What is your vinyl cleaning routine? Poll

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Porkpie, May 3, 2021.

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  1. yamfan

    yamfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    Carbon fiber brush then washing with water and soap. Drying with lint free cloth, then wet brush. Then let it dry and play. Then put on a cd because there are still so many clicks and pops.
     
  2. Henrik_Swe

    Henrik_Swe Well-Known Member

    While I do wet clean most records, new and used, I do have a listen first to see if it's needed. If it sounds great, no need to touch it, imo. But that's pretty rare in my experience - I think probably 85-90% goes on the RCM.
     
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  3. nolazep

    nolazep Burrito Enthusiast

    Thunderon brush, then on the platter!
     
  4. VapourTrailUS

    VapourTrailUS Internet “Person”

    Location:
    California
    Spin Clean is too much of a pain to do on every record. So new records don't get washed. All used ones do though.
    I use sticky roller before every play and sometimes a brush too. I don't see people mentioning the sticky roller ever, but it works really well for me for all the obvious dust and grime. Maybe its doing damage I'm unaware of though.
     
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  5. vinylontubes

    vinylontubes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Katy, TX
    This poll is mostly invalid as a lot of use have RCMs. And the 3rd option is not how you would clean your records. You would wet clean then brush, not as suggested in the poll. The entire point of wet cleaning is that it not only cleans deeper into the groove, but it also removes more soiling.
     
  6. On brand new records, I usually just blow the dust off with canned air. If I need to brush them with a carbon fiber brush, I then have to remove the static electricity the brush created with my Milty Zerostat 3. Used records always get a thorough cleaning on my VPI RCM and then blow the dust off with canned air before playing. Should I hear any unusual noise when playing a new record, I will then clean it with my VPI RCM, which usually doesn't make a difference, so I end up exchanging the record, and that usually solves the problem.
     
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  7. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I think it’s a bit arrogant to generalise that enough people here have RCM’s that the poll is invalid, there are equally a lot of people here whose budgets don’t stretch to that or simply don’t want one. Also, the 3rd option is exactly how manufacturers, such as Pro-Ject advise to use an RCM. First, brush to remove any debris from a record, then apply the liquid and clean. Option 4 is for people who eschew this step and pour liquid on top of any dust, debris, hair, etc. And just vacuum it all up.
     
  8. HankM

    HankM Senior Member

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Any LP purchased gets a spin on the VPI 16.5. Mo-Fi deep cleaner than a rinse with Mo-Fi record wash. After that every time an LP gets played it gets a pass with my Audioquest carbon fiber brush.
     
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  9. wvsteveo

    wvsteveo Forum Resident

    New and used records get cleaned before first play. I use two Spin Clean machines...one with the solution and distilled water, the second, a rinse in distilled water. Then air dry on a rack. Carbon fiber brush before each subsequent play.
     
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  10. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I’m thinking of getting a carbon brush (the Pro-Ject one) but will monitor closely if it leaves scratches as has been reported by a number of people on the forum.
     
  11. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    This topic has as too many variations to try to narrow down to a few simple choices. I chose Other. My routine:
    • Ultrasonic cleaner-all records cleaned and re-sleeved as needed with MoFi or equal inner sleeves before they are played for first time.
    • (Optional) AQ Gold carbon fiber brush if there is any visible dust on the surface when LP is de-sleeved.
    • Integrity Hi-Fi Tru-Sweep Dust Cleaner and Sweeper-Rides on record surface as record plays.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
  12. Henrik_Swe

    Henrik_Swe Well-Known Member

    I'm unaware of what this is, unless it's the roller that creates a "film" that you pull off?
     
  13. gakerty

    gakerty Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I don't clean new records, but always clean used. I try to use a brush between each side when I remember. Once any record is played enough, attracts dust gets schmutz on the stylus, then I'll clean. I have the older Projekt RCM, which works allright. I plan on getting a Ultrasonic cleaner soon to complement the Projekt.
     
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  14. Ctiger2

    Ctiger2 Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    I wet wash every LP before playback unless it's recently been wet washed. I never use any brushes, carbon fiber, static brushes, milty zero stat, etc anymore. The most important part about wet washing is to dissolve the static charge. Every new LP gets washed because the static charge can eventually accumulate into a system causing the dreaded static humm and make you think you have grounding issues. But it's just static from your LP's.
     
  15. VapourTrailUS

    VapourTrailUS Internet “Person”

    Location:
    California
    It's this little item. It works beautifully.
     
  16. Henrik_Swe

    Henrik_Swe Well-Known Member

    Hmm, doesn't it move the dust/etc around on the record surface as you roll?
     
  17. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    No vinyl. No cleaning.
     
  18. hi_watt

    hi_watt The Road Warrior

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    I clean (wet-vac) new and used records before I play them.
     
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  19. VapourTrailUS

    VapourTrailUS Internet “Person”

    Location:
    California
    nope. It rolls onto the roller surface.
     
  20. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    The Tru-Sweep cleaners look really interesting, do you notice a difference between using it and not using it?
     
  21. WayneC

    WayneC Hopelessly addicted to vinyl

    Location:
    England
    I ultrasonic clean and then rinse the records with a very diluted (1:172) L'Art Du Son rinse. Everything gets this treatment. Everything / anything sounds better like this.
     
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  22. frozen-beach

    frozen-beach Forum Resident

    I don't really have a routine, but I clean obviously dirty records and only clean new records if they're noisy.
     
  23. peelaaa

    peelaaa Forum Resident

    Location:
    dublin
    I use knosti discostat on all 2nd hand records before playing. Not always on new records as some can sound fine as is.
     
  24. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    Definitely I have always used a record sweep even with my first Realistic/BSR turntable. You never know what might fall out of the air randomly. My first record sweep had a roller in addition the the brush. The roller which was suspended behind the brush and got a surprising amount of dust off the surface of the side. I digitize all my LPs now with my SugarCube Sc-2 Mini and this insure the maximum quiet.

    FWIW I like the Tru-Sweep, particularly because it is grounded. I also like the looks of the Project Sweep it E and the Sweep it S2 and if I was looking now, I would look into these 2 units too.
     
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  25. fish

    fish Senior Member

    Location:
    NYS, USA
    I just use this these days.

    [​IMG]
     
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