Most home studios are in the basement. We all know how dirty, damp and icky your basement gets. Make it a priority to keep your home studio clean and dry.

I keep my door closed and locked to keep pets, kids and the wife out, not to mention it's an extra security measure.

Put away anything that is not being used. Mics in the mic cabinet, pedals, anything...put it away. Cover up your mixing board with a towel to keep the dust off of it. Cover up your keyboards, and any outboard gear. The trick is to not let dust settle on your expensive equipment.

I run a dehumidfier in my studio. This eliminates all of the moisture. My basement stays pretty dry, but it does still pick up quite a bit of moisture. Keep all of your guitars off the ground. Put all of your cables away. Put all of your pedals away.

See a pattern here? I think to myself, if my studio flooded, what would get wrecked? Everything is off the ground. Everything is put away. Everything is clean and dust free.

Last but not least, keep your acoustic instruments upstairs. Since I play my 12 string all the time, I like it upstairs anyway. But the moisture, mildew and other bad things won't get to your axe if it's upstairs.

If you take these precautions to keep your home studio clean and dust free, your equipment will last longer and you won't have any major catastrophes.

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