Question for UK residents with RCMs

Distilled water or the cheaper deionized water can be purchased from Rowland Chemists and normally from Boots, both are free from impurities. In Boots you need to ask at the Pharmacy counter.

 

Just bought Genteel Purified Water from Soods (thanks for the tip!), 5ltrs for £5.99.

What brushes are you all using to spread the solutions, Mofi pad brushes or camel hair?

 

By far the best I've tried is 'The Right One' now available again from MCRU/Brook Audio. The Right One Record Cleaning Fluid - MCRU

 

I have a few VPI brushes, never seen or tried the MoFis, but the Pro-Ject camel hair seemed absolutely fine to me, I've even considered buying one to give it a proper try.

 

Use distilled water only not deionised or
best lab grade ( four stages of deionization, after which it is triple-distilled, then treated with high intensity ultraviolet light to kill all bacteria and microbiological particles )

20quid for 30litres will clean 1000s of records
RCMs cost almost mothing to run
find a good source for quality anti-static inner sleeves & outer sleeves
can cost pence per record

Distilled Water

 

Thanks for the link, I'll check that out after using the puried stuff from the chemists. I already use Nagaoka inner sleeves and have cleaned all my vinyl with the Knosti but I want to re-clean everything with the RCM and moving forward use that (with perhaps a pre-wash in the knosti for used records)

 

The issue I have with that is that I read a post by the guy who developed it saying a bottle would clean 40 records and I have more like 340, so it would get pretty costly.

 

With an RCM - how are you applying the cleaning solution? At the moment with the Knosti it obviously isn't an issue but so as not to over pour, should I get a spray bottle like the ones you use to water plants?

 

They tend to spray where you don't want, I have a couple of the VPI detergent bottles which have a great top, but I know people who use the cheap sauce bottles you can buy new from Poundland, 4 for £1, you can trim the nozzle to get the flow you prefer, just use it to spread liquid evenly across the the radius of the record.

 

Used Lart du son for decades & at 30Quid a bottle once diluted makes gallon , this cleans a lot of records
100% organic with no alcohol

Use a vacuum machine on LPs, but not to clean them. Here's why: If you put a dirty LP on a cleaning machine of any brand, much of the filth (dust, dandruff, nicotine, THC, body oil, dog hair, etc.) will end up on the cleaner's "velvet"-lined lips, from which it will simply be deposited on the next record you "clean." The stickier and more pernicious the substance, the more likely its transference to the next LP even if you clean those vacuum lips regularly. And you can't see this kind of contamination on the record.

A better method is to pre-clean your dirty LPs. with a record-cleaning fluid of choice: which contains no isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl is not good for vinyl.

 

Many manufacturers of record cleaning solutions recommend rinse cycles so I imagine they're removing whatever the manufacturers think might be left behind. The big audiokarma thread about using tergitol based solutions recommend rinse cycles as well. It's not something new. That advice has been around for a long time for many formulas.

The best thing for someone to do is experiment themselves and if they find a method that works to their satisfaction that doesn't include a rinse cycle, then go ahead. They're your records

 

I've used many types of brushes including the Mofi's. The Mofi's are very good for coverage if you want to scrub. They're also good as spreading your solution around but they to tend to soak up quite a bit of solution so I pre-wet mine or just put more solution on the record. They are also nice and bulky in a good way. Very easy to handle and use.

I also used something similar to camel hair brush. I think it was goat hair. That worked pretty well too and it had the advantage of not soaking up much of the solution. But I found the Mofi's were better for scrubbing and rinsing (If you have that step).

Lately I've been using the Osage brushes. Not sure who carries them in the UK, when I lived there the Mofi's were just easy to find and the goat hair brush came with an Okki Nokki I bought used. I like the AIVS brushes a lot. They spread the solution very well , they do not absorb that much fluid and are very easy to rinse clean due to the material they use to make them.

Not sure if the Osage Brushes are easy to get in the UK. If I had a choice between the Mofi's and a camel/goat hair I'd go with the Mofi's.

 

I never liked the spray method as it was too difficult, for me, to control the spray. Not sure how anyone else did!

