Proper hygiene is an integral aspect of civilization, throughout history.
This is especially true when sharing equipment that covers ones upper face and hair.
Without proper hygiene techniques, individually and population-wide, health complications can quickly arise. To prevent the potential spread of disease, certain protocols must be met – such as washing, managing garbage, keeping animals clean, and continual upkeep on overall cleanliness of body and place.
Head Mounted Displays, the quintessential aspect that makes Virtual Reality possible, require very close contact of skin, nose, mouth, hair, and eyes to the technology. If a personal device, used by just one person, hygiene of the HMD itself is not as vital but when sharing that same HMD between various people there is potential for the spread of bacteria if not overly cautious.
There are several emerging products and solutions to tackle VR hygiene.
copied directly from Facebook recommendations:
- Wash your hands prior to using your headset and controllers.
- Use nitrile gloves while cleaning your headset and dispose of gloves after each use.
- Between cleanings, wash your hands thoroughly.
- Clean your devices (headset, controllers and other elements that have been touched) between each use with non-alcohol, non-abrasive, anti-bacterial wipes. When using these products, wet the surface until it is visibly wet. The surface should remain wet for 10 minutes.
- Wipe your headset’s facial interface with a clean cloth and water to remove any residual cleaner and let dry completely before using again. In the event this causes any discomfort, replace the facial interface with a new one. Wipeable facial interfaces are also available as an accessory for use with some headsets.
- Use a dry microfiber cloth to clean your headset’s lenses.
- Let your VR equipment completely air dry after cleaning before the next use (at least 10 minutes). Use a dry microfiber cloth (but not the same one used to wipe lenses, as alcohol can damage lenses) to remove any wetness or residue from the headset and controllers.
Medical grade UV light sterilization.
Cleanable / reusable masks
disposable masks
disinfecting sanitizer
