Did I destroy my records after cleaning them? Is there a way to reverse the damage?

Or. You can buy a simple “Vinyl Styl” basin that comes with a label protector and uses goat hair brushes to clean. It costs about $60-$70 from Amazon. Pick up a “vinyl vac” attachment there for $30 and go by a
Lowe’s or Home Depot and get a 1.75 or 1.5 hp shop vac for $25. So for less than $150 you can have everything you would in a $500-$3,000 RCM.

 

I agree with this.

I've had no problems using a Spin Clean. Records have never been noisy (or noisier) after using it, and any that were crackly were that way before washing. Quiet records have remained quiet after washing, regardless of whether I dry them with the cloths that come with the Spin Clean, or microfiber cloths. In my experience, it does a good job cleaning LPs - not only do they look spotless, but I've never had anything accumulate on the stylus when playing LPs after cleaning, nor have I seen signs of tiny bits of stuff falling off the needle toward the end of a side. Gets rid of all but the most stubborn and ancient fingerprints too. The going price for Spin Cleans tends to be around $80, which seems exorbitant for what it is, but sometimes you can find deals for around $60. In my experience, they're a reasonable alternative to a record cleaning machine.

 

You'll have to Google around. The guy who makes the Groovemaster had a website but last time I checked it was down. I have seen them being sold on Amazon and eBay.

 

There is an attachment for sell on Amazon called Vinyl Vac that is exactly what you describe for $30. That’s if you don’t have the time or inclination to DIY, and probably cost to what you would spend doing it.

 

There’s actually a knock off of the Spin Clean called a Studebaker that is about half the cost. I picked one up to use in my rinse step. What I don’t like about the Spin Clean are the pads. They can’t get in the grooves. That’s why I like the vinyl styl with the goat hair brushes instead.

 

I've been an SB user for years. The label saver idea is a good one that I never used. Got to be careful without as SB is hard on labels. It does an excellent job. I did, however, buy a Kirmuss. It too does an excellent job and is a bit less nerve-racking. For me, the drawback using an RCM is all those damn 1 gals. plastic jugs.

 

I just checked the prices on the current Squeaky Clean MK. III

It's $125 plus shipping. Mine was a little more because I ordered an extra wand and two brushes with it. IIRC shipping wasn't too bad, maybe another $20-25 considering it ships from Canada.

Squeaky Clean Vinyl MK-III RCM 3D Printed Record Cleaner

I then bought a mini shop vac for $20 from Home Depot. The nice thing about the SQM3 is that the valves on the vac wands are adjustable. So you can vary the suction as you need to. Given the improvement it has made to my system and the number of records it's clean, the cost per use is very low, even considering that I use AI #15 for fluid (not cheap).

 

I spray distilled water/alcohol mix on record. i use a painters edging 'brush' (flat, square pad) to scrub the grooves. then use 2 car cleaning pads, one to wipe up the wet layer, the other for a dry wipe after, then air dry for a few minutes. cleans fairly well, no lint.

 

Not quite, because you're still rinsing those records in contaminated water unless you change the bath for every record. Your vac is only a dryer here. That's why I suggested manual RCMs that cost less than $200 all in.

 

Only records I need to clean really well are usually pre-owned. I use the solution i mentioned above with a distilled rinse and then another spray and rinse using a Nitty Gritty RCM. LPs are then transferred to a clean sleeves similar to the old discwasher. After that they seldom need cleaning (maybe a pass with an audioquest brush before play) if stored properly.

No sink/municipal water no reservoir type cleaning devices for me....

 

i looked at reviews of the Spin Clean on Amazon and youtube and many people say it doesn't do much more than a brush-style cleaning. are they wrong?

 

i washed with distilled water yesterday and it didn't fix my problem. maybe too late?

 

i wish i hadnt bothered trying to clean my records. they were quiet. i thought i could improve an already good sound.

