Keeping gear clean from dust/cat hair etc w/o a dust cover (recommendations?)

[Matthewsavant]

To those of you who have a lot of gear, what do you do to keep it clean from dust/cat hair etc?

I wouldn’t mind getting dust covers but the fact is at the moment really can’t afford to buy covers for every piece of gear I have, it would be hundreds (probably well over $1000) to get covers for everything I have…I know it seems like a weird problem, too much gear not enough dust covers but that’s where I’m at right now.

I unfortunately haven’t had as much time for my gear over the last 4-5+ months just because of life stuff (parenting stuff, prioritizing family time and wife’s needs at the moment etc) so I’ve literally spent more time cleaning my gear than using it…which doesn’t feel too good but that’s besides the point lol

I use dry paint brushes as one would to clean a mixing console and I also go over things with a swifter and sometimes if necessary a very lightly damped cloth.
It works fine but is a lot of work going between every knob, around every button and eavch individual key. This is what I’ve always done but I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve needed to clean things more than once every few weeks to a month but gear going unused apparently make them mega dust/cat hair magnets. It doesn’t get gross or anything we have a clean house but there could be very little dust or hair in the room or around the house but man the gear when I used I swear just attracts dust more than anything.

I imagine one would suggest to keep the door closed when I’m not in there to keep cat hair to a minimal but the office/room my gear is in is part of an open floor plan so unfortunately no doors.

Eventually I’ll get dust covers even if I end up having more time to get in there it’s obviously a good investment but for the time being I just have to find a way to throughly clean everything once a week or so. So I’m wondering, people with a lot of gear, do you have cleaning tips to make the process easier or less time consuming than using a dry paint brush?

[Bloop]

I use some cool looking fabrics folded over a couple of times, I’m sure a pillow case or similar would be okay

I have 0 regrets for any deck savers or dust covers that I’ve purchased, they do save a lot of cleaning time and the peace of mind is priceless

[chaocrator]

towels. they’re cheap, and not bad looking.

[ObscureMachines]

Giant purifier with HEPA filter something like this to desired scale https://amzn.to/3Rn7bjI

[losgallos]

Befaco Synth Duster

Works and very effective/fast

[MRNXGBRL]

My DigiTone loves crumbs, fatty oily greesy pizza fingers, ash and smoke. Makes it a wonky glitchy beast with a mind of it’s own. Some days she just won’t wake up, or makes regurgitating noises and i respect her for that. Sometimes even a good splash of coffee is all that was missing when working on a new project.

[PentalagusMusic]

I’ve just finished this little project this afternoon, and I figured it was worth sharing here and showing just what kind of funk can build up underneath those keys.
A warning to those with no decksavers, or even a sheet on their equipment.

The D key on every octave on my daughters’ Yamaha NP–11 had quit working.

No surprise that living with a cat it was loaded with fuzz and funk from sitting unprotected for a couple of years.

I wound up vacuuming out the whole thing, pulling up those little rubber strips and wiping the contacts off with an electronics cleaner and a microfiber towel.
That and keeping track of a few dozen tiny screws, and where they belong. Not too bad.

TLDR: I’ll be teaching them to keep a towel over it when not in use.

Update: I cut an old bedsheet to just fit over their piano. Mint.

[Bunker]

+1 for towels. Cheap and effective then if any tickling up is required a 3” clean paintbrush is ideal. No need to spend fortunes on bespoke dust covers and cleaning equipment

[oakwoooood]

My boy whats your synth and it’s dimensions and I’ll get you one whipped up. my wife likes to make dust covers for me. @m_a_r_y_w_a_r_d on insta she calls them synth blankets. lol. are you in the US

edit:just realized this thread is a year old. offer still stands tho.

[michaeljk1963]

I bought a plastic shower curtain liner for $8, cut it in half horizontally, added a key ring for weight using duct tape on one end of each, and now use it to drape them over a pretty large collection of gear. I have two large, fluffy collies, and it has reduced the dust on my gear by probably 80-90%.