Cleaning flood damaged vinyls

Dave you are a good guy for giving all that detail. I have come to the conclusion that there is no 'one way' and that with access to a variety of machines, fluids, etc, I used combined approaches. Some records just require more work than others depending on the contamination. Best,
bill hart

Whart - Unfortunately I haven't ever used a Keith Monks or Loricraft, but would love to have one to be able to experiment with, especially a Monks since I grew up in England and it would actually be really nice to use British rather than German and South Korean equipment! I know those machines have a good following and I understand why the results would be good on either, although time consuming because the point vacuum has to follow the entire length of the groove, and separately for each side.

I'm not sure why you're thinking it would be a problem to remove a record from a Klaudio during washing? There's really no need to do that, you can adjust the wash time from 0-5 minutes at any point, and the same for dry time. You could wash records continuously if needed, although I'd recommend a later version for that, as early ones didn't have any cooling, and the water would get hotter than you want. The early version didn't have the dual time selectors or nifty record light either..

I would be fascinated to visit the Library of Congress and talk with their experts about record cleaning and preservation, and I have read quite a bit on their website. Are they using any ultrasonic cleaning processes yet? They recommend the surfactant Tergitol, which I considered trying, but decided against it after checking the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for safe handling and disposal. Tergitol is readily available online, but is really nasty stuff for the environment, fish etc, and would pose a problem for safe disposal of used fluids. Since the Klaudio machines just use water, and the Audio Desk solution is biodegradable, they are not a problem for disposal and the environment.

My goal for Record Genie is always going to be getting the best results possible while still being practical, and while I'm obviously not afraid of investing in expensive equipment to do that, the resulting service still needs to be priced affordably for customers. I am interested in other technologies of course, not just ultrasonic, and am actively reading whenever I can. Have you any experience with the newer Clearaudio audio machine that uses vibrations (not ultrasonic) and cleans both sides at once? I think it's $5,500 retail, but I've read some good comments on at least one forum where it was compared with ultrasonic..

While I really feel sorry for Aceduck, and think it's an awful situation, it's great to have this discussion about record cleaning - So glad I finally joined Audiogon!

Dave and i compared notes briefly by phone- and since he is new to the 'Gon, his posts lag, b/c they have to be moderated. The issue with the KL is simply that KL (per Tim, the guy I think most customers deal w/ at the US company) has advised that removing a wet record from their machine risks damaging the electronics because water droplets may hit the electronics within the machine. I have a KL that is a year old, and as Dave said, it allows you to 'zero' the dry time. That's not an issue. If KL could eliminate the risk to the machine that I was advised of by their US representative- which would permit wash only without possible damage to the machine, I would score it higher since this is a great way to use it in my estimation. (I don't know if the drying function is also tied to the cooling function, the water in the KL does get hotter if you use it serially at 5 minute wash settings for a number of records and you can hear the auxiliary cooling system -part of the later KL models- kick in. The heat caused by cavitation may actually enhance the cleaning, not sure). The fan dryers in the KL work fine, but dry does not always =clean. I think using the Monks to point nozzle dry the record achieves more- at greater time, greater cost. That's why, for now, I recommended a DIY kit for ultrasonic and used Loricraft combo.
Otherwise, I think Dave and I are on the same page, except I only clean records for myself! I think anybody looking for a service would probably be in good hands with this man, who also has a charming Brit accent.
Agree re Aceduck's situation- over and out!
bill hart