To Clean or Not to Clean (New Vinyl)

I use a simple camera lens blower to blow off dust like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Giottos-Rocket-Blaster-Blower-Large/dp/B00017LSPI

I find it does a little better than dry brushes which do okay but always seem to leave stuff behind (mostly moves stuff around), and it's difficult to clean the brushes on a dry brush constantly.

Don't get the cheap crappy bulbs, get one with a valve on the other end, worth it.

 

Yep, that's exactly the one I have, looks like a '50s rocket ship, couldn't remember the name. It's still not terribly powerful, but I do use it.

 

I have an air compressor in the garage, will I use it for records.

NO!!

 

interesting idea, weird looking device!
can you explain your process- blow the air with the grooves but at a slight angle, perpendicular? record spinning or stationary? all I need is another record cleaning gizmo but this one does avoid contact with the vinyl surfaces.

 

Definitely clean them, wet or dry but I'd say a quick wet clean to be on the safe side.

Sometimes a vacuum clean alone won't do it, I bought a record which the seller cleaned it with a VPI machine before selling it but apparently there was still plenty grime and such because one I cleaned it with Simple Green and 91% alcohol, grime just started piling up massively on my stylus. This has happened with other records after cleaning with other things such as just alcohol or a classic dish soap + water combo.

There was one time I wanted to record an album, I cleaned it and the stylus before doing so but by the time it was all recorded, Side 1 was slowly becoming more and more unlistenable because of how much grime it was pulling out from the grooves. So basically I couldn't use that recording.

 

Why don't you do it?

 

Sometimes, depending on the condition of the record (used), it requires multiple cleanings. Assuming that the record wasn't damaged, which no cleaning will fix.

 

Nope none of them weren't, one had a slight warp, the other had bag rash but nothing that affected sound.
It honestly surprised me with the latter one because I did clean it a couple times before that iirc.

 

It looks funny, but the rocket fins in the back let you set it upright (others without that feature just roll around, annoying!).

I just blow surface dust off, usually from the center of the record out towards the edge. I just spin the record slowly by hand when I put it on the platter at first. If it looks really dusty I brush it off too. No real science to it, kind of at an angle. But a lot of time, I find the brush is probably as dusty as the record, so I end up depositing as much as I remove.

Worth pointing out I use a wet cleaning method with Tergitol (Library of Congress method), so when they first come out of the sleeve those records are practically sterile, they are CLEAN. This method also kills ALL the static - if you're not using a method that kills the static (or not cleaning new records at all), then a blower is not going to work very well (nor a brush, frankly) because the dust will just cling to the record.

You should be able to pick up this blower or something like it at practically any camera store. That's where I got mine.

 

I usually clean new records, but I have to point out that MFSL has a little bit of a conflict of interest. They do sell cleaning fluids and such (which I myself use).

 

As I said.

 

Just clean it, once you have cleaned it, you know it's clean.

 

Laziness

 

Used vinyl - YES, I've seen how some stores supposedly clean their vinyl…

New sealed - I'll play straight, cleaning does very little to improve a new LP unless it was handled poorly at the plant (fingerprints/smudges).

 

I am new to the concept of record cleaning machines. I am sure you will tell me I have destroyed my records permanently but I have sometimes used very mild dish detergent with water and hand washed ann then rinsed at the sink on the few times I have picked up a dirty used record. This does help. But I'm not seeing anyone doing this on this thread so is it because this is bad for records or too painfully slow , (which it is).
Go gentle on me now

 

That's sounds like a good way to clean them.

 

You haven't permanently damaged your records, or rather I don't think so. However, some dish washing detergents don't rinse as clean and you'd think, and then there are the issues of tap water: if it's hard it's going to leave mineral deposits behind. Most of the folks on this forum who hand wash their records, do a final rinse with distilled water to remove the minerals that are in tap water. Also, your cleaning solution should make very little to no suds, and I'd err on the side of no suds.

 

Never cleaned a record in my life.



But I would like to get one cleaned.

 

The problem with using compressed air to blow dust off a record is that you stir up all the surrounding dust and debris in the immediate area to be deposited onto the very record you're trying to clean. Any static electricity in the record, at all, will attract it.

Doug

 

The KAB record cleaner is a nice little addition to my audio needs. I've cleaned many records and it's made a world of difference from what I've heard. My Tangerine Dream Zeit album was saved with a cleaning (gunk in the grooves made it skip big time).

 

I only clean new records if they are noisy. Most aren't. Most that are noisy do not improve after cleaning, the noise is almost always 'baked in'. I have a Music Hall WCS-2 vacuum machine, for what it's worth.

 

I'm using the usual homemade brew of isopropyl, distilled water and a wetting agent. After use I filter it back into a bottle. How many times can I use this (or rather how many records can I clean) until I should think about chucking it out and making a fresh batch?

 

This came off my Beatles Mono box records.
ALL my records get a cleaning before first play.

 

Yes. I had some issues also with the Beatles Mono box. A piece of somebody's lunch was stuck to one of the "White Album" LP's. Optimal has an issue with quality control after the records are pressed. I bought a copy of "The Complete Animals" the other day, which I believe was also pressed by Optimal. Stuck to one of the LP's was a vinyl trimming about the thickness of a hair and about 10" long. Also on side 2 of the first LP track 6 skipped. Cleaning that track took care of the problem. And people complained about the Beatles stereo box pressed by Rainbo? I had no problems with that box. Anyway, it's pretty obvious if a record needs cleaning or not. Unless there is something wrong with how a new record plays, I don't clean it until when I am ready to put it away.

 

Bought the new Ray LaMontagne...carefully opened the new sleeve to not scratch the lp....noticed a slight haze and some surface dust and less of that colour spectrum that most killer records have.. Used a Data Vac ED 500 with clean filter to blow all the surface dust off label and playing surface on side 2...left side one alone. Cleaned on Vpi 16.5 the usual way...fairly wet...two revs....and played side two. It sounded fantastic. The other night I finally played side one without cleaning or dusting with the hand held mini leaf blower. It sounded less dynamic and a few tics and pops here and there (but nothing to complain about). So....I'm a firm believer in cleaning even a factory sealed new lp. Cleaned side one with same procedure and it sounded sweet. They sure aren't packed in clean rooms before shipping to retailers.