Anyone Still Using Zerodust

It’s not a good cleaner, but not for the reasons speculated. It’s not dangerous. It’s just not very effective at keeping a stylus clean over time, certainly not effective at clearing away any hardened or bonded crud, and completely useless at cleaning the cantilever & other bits of a cartridge. I have 2 sitting in a drawer, plus a DS Audio gel that has seen VERY little use and probably won’t again.

Use Magic Eraser (lots of application techniques on that one - I use a more "bold" approach than most) and a dry brush. Clean your cantilevers and front yoke/pole too. Liquid cleaners are OK if you like them.

@mulveling any opinion/concern regarding comments like "Magic eraser is an abrasive so I wouldn’t go near a diamond stylus with it."

Yes, good! The abrasiveness is what makes it an effective cleaner. Diamond is exceptionally hard; much harder than melamine. You either have to wear it down with other diamonds, or through massive attrition over time via softer materials (like thousands of miles of vinyl groove playback - which btw can also contain other materials from imperfect cleaning). Slow-speed dipping or even gentle rotational scrubbing with ME (once per session - don't be obsessive) doesn’t qualify as either.

This is like being concerned about rubbing alcohol being poison, but dabbing it on a scrape anyways. It’s not nearly enough absorption to damage your body, and the cleaning effect is more important to longevity.

I don’t see much mention of anyone using Stylast stylus cleanser, with its very soft brush. . . 

I have it - its a decent cleaner, better than gel dips, but I still prefer Magic Eraser.

@mulveling

What is the precise process by which you use the Magic Eraser? Do you just drop the stylus onto the surface of the sponge, and then lift?

I’m sure many won’t have the appetite for my "rotational scrub":

• ME should be cut into ~1.5 inch long wedge or rectangle, ~3 mm thick
• Place on platter, and carefully lower stylus into a "near" corner (position bulk of piece further away from stylus). Optionally pre-wet this corner with a drop or 2 of water.
• While stylus remains dipped, use a single finger to gently push long & far side of the piece so that it rotates around the stylus, with stylus acting as the pivot point (rotational scrub). Alternate direction back & forth a few times.
• Quick hit with the dry brush, in case any ME fibers came off.

A simple dip & lift alone works OK (much better than Onzow), but the ME can give much more cleaning power if you’re willing to use it. Being wet also improves its cleaning power. The key here is - I trust my hands and the forces I subject the stylus to. I’ve used this for 3 years on my Koetsu Blue Lace, among other high-end MC cartridges. No issues here, just very clean styli. The stylus shank keeps cleaner and clearer over time with this method than any other. No need to do this after every side; that’s what a dry brush is for. I’ll use this method once every session or 2.