Silent, less labor intensive, record cleaner...

Most of the harsh record doctor noise eliminates from the bottom. You could try running it on a piece of rigid fibergalass, a 2 or 4 inch thick piece would most likely solve the problem.

 

No, I have not, but then I have never seen any cleaner that does not leave a residue.

Dust does not automatically "collect". Have a clean platter and stylus and one the album has had a thorough wet cleaning once. It is really not going to need another wet cleaning. Brush it, play it, put it back in it's inner sleeve, put it back in Jacket and put away. It is not going to collect dust not being played. Household dust is not deep grimy stuff. A simple carbon fiber Mo-Fi brush will be fine. Mostly I would just brush the surface clean and keep it clean.

 

Check it out. It's pretty amazing. I'm cheap as hell but I've splurged for four bottles at $26 buck a pop over the years -- and I would never spend that kind of loot if I wasn't really impressed. The cleaning instructions use two brushes, apply with one brush and let dry and then brush again. I use a Mofi brush to apply and then a classic Discwasher for the final wipe. I think the main ingredient is some grade of ultra pure lab alcohol you can't buy otherwise .

 

I also used the MoFi record brush and I think it does an excellent job at cleaning my LP's. I got The MoFi ONE Cleaning Solution with it and I found it tricky to used. At first I used a generous amount of it directly on the record and I soon found out that it must be used the opposite way, pour it directly on the record but only a small amount otherwise residue is even visible to the naked eye.

 

high purity alcohol woul be the only thing that I could think of that would not leave any residue.

 

50% distilled water, 50% isopropal alcohol and a few drops of dish detergent. I put this mix in a clean spray bottle. Use a microfiber to gently clean, then rinse with clean water.
Dry record on a clean towel with clean paper towels, put record in a new poly sleeve. Done.

 

I used to clean with dish soap and rinse in the sink, forty years ago.

Thirty years ago, I used a Discwasher brush, until I accidently dropped a couple of Discwasher liquid on top of my amplifier and saw the sticky goo that was left over a couple of days later. While I would still use the Discwasher brush, which I thought was a decent, well made brush.

Many years back, I did use alcohol and water, but a few years back, the chemist over at AK explained that alcohol can damage vinyl, although he explains that it is an excellent solvent. He recommends keeping it a low percentage with no more than 10%.

He is the one who suggested the record cleaning mixture that I use and personally recommend.

The two things that I care about are, will it clean? And, will it harm the record and leave a residue?

His mixture appears to have satisfied these requirements. I don't have a large record selection of records by any means, but proper cleaning of records is time consuming and I want to do it right and I want to do it once. But I do realize, that for some used records, it may take a couple of cleanings and I don't want to be repeating the process again.

There are many different methodologies that can be used to clean vinyl. This one comes from a chemist, who appears to be the best, "more professional" source. This is why I have chosen to defer to his suggestions.

Myself, as I am not a chemist, I really have no idea.

 

I try to keep it simple also. The mix I use is not strong, but does the job. I have never seen any residue, or evidence of anything other than clean vinyl, that plays clearly. That is what I want.

 

Your friend is right - alcohol removes the oils from the plastic/vinyl. A little bit is OK but a 50/50 dilution is insane!!!!!!!!

Armorall contained alcohol and it dried out many dashes and other plastic bits and they reformulated it after being sued by car collectors. I used silicone brake fluid which contains chemicals that keeps rubber bits pliable - not on records but on my cars.

 

If I had a record with a bunch of "GOO" on it, I guess that I would use some alcohol or Goo Gone. I mean, you would have to use something serious. I would be the same thing as the "wood glue" method, when nothing else is working. What would you have to loose?

Fortunately I don't have any records with glops of goo on them, but I have see records which do.

There is no reason for anything like this to get on my records and I would not buy any such used record that looked like that anyway.

I have a modest collection of records, but I am not a record collector. I just have 'em to play 'em. Beyond that, I do not care.

 

Why is high percentage iso alcohol "insane"? I've had a few old LPs I bought that had horrid crackle that non diluted iso alcohol improved drastically. LP vinyl is not soluble with Iso alcohol. Remember that Iso bottle is plastic!

 

Well, there are different kinds of plastic and our chemist friend doesn't think that it will outright dissolve the vinyl, but he did indicate that it would be hard and effect the HF in the groove.

Me, I can't see down into the grooves and I am not a chemist.

 

The Nitty Gritty sounds like a jet at full throttle. Sitting it on a piece of fiberglas resolves that issue, or a floor mat or small rug. I built a wooden base for mine with fiberglas in it.

 

Groovewasher is an update to the ORIGINAL Discwasher system, which you mind find helpful. Allsop has also resurrected a use before playing system that I’ve seen advertised but don’t much about. Music Direct sells it, so that’s one level of legitimacy.

 

I'm using the VPI Cyclone for suction. No issues with noise.

 

If you are blocking the vacuum motor exhaust opening, to deaden the sound, it also blocks the air flow that cools the vacuum motor which could cause it to overheat and shutdown if it has overtemp protection or worse case shorten its life.

One of the complaints with the Record Doctor is if you continuously clean records without a break the motor can overheat and self protect shutting down.

I have never had this happen as I Spin Clean before vacuuming so the motor is not on as long but It does run hot so I don't recommend blocking the exhaust opening on any equipment with a motor that may be on for extended period of time.