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

Oh man that sucks, great album! , Is yours translucent? Love that short bongo drum outro

 

Yes I'm going to try but the smell is a worry. I've had vinegar in a cup then rinsed and it takes some cleaning to get rid of the smell.

 

Nope. Standard RCA pressing.

I bit the bullet and just bought a sealed Italian pressing off eBay (record $18; shipping $19 - yikes). Crossing my fingers...

 

It's definitely worth a try on noisy vinyl. It can't make it any worse and it just might get rid of most of the noise.

 

Yes, but, I think it is crucial to get ALL of it off before playing. Vinegar is acidic, which means corrosive, which means potential danger to the cantilever.
I think at a minimum a couple of Spin Clean washes before RCM drying. I would not risk it with just a RCM rinse&suck. If the record smells of vinegar, then there are traces of vinegar left on the record. I use diluted vinegar to clean parts of SCUBA regulators during maintenance. It cleans like a charm, but I also use a neutralizing bath of baking soda afterwards. That, of course, is not usable for records.

 

Two decent distilled rinses and I can't smell anything at all vinegar wise.

 

You know I tried your recipe - just by itself, no extra cleaner solution added to the 50/50 solution - and so far I am quite impressed, both by the visual cleaning efficiency and the playback quality.

But I also took oregonalex's advice above and checked if my records retained any smell. None.

I used to use a softer and more economic regime approach (less distilled water and trips to the grocery store), but on the other hand I worked quite harder on the elbow to get the records to shine like that...

 

I wouldn't put it on my records, but it's great for cleaning wiper blades!

 

It's amazing...

It's the year 2015... and after 75+ years we still can't figure out how to wash records safely and effectively.

 

What do you mean exactly Bluesky?

 

Great, Im glad its working for you.
I go the 50/50 distilled water/vinegar, then I add a cap full of Melody maker cleaner (for its enzyme ability) and 12 drops or so of Miracle Record Cleaner. I find a bit of both in smaller quantities is working better than one or the other by themselves. Rinsing essential of course.

 

I owe everyone who has suggested a white vinegar/distilled water solution a big thank you, and maybe a beer if our paths ever cross.

Trying this method out on a few noisy LP's has given results that are nothing short of a miracle. It's even restored a first edition Aladin Sane LP that I paid too much money for at last weekend.

Before giving it a clean, it sounded like David had a big deep fat fryer running in the studio. And now - as clear and vivid as it would have done in '73.

I used a 50/50 vinegar/water mix in an empty spray bottle, sprayed on both sides and wiped with a carbon fibre brush. I then went over both surfaces with 'covers 33' cleaning solution (sorry, no idea what that's made of), and rinsed in a basin of distilled water. After repearting this twice, I removed excess water with a hair dryer (set to cold) and then vaccumed off the excess crap (placing a coffee jar on the label and resting the underside on a dry J cloth). A final wipe with a carbon fibre brush, and it was ready to roll!

Yes, it's too early to tell whether, for example, any vinegar residues might damage my stylus. But I'm confident that all the rinsing and vaccumming and drying has removed any stray particles - there is no smell.

Oh yes, you must be thinking 'well why not just take the stepped on Aladdin Sane back to the store'? Because I got it from a travelling record fair. And I might have been a little too proud to admit that I didn't check the condition (like I normally do) before parting with my cash. Anyway, I feel like I have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

 

Gee, I wonder if I should try the 50/50 distilled water/distilled white vinegar solution on the noisy RL mastered Led Zeppelin II LP I found a few weeks ago.

 

If the noise is coming from encrusted dirt, then the vinegar/water solution will help with that.

Just be sure to thoroughly rinse with distilled water and then vacuum afterwards to remove all trace of vinegar acid. It would be a shame to accidentally ruin such a fine record!

 

Several months later, and I'm still using this regime successfully. Only one thing now bothers me, and I hope it's not stupid to ask this here...

I've noticed that the (light colored) microfiber cloth which I use to wipe clean the LPs with the solution seems to be getting visually dirty quite faster than with my previous regime. Now this got me wondering:

- Either that vinegar solution is just simply more effective at cleaning records, and this is the proof of it... Or

- It's actually too effective and somehow strips the vinyl superficially of some of its black color!

Is this a possibility?

 

It's a pretty strong acid. Diluted, but still pretty strong. I don't know that anyone has real info on what long term PH disturbance is going to do to the record.

 

Thanks for your input. I might make the recipe 25/75 then to play it safer, and see if it's still efficient, while leaving my rag less blackish perhaps...

 

Acids are often used to remove "scaling" (mineral deposits), so a dilute LP cleaning spray or bath will remove many water deposits and salts from skin moisture (handling), and making the record quieter. Be careful spraying it anywhere near finished metal or fine bearings (ie, your TURNTABLE) because it can quickly affect metal with corrosion.

I have tried acetic acid solutions on various records and I think it is probably okay on LP vinyl (PVC) when used briefly and rinsed well. But be aware that acetic acid (vinegar) is not a recommended use for PVC labware (beakers, flasks, tubing), so at some level there is reactivity and potential for damage to the LP surface if you overdo it..

 

Interesting. Vinegar seems to have so many uses.

Nearly all of my hobbies have seen vinegar at some point, except stereos.

My kitchen knives, which are carbon steel, gets a nice patina with vinegar.

Vinegar thickened with sriracha.

After about 30 minutes of reacting to the steel.


My aquarium also sees vinegar as hard water stain removal.

And as a chef, obviously I use vinegar in my ingredients.

 

I don't know, I use what works. And no issues with it on 45 RPM singles or EP either.

 

How long do you guys let the vinegar/distilled water solution soak before vacuuming it off the record?

 

Gomer Pyle used it when he cleaned the windows in the barracks.

 

You don't need to let it soak. Even on very dirty records... at least with "regular" dirt. It is that efficient that you only need to wipe (with a well drenched microfiber cloth for instance, and I use a dead turntable as a support) with reasonable energy and pressure for 2 or 3 turns, et voilà. I then rince thoroughly under warm tap water. I wipe this with a paper towel, then final rinse with distilled water and vacuum with a dedicated mini-Shop Vac.

But I will definitely try cutting down on the vinegar by half to be more on the safe side.

 

I finally got around to trying a vinegar/distilled water solution. I went with a 50/50 mix, couple of drops of L'Art du Son to act as a surfactant.

I tried it on an lp that I had already cleaned with VinyZyme and L'Art Du Son but still had some noise. I let the vinegar solution sit for 3 minutes. Rinsed with distilled water three times.

I noticed no smell after rinsing but it sure did smell before hand. After cleaning, I played the lp and found there was no difference in SQ after the vinegar clean.

I'm sure if I cleaned a dirty record with a vinegar solution the record would come out clean, but I don't think it would clean any better than either of my other solutions. YMMV of course.

 

Some dirt is basic, some dirt is acid, both rinse away with acid respectively basic solution, f.e. smoke deposit rinses away with acetic acid, smoke deposit is basic in nature. Simple chemistry from second year highschool.
Fatty, fingerprints need discwashing soap to remove. Use cottonwool to clean, fibers go deep in the grooves and wipe all dirt out.