Stylus cleaners

@bpoletti 

after I use the magic eraser, I use a soft brush (just get a soft fine tip artist brush and cut the handle down) to remove any fibers left.  I don’t have the magnification to take an image, but at 30x the cantilever and stylus are very clean, no build up, no fibers.  I use a similar brush to clean the entire cartridge every so often, otherwise it will get hairy due to static.

@audio-b-dog I listen to a wide range of music from classical to jazz to rock and heavy metal. My expectation from a system is that it should be able to reproduce it all equally well. If I was only listening to classical I probably stick with tubes. Used to own several ARC tube preamps. They make great audio equipment. 

I paid around $70 for the LAST stylus maintenance duo (cleaner and treatment). Sounds expensive for 2 tiny bottles. But considering how much of the product is used each time during the cleaning process, it should last decades. The results are outstanding as well - lower surface noise, improved clarity.

Everyone who uses magic eraser as a stylus cleaner…I hope you realize that it’s abrasive. Yes, diamond is a hard mineral, I get that.

But at the same time I’m curious to understand, with so many choices of purpose built stylus cleaning options on the market, what are the advantages of using this household cleaner as your tool of choice.

@audphile1 

I don't use a stylus cleaner. I just use brushes. My system sounds great. I clean my records with a Degritter so I don't get gunk on the stylus. And I trust Joe Grado, the inventor of the moving coil cartridge: "Don't clean your stylus with that gunk. Just brush it off. Diamonds are so hard nothing sticks to them."

Yes I know @audio-b-dog 

My take is - if your records are clean (washed, re-sleeved in new anti-static sleeves) and you use a carbon fiber brush to clean records before playing them, you won’t have any significant dust accumulation on the stylus. Dry stylus brush is all you need. However, periodically cleaning stylus with something like the LAST duo does not hurt. It will not attract dust. It will get the stylus and cantilever cleaner than a dry brush alone can. Degritter is a key part of it all. It gets your records really clean. 
Your Grado cartridge stylus was exposed to significantly dirtier records pre-Degritter. And the accumulation of gunk was unlikely due to LAST stylus cleaner. Most likely cause was dirty records. That’s my theory. 

My question was to those who use Mr. Clean on their stylus.