Why does vinegar work so well for cleaning LP's?

I see. Don't think we have such a thing.

 

Whaaaat! Get down to Sainsburys

 

Avoid it like the plague.

 

Tesco?

 

Check with your local grocers. Heinz claims that they sell their distilled white vinegar in Ireland and the UK, according to one page on their web site. Perhaps it's not a big seller, so it might be tough to find.

 

Yes, a weak acid should work as a cleaner. But, I think there are concerns that the acid could adversely react with the vinyl itself, or any of the number of compounds that are added to the vinyl to make it work well as the medium for records, such as plasticizers, and the adverse effects might not be immediately obvious. Perhaps repeated washings will cause problems, perhaps, it may cause a change in the surface, such as leaching out plasticizers, that would cause the surface to be more susceptible to damage in the long run.

If people want to experiment, that is fine, but be aware of such concerns and perhaps limit the number of records exposed to such treatment. A while ago, I recall that there were manufacturers of cleaning products and people in the business of making records that argued about whether distilled water (a universal solvent) could damage records by pulling out such compounds; I can see how a weak acid would raise even more concerns.

 

Avoid them all as a rule....but just walked up there and got some. NOW I understand -it's that God-awful malt vinegar stuff, except in sneaky white

Can think why it's in the food section

Anyway....cheap as er, chips, so now to try it.

 

I'm guessing it's just referred to differently over there. Whatever is "normal" clear vinegar vs. "fancy" vinegar is probably it. Maybe I'm being Amero-centric without realizing it, but surely vinegar is a pretty universal ingredient.

Edit: I now see you've already solved this vinegar problem.

 

Are you a vinegar and supermarket snoot?

Distilled vinegar is one of the handiest things to have around the house, it has its place in the pantheon of vinegars! Will clean just about anything, descales shower heads and kettles... Also works pretty well when poaching eggs. I always make sure I've got some in the house.

I don't use it on chips though. Only proper brown malt vinegar for those purposes! Balsamic on salad if we're going to snooty!

 

Here in Belgium and Holland you can buy "kuisazijn" translated " cleaning vinigar" 0.58 €/liter.
Works well for cleaning windows , bathroom,kitchen,also as weed killer, descaler ,etc.
Maybe it works well for cleaning records.

 

What's the secret? I've been making poached eggs since I was old enough not to burn the place down, they are always good on buttered toast or English muffin. I just drop eggs carefully into simmering water for several minutes. The trick is, of course, to have firm yolks, though runny when cut. Top with coarse sea salt. ****ing magic.

I read about the vinegar and poached eggs. So, I added a slug into the water, a little bit, and the egg whites dissolved into a huge mess, lol, so I haven't repeated that experiment.

 

I'm not sure that I would use vinegar for cleaning vinyl, but if you do "Stop Bath" the intermediary step between developer and fixer in black and white photography is acetic acid. Kodak used to sell glacial acetic acid.

"Kodak Glacial Acetic Acid is a colorless liquid that has a characteristic pungent odor, boils at 118°C, and is miscible with water in all proportions; it is a weak organic carboxylic acid (see carboxyl group ).

Glacial acetic acid is concentrated, 99.5% pure acetic acid; it solidifies at about 17°C to a crystalline mass resembling ice.

Acetic acid is the major acid in vinegar; as such, it is widely used as a food preservative and condiment. For industrial use concentrated acetic acid is prepared from the oxidation of acetaldehyde.

Acetic acid is also a product in the destructive distillation of wood. It reacts with other chemicals to form numerous compounds of commercial importance. These include cellulose acetate, used in making acetate rayon, nonflammable motion-picture film, lacquers, and plastics; various inorganic salts, e.g., lead, potassium, and copper acetates; and amyl, butyl, ethyl, methyl, and propyl acetates , which are used as solvents, chiefly in certain quick-drying lacquers and cements."

 

Isn't anyone else game enough to try it?Come on peeps.
It ain't going to damage anything, and it works.

 

I'll give it a go next time. A quick clean then distilled water rinse can't harm a record. I usually make my own solution so no harm in trying this.

 

I'll give it a go when I hit the local grocery, I have a US mono Parsley Sage that could use some help

 

White vinegar is a great cleaning agent for silver faceplates and knobs.
I've gone over the silk screened lettering on mcintosh, fisher, dynacrap and harman kardon with no loss of letters.

I actually washed away a serial number on an altec amplifier with H2O, so always test an inconspicuous area first.

 

Okay, listening to an LP I just vinegar-cleaned. I did about a 50/50 vinegar-distilled water solution, and like you added about a cap full of another cleaner (nitty gritty alcohol-based in my case) for the surfactant. I might be sold on this - cleans very well, but maybe more importantly seems to come off completely without the need for a second rinse. After about 5 rotations in the RCM I don't smell a hint of vinegar, which is a good sign. It's also obviously very very cheap, and unlike the enzymatic formula I use at the moment doesn't have any problems with getting moldy if not kept out of heat and light.

 

I can attest to this, it cleans records really well though it looks like it leaves a slight residue or film (maybe not, could just be my imagination) so I clean it with filtered or distilled water afterwards.

 

Funny, before I used vinegar the eggs would end up dispersing into a huge mess, once I read about the vinegar trick and starting adding a capful of distilled white vinegar it never happened again!
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/technique/how-poach-egg

Poached eggs aside, I'm interested in hearing how a few more people get on with their vinegar/vinyl experiences...

 

Try this stuff. It's already mixed to a proper water/vinegar ratio. It works great on practically anything:

Heinz All Natural Cleaning Vinegar

 

Another white vinegar/distilled water user here with just a tiny dab of Fairy Liquid for good measure.

Does a fantastic job, sometimes unplayable becomes great if the grooves themselves aren't damaged.

 

I think I'll give it a go too. I've just got a new GEM Dandy so I have something to wash it off well with before doing a distilled rinse and dry on an RCM.
Theoretically, the vinegar makes perfect sense, especially for second-hand crackly records. If someone used tap water to wash them before and did not use an RCM to suck it off (a common enough practice in some circles), hard water residue would be bound to dry up in the grooves and cause crackle. Such contamination would be difficult to remove with either enzyme or isopropyl based cleaners, but a mild acid like diluted vinegar should get it right off. It does need a wetting agent added so that it gets into the grooves thoroughly. I don't believe it could damage vinyl, but if it does in some subtle fashion, so what, the record is crackly anyway.

I have a whole bunch of old records that do not look physically damaged or played to death, no playwear distortion, but crackle like crazy. So, worth to try a couple.

 

Er, yes, I like proper vinegar, made from wine.

This "distilled" vinegar seems perfect for cleaning things...food, not so much. And vinegar should never be near chips. Tee-hee.

I see all my smilies were left out of my previous post, unfortunately.

 

A few tablespoons in a glass of water every day, and eventually, you can get off of your blood pressure and cholesterol meds. (Don't tell the pharmaceutical industry this though...)

 

Yep. Apple Cider Vinegar. Or, just lemon juice, instead.