Your PSVR 2 will look pristine and clean straight out of the box. Unfortunately, well, you have to wear this device pressed against your face to wear it, which means it'll gather sweat, finger oils, and grime over time. This can lead to everything from occluded lenses to an uncomfortably dirty, bacteria-filled strap. And the white headset itself will quickly show any dust or dirt that builds up over time.
That's why we're here to explain how to clean your PSVR 2 headset. Because if you start wiping this down with water or cleaning wipes without checking the manual, you may end up regretting it.
How to clean the PSVR 2 lenses
We'll start with the trickiest, most important factor when cleaning your PlayStation VR2 headset. When adjusting the halo strap closer to your face to find the sweet spot, it's very easy to push it too close and actually touch your face. Otherwise, it will likely gather sweat or condensation over time, messing up the immersion.
To clean your PSVR 2 lenses, you need an optical lens microfiber cloth. Don't try to clean them with a paper towel, tissues, your shirt, or anything that will (A) have abrasive edges that will damage the lenses or (B) leave lint or other physical residues that may stick to the lenses.
Also, make sure that you do not wet the lenses, as even a little bit of water can damage the PS VR2's Fresnel lenses permanently.
This can be a bit frustrating: as anyone with glasses can attest, without liquid a microfiber cloth will just spread the grime around. So you'll just want to buy and use multiple dry cloths and swap them out once they've gotten dirty themselves.
We're not Glasses Central, so we haven't tested different microfiber cloths to see which is "best." I personally like to buy a large pack of the popular MagicFiber cloths on Amazon, so I have plenty on hand. Especially because you'll use them for more than just the PSVR 2 lenses.
Any microfiber from a trusted retailer should work; just make sure the cloth is clean before using it, as you can end up scratching or dirtying the lenses with whatever gunk you've picked up from your glasses or laptop.
How to clean the rest of the PS VR2 headset
Sony also recommends regularly cleaning the headset surfaces, head supports, controller surfaces, connectors and ports, vents, earpieces, and light shield. That's a lot to keep clean, and not everything can be cleaned the same way/
For almost all of the PSVR 2 components, Sony recommends in its instruction manual that you avoid alcohol, wipes, chemically treated cloths, or indeed any wet cloth at all.
In some cases, it may be less about damaging the headset and more "to help prevent the product exterior from deteriorating or discoloring." So if you drop your headset in a plate of spaghetti or something, you can probably risk a wet wipe if you dry it immediately. But beyond aesthetics, you definitely don't want to put on the headset and trap your eyes and nose in a small space with cleaning chemicals. Trust us on that!
Sony also warns not to use paint thinner or benzene to dye the headset back to its proper white color. I'd say that falls into common sense territory, but hey, we've all done stupid things at one point in our lives. Don't make this one of them!
For the headset's exterior, straps, and ports, along with the Sense controllers, just use a soft, dry cloth (it can be microfiber, but that isn't strictly necessary).
For the earpieces, twist then pull to remove them, then "wash them by hand with a mild detergent" before drying them with a soft cloth and "firmly" reattaching them. You don't need earwax ruining your surround sound when playing PSVR 2 launch titles like Resident Evil Village!
Aside from the lenses, the trickiest aspect of PSVR 2 cleaning is the black light shield that rests against your face while you play. Before you clean it, you need to "gently pull and wiggle the base at the right or left end," then detach it from each of the 14 slots before removing it fully.
After you remove the light shield, Sony recommends you break out a handheld vacuum cleaner to remove dust build-up from the internal vents. Just make sure you don't bonk the lenses with the vacuum attachment!
Back to the light shield: you have to wash it with water, dry it with a cloth, let it sit and air-dry for a while, and then reattach it into the 14 slots and push the nose guard into the bottom groove. It's a lot, but it's worth it to spare your poor forehead and cheeks from getting a rash or acne from built-up skin residue and sweat over time.
Clean consistently and preemptively
The last thing you want is for your headset (especially the lenses) to get permanently stained or occluded because you didn't care for it properly. Some of these steps may feel too time-consuming or annoying to follow, but if you just buy a bunch of microfiber cloths to have on hand, you can try to keep your lenses and headset clean before it gets unfixably dirty.
As a side note, I try to wash my face every time I'm about to put on the headset. Keeping myself clean keeps the PSVR 2 clean!
Properly cleaning the headset was just one of my 8 tips and tricks for new PSVR 2 owners, so feel free to check out my other suggestions if you found this guide helpful! For example, when it comes to protecting your investment, you may not have realized that you should avoid putting the PSVR 2 in direct sunlight!
Originally designed for cleaning camera lenses, these MagicFiber cloths will help you carefully clean your PlayStation VR2 lenses without damaging them. They're fully washable; just make sure they're dry once it's time to touch the headset.
