Cleaning Your VR Headset

Your VR headsets serve you best and you are surely entertained. Have you ever cleaned your VR headset? You might experience some depreciation in functionality especially when it comes to tracking function. Your headset camera help in tracking your controllers (Oculus Quest 2) you will to constantly wipe/clean the lenses so that you get rid of all the debris and external particles.

Cleaning is very vital since physical damage due to poor maintenance is not covered by any warranty, you will have yourself to blame if in case any damage occurs due to untidiness. The bottom line is that you should clean your headset but how are you going to do that? We will give you guidelines that you can follow to clean the different parts of your VR headset and the cleaning materials you can use.

1. How To Clean The Lenses

When it comes to cleaning your VR headset, the lenses are the first components to consider, they are one of the most sensitive parts of your headset that need regular cleaning and high levels of maintenance. 

You don’t need to contaminate your lenses and therefore before cleaning/touching them you will need to clean your hands first and then dry them well before touching any lens. Follow these steps:

  • Get a dry optical lens microfiber cloth that is not contaminated whatsoever.
  • Start circularly wiping the lenses from the center to the edges slowly and carefully. Repeat the same severally using different ends of the fiber cloth. When doing this, make sure you are not close to water surfaces, make sure your surrounding is moisture-free. If there are some cloudy stains, then you may need to slightly press the fiber cloth against the lenses while wiping to clear all the stains.

Caution: Do not use any liquid or cleaning equipment on your lenses. You may damage your lenses if you use any of these. Do not include even clean water. The keywords are: NO LIQUID should be used.

2. How To Clean The Other Headset Parts

The other headset parts include the non-lens parts. You will also need to ensure that the entire headset is clean. You don’t need to keep a dirty headset. It should be free from debris, dust, and external particles. 

You don’t need the microfiber cloth to conduct the external cleaning of your VR headset. You can use a dry cloth. Make sure that the cloth is not contaminated whatsoever, it should be free from oil or any other dirt particles to avoid contaminating some exposed parts of the headset.

You can start with the straps. Wipe them 2-4 times repeatedly, ensure that the surface where you lay your headset during cleaning is also clean. Wipe the other surfaces carefully, you might consider using another clean cloth since the first one might be contaminated while wiping the straps. The straps are the dirtiest surfaces since they are touched by every user while tying around their heads. Therefore after cleaning the straps, it is advisable to dispose of the cloth. It is recommended that you use non-abrasive wipes to clean the hard surfaces of your headset such as the straps and facial straps.

Do not use alcohol cleaners on these parts. You might see some hard surfaces as ones which you can use alcohol cleaners on but the risk is that the liquids/alcohol may flow to some of the sensitive parts like the lenses. It is therefore much safer if you completely avoid using these chemicals or alcohol when cleaning your headset

3. How To Clean The Controllers

Other than the headset straps, the controllers are one of the most contaminated components/accessories of the VR headset. Everyone comes to contact with the controllers. It is frequently/constantly touched by everyone. They, therefore, need a thorough cleaning. However, you don’t need to use alcohol cleaners or any other chemical. Similar to the above procedures, use a clean cloth to firmly wipe your controllers

After cleaning all the parts of your headset, leave it to air dry. Do not touch the device whatsoever for 10-15 minutes. You may leave it for 2 hours before using it again. When you leave it to dry, keep it away from any surface that will expose it to dust and external dirty particles/debris. Avoid much cleaning work by always storing the device away from dust, you can put it in an enclosed cabinet.

Try as much as possible to keep your VR headset away from direct sunlight rays. Some users may try to clean their VR headsets outdoors, this exposes them to direct sunlight and may cause damage to your headset. Do not use it outdoors whatsoever even if you are cleaning it.

Are There Other Cleaning Equipment That I Can Use When Cleaning My VR Headset?

The manufacturers have not established acceptable cleaning agents for cleaning your VR headsets other than the ones we have mentioned above. Use Microfiber, dry cloth, and non-abrasive wipes for cleaning. If you don’t have a clean cloth or microfiber, a dry and clean piece of cotton would do best in this case. We still emphasize that you should not use any liquid. 

Another piece of equipment that you may use is nitrile gloves. These will prevent bacterial contamination on your device. You are advised to clean your hands before touching your headset during cleaning, the nitrile gloves make your work easier here. Dispose of these gloves after use.

How Do I Remove Sweat And Oil From My Headset Straps?

Oil and sweat are common on your straps as they are tied around your head. Some people apply oil on their hair hence contact with the straps leaves oil stains on the straps. You will also sweat and the headset foam and straps will have this sweat. For these stains and dirt, use a soft cloth. Wipe firmly repeatedly with different motions and ensure that you wipe all the surfaces of the foam and straps. You may use more than one piece of cloth. You can wipe more the two times to ensure all the dirt is cleaned. If the surfaces are too dirty, dispose of the cloth and use the other one. Repeat this until you achieve clean surfaces. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Household Cleaners To Wipe My Headset?

Some of these household cleaners have alcohol as their content. Therefore, do not use any of these chemicals whatsoever. These liquids and chemicals may react with your headset surfaces. The lenses are at risk of damage if you use these chemicals. We do not recommend any household cleaner for this function. 

How Do I Prevent Fogging On My Headset?

I may not go into much detail about how you can achieve this but you can use this video to achieve your goal of preventing fogging: https://youtu.be/c5nTuJlu9_w 

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