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.
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.