Got myself a spin clean!

I bought a spin clean a few weeks ago. It's amazing looking in the tank to see what it washes off brand new records.

 

at no point did I use the word damage.

 

i've had so much static on new records i couldn't get them out of the sleeve...

 

In my experience, it's not so much the Spin Clean that causes the static. It's the drying process using microfiber cloths. I go over them twice with two separate cloths to soak up as much liquid as possible before letting them dry in a rack, and depending on the weather, the records can get a bit static-y. I keep my Zerostat handy when I'm having a cleaning session.

 

Great product. I've never had a problem with static.

 

I also belong to the "air dry" school, and use the rack that's been pictured previously in the thread. Spin Clean is a great way to clean your records, but do plan to clean around 20 to 25 at a time, or it won't be quite as cost effective. Find another use for the towels!

 

That makes me nervous - I keep thinking about dust settling on what I have cleaned. But ... the convenience is sure tempting!

 

The small bottle that comes with it may do about 300 records. Three capfuls do a wash and I do about 20/25 records a session.

 

awesome. like others have said: score yourself a $1 dish drying rack at your local dollar store and you're good to go.

 

Three capfuls?! The instructions say one capful.

 

It comes with a small bottle with a smaller cap you need three of those.
The larger replacement bottle you only need one cap.

 

Be very careful washing 180 and 200 gram lps. If there's anything in the scrubbing pads that didn't rinse out it will scratch the thicker lps.

 

Gotcha. I've only ever bought the 8oz bottle. The label says one capful cleans up to 50 records, but I've never gone past 30.

 

I have actually done this. Had a new copy of Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" LP. Played it once or twice and accidentally got it slightly dirty. Washed it with Spin Clean - just 1 cap of the washer fluid in distilled water, dry with supplied towels, air dried overnight.

No problem with static or clicks and it removed the dirt & slight smudge.

Quite happy with the unit over the past year and >300 LPs washed. The only question I have... How much better will a record cleaning vacuum machine perform???

 

bless you for actually giving a human answer to a fairly basic request.

glad to know you didn't have issues with static, though. I've struggled in finding the right microfiber cloth for my record cleaning process (I don't own a SpinClean) and one of the factors that would cause me to finally take the plunge is if I knew I could wash my records without actually making them sound worse than they did pre-cleaning.

if I may ask, about how much of the fluid have you gone through for those 300+ LPs washed?

 

No it won't! Been using isopropyl alcohol in my dyi solution for over 30 years and see and hear no visual or sonic degradation of new or used records in my collection.

 

I've cleaned over 1,000 LPs and I still have a couple of capfuls left in my second 8 oz bottle.

 

The Spin Clean cloth seems, in every respect, identical to this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Q0BEXE...=UTF8&colid=A988J47WXNY5&coliid=IBFHYDSNHL2D7

I own and use a Spin Clean and the original cloth does a fine job for me. When a record comes out of its bath, I lay it flat on a micro-fiber cloth: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Microtex-Microfiber-Cleaning-Towel-8-pack/16213475 I then (mostly) dry both sides before placing them in a drying rack.

To my old eyes and ears, they sound new when clean.

 

I also used the standard DYI formula until I got the Spin Clean. I prefer the concentrate that they formulate. I buy new records on a regular basis and clean them before playing in most cases. I have found that after using the DYI solution, new records don't look as shiny. I don't think that is a big deal or makes any sonic difference but the argument against using the store bought cleaner vs. DYI is pretty poor. The cost of one bottle of formula will clean thousands of records.

 

I use the spin clean fairly frequently. cleaned about 120 LPs in a couple days. I can generally get through about 40 - records before my rags are all too damp to dry anything. the rags I recommend washing twice if possible before you use them. the rags can leave small fibers on the records when they are new and have only been though one wash cycle. I found they quit leaving much behind after the second or third time using them. Also, if you are cleaning a bunch, try to let them sit in the spinclean for a few seconds after you get done spinning it. This lets some of the solution drain back into the tub and makes it so the rags will be more dry for longer. When you get up to around 30 records or so with the same solution you might notice the solution has lowered in the tub. I just add a bit more distilled water and keep going til I hit 50. I will only go up to 50 with fairly new records. I like to clean brand new ones, works very well. For older, dirty records I recommend maybe cleaning 20 or so. when I clean them I will just spin one, dry it and set it off to the side to air dry for a bit, start on the next LP, once I am finished spinning that one the first LP has generally had enough time to air dry a bit so I put the first back in its sleeve. I continue like that til they are all done. Sorry if all this has already been covered. I picked up the spinclean mk2

 

I am also curious how much better a $700 vacuum machine will do vs the spin clean.

 

I think the best bet is a Spin followed by a vacuum. It eliminates the rags, drying racks and will speed things up. the down side of a spin clean is dirty water and dirty rags, both eliminated by a vacuum. Clean is clean, you can get there either way.

 

someday when I really feel like it I will get a vacuum. haven't wanted to go that far yet

 

I got a knosti trough and clamp (bought as spares rather than the whole thing), and use it for the distilled water rinse, so my record goes from the Spin Clean with detergent directly into Knosti with distilled for the rinse - works well, and doesn't allow the record to dry with whatever's on it while I'm cleaning other records in the detergent and only then changing the fluids.

 

yeah I can attest to this Ben. in the instructions that come with the spin clean it does want you to use three caps of the 8oz bottle (unless you somehow got an 8oz with a huge cap). I cannot remember what size the large one is. I have one sitting at home that hasn't been opened yet, but that one requires only one. just figured I would throw out my two cents