I cleaned a record today!

Anyone who has seen any post of mine regarding cleaning LPs will know that i have always been very negative about cleaning LPs. I have never done it nor have i ever needed to. For those of you with a weak heart may not want to read what comes next.

I played for the first time an old copy of True stories by Talking Heads and it was so bad i nearly threw it in the bin. Noisy and full of distortion. Unplayable. Before throwing it i thought i would "clean" it. I will now make your toes curl. I smothered it in washing up liquid and brushed it into the grooves. It gets worse. I then rinsed the album in running tap water and again used my record brush to clear out the grooves. I then dried it by shaking and using kitchen roll.

I then placed it on my TT. Lowered the tonearm and much to my surprise it now sounds GREAT. Sill a little noisy between tracks but the sound is superb and all the distortion has gone. God and you only know what long term damage i might have done but i am listening to it again now. Superb. Just thought i would share this moment of madness with you all x

 

Living your life on the edge

 

I've done this with LP's my RCM don't clean well, and it works > not quite as aggressive as you but close. Enjoy your "new" LP!

 

I cleaned a record once. I was about 9 and had spilt some choc ice on it which I allowed to go hard. Washed it under the hot tap in the bath. It was only later when I came to places like the SHF that I realised this was common practice. Amazing. I'm now too lazy to clean my records.

 

When you wrote "It gets worse" I already knew it would end in a positive manner, decent, but Im not tricked that easily ;^)

 

The fact it ended in a positive manner is what amazed me.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again though I'm not the originator of it > "Vinyl is much tougher than it is often given credit for."

 

Was this a "True Story"?

 

To think some people regard lp cleaning and room treatments as snake oil !

 

Honest; it was

 

I thought everybody washed their records in the sink. I don't have an RCM so that's what I do if I find a record from a thrift that's suspect.

 

I just started washing 'em up. I bought some records from a store that had just come in, and when I went to play them they sounded awful. A quick rinse from the old cleaning machine and voila - they sounded great. I'm going to try to get to a few a week if possible.

 

Those old bargain bin albums are always worth a good cleaning to see if they are salvageable. Just think how good it might sound if you actually now gave it proper cleaning with an RCM followed by a good rinse with distilled water.

 

They are snake oil. Everyone knows that throwing salt over your shoulder, knocking on wood, and reading tea leaves are the keys to good sound.

 

Soap and water is fine just rinse rinse rinse
In fact, how you did it is probably better, or just as good as 99% of the methods out there
More efficient too
A good washing in the sink is what I did for years until I could afford a machine and I still blast really dirty used records under the tap first before they even see the machine, better than just smearing dirt around
It's like washing a black car for me
Just try to keep the labels dry

 

Roy Gandy does, at least the first half

 

Heartwarming story! I'm curious: what did you use to "brush" it? Go ahead, I have a strong stomach.

 

If you believe what others claim about him yes.

 

I believe what comes out of his own mouth and from his own pen
His feelings on the matter and many others are thoroughly and credibly documented

 

Could you quote him for me then?

 

Read the users manual

 

To what?

 

I can't believe I am playing along with a guy who doesn't even own a turntable
All my links are old
Here's a Gandyism - if you want more let google be your guide

From the old Planar users guide to REGA TURNTABLES cute guy

"Don't use any record cleaner that works while the record is playing or any cleaners that use water or solvents. If you keep your records stored in their sleeves, avoid touching the playing surfaces, play with the lid down and keep all water and fluids away, cleaning should not be necessary. Don't worry about visible dust on the record surface, this is brushed aside by the stylus and any that collects on the stylus can be easily blown away. In general, record cleaning is overdone and one should not believe all the claims made by record cleaner manufacturers."