What's simplest effective record cleaning process


I've read the dozens of tweaky, compulsive record cleaning rituals. I've been there, done that...many years ago. Now that my kids are old enough that I can return to LPs, but I'm too old, tired and busy to obsess, what should I do to keep my already clean records in good shape? With minimum time/fuss? I have a Basis/Robin/Benz analog setup and very good components downstream.
kocsis
Dust them with anything that leaves no residue before you play. I use a dry Discwasher to pick up the loose & hairy bits. Spin the disc, rotate the brush during contact, wipe the brush in the opposite direction on your jeans - viola; clean record, clean brush! For stubborn chunks, dislodge the offending meteorite with a plastic guitar pick. Back in the heyday, a friend of mine cleaned only AFTER every play, the idea being his LP's were always ready for immediate service. But then again he also never owned a bed 'cause he was a stoic outdoorsman and preferred a sleeping bag surrounded by stacks of national geographic atop the wall to wall carpet. It takes all kinds :^)
The Decca or Hunt carbon fiber brushes are about the best thing I have found for dusting, without building up static. Without washing, dusting is all you can do. Do it just before, and maybe after play. If you handle your records carefully, to keep the fingerprints off, and you don't buy used albums, then the brush will be satisfactory. You won't get quite as quiet of a sound as you would with washing, but it will be good.
Buy a used VPI 16.5 record cleaning machine. A few drops of fluid and one quick vacuum pass on each side and your LP sounds new. Well, unless it is scratched or gouged, of course!
I like a carbon fiber brush, followed by a quick treatment of GruvGlide. I use the "Hunt Decca" brand of brush. This system has worked great for me for over 15 years, and you can hear the difference.

Hope this helps, Happy Listening,
hififile
I like a carbon fiber brush, followed by a quick treatment of GruvGlide. I use the "Hunt Decca" brand of brush. This system has worked great for me for over 15 years, and you can hear the difference.

Hope this helps, Happy Listening,
hififile
I have found that the allsop orbitrac 2 works wonders on my records that are beyond a simple dry brushing. Costs $40, takes about 5 mins per LP, once a year or so. I was VERY skeptical that something so cheap and easy would work but the results were not short of stunning.
I've always hand washed each record once and only once. Each time I play it, when on the turntable, I also use a carbon filament brush to dust it followed by a few shots of an Anti-Static gun. The wash is done with a disc doctor pad using a (1/3) 90% Iso-Propyl alcohol/ (2/3)distilled water solution. If there is a stubborn dirty spot I use the alochol at full strength. I dry the records using yellow flannel rags, very soft and absorbent, I've found in the auto dept. of K-Mart. The wet wash is done by laying the record on a flannel rag, spraying each side with an spray bottle (1 pint garden spray bottle) of the solution, wiping hard with the disc pad, flipping and repeating the spray and wipe and then drying with the rag. It takes 2 to 3 minutes per record. Note I use a compressed air can to clean the record liner. It's not an obsessive process but it gets the records as quiet as they can be.
Yes Lugnut (and Albert) the LP #9 is the way to go when cleaning cartridiges.