Homemade record cleaning solution for RCM - Yay or nay?

I've tried reading through the various threads on this topic and just get more confused. I have a Nitty Gritty RCM and want to try a homemade solution of distilled water, dish soap and some 91% isopropyl alcohol. I am not looking for perfection. 80/20 rule is what I am after...

 

If you’re asking for opinions whether or not to use homemade, I say “nay”. IMO, commercial record cleaning fluids really aren’t expensive enough to make homebrew solutions worthwhile, unless you’re cleaning so many records you’ll need to use multiple gallons of solution in the near future. I don’t know who to believe about whether alcohol is safe or not, but it’s pretty easy to just avoid and play it safe with an alcohol-free record cleaning fluid. I have paid a lot of money for my records, so I am not inclined to go unnecessarily cheap when it comes to what I put on them to clean.

That’s just my take, though. I know plenty of people use homebrew solutions and claim not to have problems. I just don’t think you really save that much money at the rate most people realistically go through cleaning solution.

 

Go for it! Might want to get the alcohol down to 10% of the mixture instead of the 20%. I use a homemade mixture like that and it works perfect. Rinse with distilled water.

 

Nay! I tried the DIY stuff with alcohol etc. I didn't damage my records but it was not as effective as L'art Du Son. I know you want to save a buck here and I appreciate that, but a bottle of L'art du son makes like a gallon of cleaner which goes a long long way.

 

Yay.
LJC home recipe for vacuum record cleaning machines
Can substitute the Ilfotil with a couple of drops of Triton X-100 wetting agent.

 

Sure why not? I use AVIS #6 - and am very happy.

 

Nay.
I dont use alcohol based solutions.

 

Unequivocal "Yay".

DIY - It's cheaper, readily available when it runs out, you know what's in it, and never have to question why you're pay $300 a pound for some mystery solution that probably costs $2 to make! (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration in SOME cases, but trying for the effect to make my point )

Plus, the bottom line is DIY works just a well, and that's all that really matters - and coupled with the benefits above, a no-brainer! (I'm really good at no-brainers).

 

If you make your own solution, alcohol should only account for 10% of the mix. Ingredients should include:
1). Distilled water
2). Alcohol(this is not used as a cleaner but as a "spreader" to help the solution spread out more evenly. If the solution still beads up, add a little more alcohol.)
3). Dawn dishwashing liquid(This is the cleaning agent and if making a concentrate, in say a 2 oz. bottle, use only enough to give a light blue tint.)
4). Kodak Photo-Flo(This prevents spotting and helps to release the cleaner and contaminants from the grooves. Follow the directions per the amount of fluid in the solution. A few drops does it.)

What I found with the Nitty Gritty system is that the provided "scrubber" actually scrubs the dirt and contaminants into the grooves, making it difficult for the vacuum to suck them out. You should use a fine fiber brush to loosen the particles so they can be vacuumed out. A record store would use a Nitty Gritty to clean records when you bought them. When I played them, there was so much noise that I had to re-clean the records when I got home. Being tired of this, I wouldn't let them clean my records at the shop. Using one of those cleaning/anti-static carbon-fiber brushes that many different companies put their names on, actually charges the records with static electricity. The high the quality of vinyl used to press the records will make them more susceptible to static electricity.

 

Well I think you have your formula right there; 80% water, 20% iso-p add dish soap. Just keep in mind that with dish soap, less is more. Start with very little and add if required. A small amount goes along way and if you are only making say a 100ml batch, then you need very little, a drop would probably be too much in such a small base.

DIY vs No DIY - just try it for yourself and don't over think it. I did just that. I decided to use pre made formula but I have no regrets trying DIY formulas and none ruined my records. Just go for it is basically what I'm saying.

 

Since you asked, nay. Tergikleen is ridiculously cheap and effective. For $30 and the cost of distilled water, you can make many gallons of cleaner that are incredibly safe and effective. That's enough cleaner to clean many people's entire collection.

If you do your own though, listen to the above and go light on the dish soap (use only the clear stuff and nothing with added coloring) and the alcohol. Alcohol is only to aid in drying as far as I understand it, so honestly there's no point in it with an RCM. The more of that stuff you add though, the harder it's going to be to rinse off.

Tergikleen. After trying MANY cleaning options and sometimes making my records noisier than before, I swear by the stuff.