What I use is a squeeze bottle I found at a restaurant supply store. Not the ones used to dispense ketchup and mustard as they tended to put out more liquid than I liked. I can't find the type I used on Amazon.co.uk and when I lived in the UK my used Okki came with a few bottles.

Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wilton-Mel...id=1511233848&sr=8-17&keywords=squeeze+bottle

or something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-Sq...id=1511233981&sr=8-52&keywords=squeeze+bottle

You could also use the Knosti bottle. Just rinse it out and give it a good clean.

 

Thanks for the tip, I just found some Milton squeeze bottles like this on Ebay and ordered.

 

I’ve read that LADS is sensitive to light, do you just store yours in a dark place or is tinted glass recommended?

 

It depends how much you use. I'm sure I've cleaned far more than 40 records with a bottle. Dave Brooks is doing bigger bottles but has not listed them. Maybe worth contacting. Anyway I think this formula is so much better than anything else as it requires no rinsing and does not add noise to records as some do.

 

Thanks, I'm going to give L'art du son a try first as I've read a lot of positive comments on it.

 

It's OK for certain contamination but is expensive and leaves a deposit. So needs a thorough rinse with purified water. I think it muddies the sound a bit. Frankly Right One is much better!

 

Anyone got tips for Swedish buyers? Im currently looking at MOFIs 2 step deep clean and rinse bottles of 16 and 32oz. Any thoughts on those or better suggestions?
I dont want alcohol on my records and I wont use any dish washing soap like some.

 

I can't comment on the sound yet but the price is not expensive compared to the Right One as you dilute it and clean a much larger batch. I'd be interested to try and compare both though with my ears.

 

Not sure how you are using it, but I don't get any deposits left with my VPI, it's also effective on almost all types of dirt and contamination, it's very rarely I have to result to a solvent or detergent as an alternative.

I'd point out that it's in RCM manufacturer's interests to suggest a rinse cycle, double the wear and tear, all I can say is I've owned a RCM for over twenty years, have tried most of the machines available in the UK and cleaned countless thousands of records, it's my experience and view that with a properly functioning and well maintained RCM using a good cleaning regimen rinse cycles are unnessessary and I'm glad I haven't wasted weeks of my life doing them, but as they do no harm if people believe them to be effective there is no reason for them not to, it's their time.

With regards to storing L'art du Son, leave it in the dark bottle in a dark cool place and it will last indefinitely, they no longer print an expiry date on the bottle, only mix the quantity you are going to use within a given period, I keep the mixed solution in similar conditions so it lasts for months, at least I've not had any go off.

One bottle of L'art du Son will be enough for the five litres of pure water, it will clean hundreds of records.

The squeazy bottles in the first link are similar to the ones they had in Poundland, four for a £1, the tops had a very small opening, but could be cut to preference, though obviously Poundland stock does change.

 

Btw, how did you find out about the Right One? I tried doing some research into it but could only find a post by the guy who created it, it doesn't seem to have generated a lot of reviews/conversation.

 

UK Hi-Fi Forums such as Art Of Sound and TAS. It was sold on Ebay. The inventor posts now on TAS (The Audio Standard) but stopped making it a while ago. David Brooks of MCRU has been given the formula to produce it. I'm sure he will do a 5 litre if asked. That used to sell for around £35.

 

Exactly the same as five litres of L'art du Son and purified water, I guess it's not so expensive after all.

 

The concentrate comes in a brown bottle and I store mine in the fridge (since I don't have air conditioning and the inside of my house can get quite hot during the summer, easily 27C). I then make small batches of cleaning solution, say 100ml or so. I also leave that in the fridge just because and use a typical plastic bottle (eg. small version of the Milton you bought). Like Dubmart I've had no issue with contamination.

I've seen the post above regarding the affect on sound. I haven't experienced that at all. I've been using L'Art Du Son now for almost a decade with no issues regarding sound or residue left behind either.

I've never used The Right One solution. But apparently the guy who came up with it researched it for Loricraft before their distributor came up with L'Art Du Son. If you do try it out, report back.