Audiodesk pro with only water

Ultrasonic cleaning machines definitely will work with just plain water. A lot of what cleaning solutions do is keep the crud cleaned off in solution so it doesn't just stick back on the record and will rinse off easier. A rinse with a little extra water or a wipe would do about as well. The cleaning solution also helps with some things that don't dissolve so well in pure water. But a little extra time in the machine will take care of that as well. So its not as efficient but yeah you will be fine with just distilled water.

Distilled water alone is not enough! You need to add a surfacant to release the H2O's inherent surface tension! A small amount of a glass cleaner (Windex) will do just as well as any premium record cleaning fluid. That's what I use - with sparkling clean results (after a final rinse with plain distilled water).

The primary cleaning mechanism for the Audio Desk is its four brushes; ultrasonic action helps but is secondary. 

Use with distilled water alone likely gets a record cleaner than it was but not as clean as use with the ADS surfactant.

If your unit is still under warranty, anything other than the ADS fluid will void the warranty.  If the warranty has value to you, just use distilled water.

If it is out of warranty you can try two drops of dish detergent (eg, Dawn) along with 1/4 teaspoon of a rinse agent such as Ilfotol.  If you do that I would not let the ADS dry the record because it will dry with detergent water (soluble particles) on it.  Drain the tank and refill with distilled water only, then run a full cycle.  You could clean say 5 records with detergent water, all without drying - put them on a dish rack - then fill the tank with distilled water only and run each through a cycle with drying.  Distilled water is cheap.

The ADS is designed for use with the ADS surfactant.  People do what they choose, though optimal cleaning comes from using the machine as designed. 

Thanks guys,I'm not sure im ready to add windex or soap into my AD just yet..I actually tried cleaning about 25 NEW records with just distilled water and was satisfied with the results although i did not A/B it with the AD solution.I dont think i would clean used or dirty records with just water but for brand new or already cleaned on my VPI, I dont see a downside especially if i dont have to spend 20-$25 on the AD solution (which i think is ridiculous)..I emptied the tank after about 20-25 records.($1.50)

I don't understand.  This thing is 3 or 4 grand if I am googling on the right unit.  And you don't want to spend $25 for the correct cleaning fluid?  There are some forums with discussions of failures, and the cost to return to Germany to repair plus the cost of parts, and they are not cheap.  If it were me, I would wait and get the right fluid and hope the reliability of your unit is good.

I don't own one of the cleaning machines and I certainly don't know what materials are put into the fluids that are sold to be used with them. I suspect that it is a "brew" of a few liquids. One comment I do have is the use of some sort of surfactant (meant to lower the surface tension of a liquid). This helps the cleaning since residue is less likely to "cling" to a finished/dry record. Those "brews" most likely contain some type of surfactant?

I don't think Windex is a typical surfactant and probably contains a small amount of ammonia and some other stuff. Do a search for generic surfactants. One that comes to mind is Photoflo made by Kodak. Meant to prevent drying spots on films processed in a manual manner. Probably found online or at just about any photographic supply dealer. Cheap and a 2 oz bottle would probably last a lifetime since one cap full will treat over 5 gallons of water (distilled).Good luck to you.

I use just water most of the time. On new or precleaned vinyl it works great. Been doing this for years. 
I wouldn't use any other cleaning solution but the Audiodesk cleaner.

I use the Klaudio US machine, which the manufacturer says should be used only with distilled water. It works great, and removes the contamination from any LP except the rare, badly abused used record. For them, I use a Nitty Gritty machine to preclean. But that’s unusual.

Thank you for the input guys.
 Tom I think I agree, I will be using just water on my new or already cleaned records on my VPI & use the solution when im ready to clean a bunch of used records. 
At $1.25 for distilled water , I can change it every 20-25 records. 
I am tempted to add a couple of drops of Photoflo  to the water but not sure if that will void the warranty or damage anything. I am not sure what they put in it.
 Bailyhill -at $25 a pop for the cleaning solution , if im only able to clean 40-50 records in 30 days then I have to empty the cleaner according to AD so it does get rather pricy.
 

Have you ever noticed how inexpensive many printers are for computers? Simple. The companies make most of their money on the sales of ink cartridges. If you used a couple or a few drops of Photoflo in distilled water, I can't see how a warranty could be voided or could be proven that it was used in your VPI. Their dedicated solution most likely contains a surfactant. I worked for Kodak for 30 years and used Photoflo in my work. It is certainly as much or more pure than what VPI uses. Main thing is to experiment with amount to use to obtain satisfactory results. Doesn't take much at all.

Here's something interesting.........
http://vinylhive.com/diy-record-cleaning-fluid-recipes/