LP Cleaning Services


I don’t visit the Analog section section often, so forgive me if this has been covered, but I was unable to pull any thread up that addressed this particular topic.

  I am definitely a Digital Guy, but I did recently purchase a Technics Direct Drive table, which I am using with an Ortofon 2M Blue and a phono preamp from Cambridge Audio.  I am very pleased with the Sonics.  I don’t however intend to buy many lps, if for no other reason than I am in downsizing mode, and am trying to confine it to old favorites (my several hundred lps were destroyed in a flood years ago) that are not currently available digitally.

  I recently bought two, from a well respected lp resale shop, and they are both dirty as all get up.  I am not blaming the store, as far as I am concerned its  caveat emptor.  I don’t really feel like investing in an expensive and space occupying lp cleaning machine for cleaning a small handful of lps.

  My question is: are there businesses that one can pay buy the lp to clean lps?  Preferably with an ultrasonic cleaner?  My local googling reveals home cleaning services and the aforementioned lp cleaning machines, but not per lp services.  I asked at two second hand lp stores and although they had machines for use in the store for their own purposes, they weren’t making it available to customers.  

mahler123

Showing 6 responses by mahler123

I wouldn’t expect a used record store to be cleaning their inventory.  These are shoestring mom and pop stores and probably carry a lot of unsold inventory.  They could be wasting thousands of dollars cleaning inventory that they never sell.  Alternatively they might clean it upon purchase and wind up selling it a few years later and it might reacquire some dust in the interim and lead to customer complaints.

  Ironically one of the two records Purchased looked better in the store but sounded far worse than the other, which had obvious issues on inspection.

  I appreciate the offers to come to peoples homes and use their machines but I live in Chicago.  The store is in Oak Park, Il. and called Val’s Halla.  Val probably was reselling lps before CDs came out.  She worked hard to keep the vinyl flame going during the CD era, doing her own record days and many community events, lugging playback equipment and records with her despite severe COPD.  Hopefully she made a few bucks from the vinyl revival before she died a few years ago.  The store was slated to close but her nephew, a true analog apostle, and who has a “regular “ job, is busting his butt to keep it going.  Although I don’t intend to buy many records for reasons stated in the OP, I wish them luck.  The inventory is well arranged and easy to work with and I can be responsible for my own record cleaning.  I suggested to them that they buy a nice cleaner and charge a fee but its a step to far for them

@pkatsuleas 

 

Thank you so much!  Exactly what I was looking for.  I wonder how you found them as my Googling turned up nothing.  I live in the Oak Park/River Forest area and this very close to me.  I am off tomorrow and hopefully I can just drop the lps off, as I have another errand close buy.  I will call them today and report back

@pkatsuleas 

 

btw, the Pure-Grooves site lists Val’s as one of their drop off sites, but Val’s Nephew didn’t mention them as an option when Inquired.

@pkatsuleas 

 

I have been in email contact with them.  They just told me the best way to be in contact was to drop off records at Val’s, although Val’s didn’t mention their service.

  I will probably drive to Berwyn over the weekend and update you here

Update:  Vince at PureGrooves cleaned my discs and provided new MoFi sleeves. He is a 10 minute drive from my house so this worked well.  Apparently the local record stores that had been drop off sites no longer work with him so I don't know what happened there