inordinate amount of abuse, especially in live music.
Grilles and foam windscreens can become saturated with saliva, clogged with lipstick, and will absorb the smell of cigarette smoke prevalent in most clubs. Regular cleaning of your microphone will not only improve its performance, but is also good hygiene. This document provides several simple yet effective techniques for cleaning microphones. The best way to clean a microphone is to remove the grille. Most vocal microphone grilles simply unscrew, e.g., SM58, BG3.1.