Just how dirty are those records?
Record cleaning
After reading The Audiophile Man feature on vinyl cleaning wondering what Audiogoners think of his DIY cleaning solution (distilled water and alcohol solution with 7% alcohol). This is used as the cleaning solution in a Disco-Antistat record cleaner. Before placing the album in the disco-antistat,he brushes on a solution of a surfactant and glycol. After running album through the disco-antistat he then vacuums the residue with a RCM.
I was wondering if I could apply a solution of surfactant and glycol to an album with a stiff goat hair brush, then run it through just the US cycle of my HumminGuru US cleaner. Then rinse with distilled water by applying it on the album while on the Record Dr. using a second stiff brush to clean into the grooves, then vacuuming the residue up through the Record Dr?
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- 25 posts total
Long ago, I dove deep down into record cleaning solutions. I think there was some very compelling evidence that alcohol is a no-no on vinyl. It dries out the vinyl. There are some incredibly detailed long papers on the subject... one I think for or about the archival cleaning for the Smithsonian. To me, it is just worth it to buy VPI concentrate and make a gallon... and not worry about it. I'm not sure even your dedicated audiophile will hear dried vinyl... I am not 73 and most of my albums (2,000) probably on average have only been played 10 times... except really classics that I loved, then maybe 25. None of this is really hard long termed use. |
This may be of interest. Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition |
- 25 posts total