 

Any video of that toy should answer that question. It's laughable.

 

Bottom line, imo is this: If you want somewhere between an adequate cleaning and a good cleaning of a lot of records in the shortest time possible then buy an expensive RCM. If you want your records as clean as they can be and are willing to take a little longer per disc to get there buy a Groovemaster and sink wash with blue dawn and final rinse with distilled water.

 

where can i buy a groovemaster? I saw a video on Youtube of a guy using suction cups from Home Depot to guard the label.

 

They are, IME. I had two Spin Cleans and used them for years before I got my RCM. If you use it wrong, you won't get good results. People use tap water, they put dish soap in there instead of using the fluid, the use microfiber cloths that shed to dry, and they try to clean 100 records with one bath of fluid. If you follow the instructions I gave in my previous post, you will get good results assuming a mix of new and average dusty used records. If you have records with water/sewage/mold damage on them from a basement flood then the Spin Clean won't help with that.

I would still suggest trying to a get a manual RCM like I suggested but if the budget is really tight get the Spin Clean. If you don't like it after a week, Amazon will probably take a return - read the fine print though.

 

I used to use the suction cups early on in my record cleaning journey. They will protect the label but your records won't get that clean and you'll have to reclean them when you get a real cleaning system later. Waste of time unless you are cleaning truckloads of scratched to hell dollar bin records that will sound like crap no matter how much you clean them - IMHO/IME of course.

 

The guy that made them used to have a website but I can't find it. I see them for sale on Amazon and sometimes eBay.

 

Clean mine in the sink with soap, water, little isopropyl, a paint brush and no problems ever. Records very very quiet. It doesn't have to be complicated, but many make it so.

 

It would be a neat option to have an OEM factory molded nozzle with microfiber around the mouth to perform that function with a shop-vac. Along with, perhaps, a way of bracing the nozzle to remain stable while rotating a record beneath it.

 

Look at any video of any expensive RCM. Excluding the Ultrasonic ones with which I have no experience. But any other one you see the same thing over and over: some squirting of some type of expensive "holy water" on the LP while it's spinning and then some guy moves a brush around while the record is still spinning. What the hell is that going to do? Oh.....but wait......it's the magic vacuum that solves all the problems! Silly me!

Then watch the Groovemaster videos. Blasting the LP with running water and scrubbing the surface with some elbow grease is how to clean a record. Final rinse with distilled water and air dry, no vacuum needed. I usually wipe down the surface of the record with a cloth with a light spray mix of distilled water/91% isopropyl alcohol to help speed up drying time. Never wipe a clean LP with a dry cloth.

You have to realize that many people who spend an arm and a leg on RCMs feel the need to justify their purchase in their own mind and as such their opinions will always be tainted by this. God I hate this bloody subject. It's just cleaning a damn record, too many folks overthinking this and talking through their wallets.

 

No, not damaged at all. It's just the wiping that charged your records. Just rinse records in distilled water and allow the records to air dry. BTW, a Spin Clean type record cleaner is all I have needed for pop free sound. I do not wipe after cleaning, just air dry and all is well.

 

Wrong. Some of us actually went through several cleaning methods including "sink and water blasting" before settling on an RCM. We moved incrementally up the cleaning chain to get better results, and guess what, the results are better. As far as "holy water", give me a break. There is nothing mystical about the cleaner I use, which is a combination of non-ionic surfactants and enzymes. Could I duplicate it? Maybe, if I had the knowledge of chemical engineering and was willing to buy chemicals in bulk. There actually is a thread on AK where people with such knowledge (e.g. actual degrees in the subject) make their own fluids. The rest of the homebrew crowd is flying blind.

 

If a record is dirty to the point that chemicals need to be introduced Scrubbing Bubbles works just fine otherwise the disc is just plain damaged. I suspect the Scrubbing Bubbles folks also have degrees in potion making, it's been on the shelves quite a while. Cheap too.