 

@Big Blue I DO go through gallons of DIY solution as I bring home lots of new LPs, sometimes a few hundred can show up in a week. Plus, of my current collection of 4500 LP's I have literally 1500 LP's that have still not been cleaned or played for the first time since acquiring. Then, my hand cleaning process can use liberal amounts of my DIY and distilled water per LP. I think you know, but realize I run multiple TT's and music / LP's is playing all day sometimes as I work from home and like to have music playing in the background. (it's not a stretch that I play 20-25 LP's on some days)

I couldn't imagine the expense if I had to keep buying pre-made LP cleaning solutions, even what are deemed "concentrates" (I do look at them as expensive - I shudder when I see the prices of some of these solutions!) So it's not even a consideration here, DIY all the way! But even if I did not have such a high demand, I would still use DIY because I like saving money on the accessories, don't like being dependent on the task / overhead / hassle of having to order out every time I run low.......

But I am also fortunate though to own a GT-2000L turntable with very high torque for cleaning LP's on by hand, It is important if you are going to clean by hand to not do it on many TT"s that have lower torque because you can put undo strain on the motor. The biggest drawback to anyone wanting to clean by hand is having a TT platter with enough torque -- and why many probably buy RCM.

That's still probably $25 more than my DIY solution, and one $30 Tergikleen would clean a fraction of my collection and maybe last a couple of months!!

But I agree with you, that would be plenty for most with smaller collections.

 

I just buy the Audio Intelligent #6 -- primarily because I am afraid I might ruin my records with my own concoction!

Respect! And here I am already dreading the eventual cleaning of the measly 8 LPs I will receive next week

 

No, but only because I said yes for years.

I never came up with anything nearly as good as either Audio Intelligent #6 or TM-8 from Groovy Hi-Fi, which are my two current favorites, and some alcohol infused solutions I brewed up actually damaged records. Now that sucks!

 

I can't remember exactly how many it makes, but that $30 worth of Tergikleen makes more than 30 gallons of cleaning solution, and I think it's well more than that. If you are going through that many gallons of cleaning solution in a couple of months, you're spending way more time cleaning than listening.

 

Well, you did say you "can't remember exactly" how much it makes --- tell you what, you tell me how many gallons exactly $30 makes, and I will tell you how long I think it would last (based on how much DIY I go through -- realizing my DIY uses mostly distilled water in the mix). Also realize hand cleaning and the liberal amounts required to suspend / remove the crud probably adds a little more than you'd think per LP. I will make a guess my DIY is still much cheaper. If your $30 makes 30 gallons, I would be surprised though --- but I have never heard of Terkigleen (until you mentioned it) and never used it, so would have to go read more about it.

I don't spend "way more time cleaning than listening". I do spend a good deal of time cleaning of course due to the volume compared to most --- but my process is so refined I am certainly faster than the entire RCM process. Most who have RCMs also don't like to fire it up to do a touch up or light clean, or even clean one LP...... which is an advantage to a hand regimen, overhead is low, you can choose the depth of the cleaning process, and tailor to the needs of the LP more.

 

Nay nay nay

 

You ain't gotta believe me if you don't want to or do anything differently than you are - I was replying to the OP anyway who *does* use an RCM.

Tergikleen is based on Tergitol which is used by the Library of Congress. That you need so little in distilled water (8-10 drops per gallon) is documented and proven. It's fast, easy, and effective, and does not require as much rinsing as someone who is thinking of using dish soap and alcohol is apt to need.

 

Darn, just when you were starting to pique my curiosity! I see though, RCM based, I didn't understand or missed that part re:Terkigleen.

BTW, when I read "Tergitol" for some reason I initially read that as "Geritol" LOL

Cheers

 

Sure, that’s why I included that caveat. I know some people do need to clean a lot on a regular basis. Your hundreds of LPs in a week is an extreme case, though, and for most of us, a $35 bottle (I do watch for it to go on sale) of L’Art du Son is going to last at least a year. Less than ten cents a day for clean records is a cost I don’t think about too much. I’m just making an assumption OP is probably not bringing in hundreds of LPs weekly on a regular basis.

 

A 1.6 oz. bottle of Terkigleen can produce around 67 gallons, assuming 14 drops per gallon, which may be on the high side in terms of # of drops.

 

67 x 14 = 938 ------- I am struggling with the simple concept of there being 938 drops in a 1.6 oz bottle!!!

That's a LOT of gallons coming out of 1.6oz......... now I AM surprised!

 

To quote comedian John Pinette, "I say nay nay!"

 

That’s assuming 0.05 mL per drop. Should be around 946 drops in that little bottle.

 

I'm cheap, so it's definitely home recipe for me.