Daily Record cleaning

New LP’s "clean"? Don’t make me laugh. Oops, too late.

First of all, PVC pellets---from which the LP "puck" is made, the puck then pressed into LP form by a double-plate mold (very much like a waffle iron)---contain trace elements of a chemical included to promote the LP "releasing" from the pressing mold. That chemical is mistakenly thought by some to be applied to either the PVC "puck" or to the plates of the mold, but that is incorrect. The chemical is, as I said, part of the PVC compound, the chemical rising to the surface of the disc as it is heated in the mold. That chemical can be found in the groove (an LP side has not grooves, but one long continuous groove), and should---for best sound---be removed.

And then there is the fact that, as tomic601 stated, LP pressing plants are hardly clean rooms. In one All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary unboxing on YouTube, the video poster removed one LP from it’s sleeve, and I couldn’t believe the amount of dust and paper debris that was clearly visible on the LP surface. Can you imagine what is the the LP’s two grooves?!

Fortunately for us, there are great LP cleaners now available, and at a very reasonable cost (under $500, for either a vacuum machine or an ultrasonic. Both is even better. If you have more than a few hundred records, you really should get one or both. IMO.) The Hunt, Decca, and Audioquest brushes are okay for dusting an already deep-cleaned LP (I have all three), but are not deep-cleaners. Ignore the above if you so choose, but it’s fact.

bdp24

New LP’s "clean"? Don’t make me laugh.

You’re right, of course, but there are some that just don’t understand. Most of the dust they remove from their styli originated on the LP itself.

There’s nothing like listening to a clean LP and one-button solutions such as the Klaudio or Audio Desk make it super-easy.

I prefer to buy records in perfect condition, so I clean them ONLY when I can here there is something to clean that I can’t see.

For over 25 years I use carbon fiber brush each time before I put the needle on the record.

I use Onzow and dry stylus cleaning brush ONLY when I can see the stylus is dirty, this is clean stylus btw.

I use Cardas frequency-sweep LP for my cartridges once in a few months.

I use Zerostat 3 to eliminate static (but it rarely happens)

For removing a static charge from an LP, I for years used the good 'ol Zerostat (I still have my original red one from the 70's, plus a newer one). In the 80's or 90's I got the Nagaoka Kilavolt No. 103, which I found to be both more effective and less finicky to use. It's no longer in production, and never seen on the used market.

But the Furutech Destat III is now the one to have. Unfortunately, it retails for around 350 bucks! Being a patient guy, I kept my eyes peeled for a good deal, and eventually got one on ebay for $200. Love it.

A static remover is all but mandatory for LP's cleaned on a VPI or other vacuum record cleaning machine, the "lips" of which can create a charge on a just-cleaned LP. Vacuuming for just two revolutions minimizes that possibility, but doesn't guarantee it.

I'm pretty much in the @mijostyn camp.

I don't buy records that look like they won't clean easily.

I don't clean records before play unless I can see debris.  Then I clean with a Decca brush.

I don't clean any record unless I hear noise when playing.  Then I take it off and clean on Nitty-Gritty Automatic.  Over many decades I have found that once properly cleaned, a record almost never gets noisy again.  I have cleaned very few twice.

I have never found the Nitty-Gritty to cause static.

I clean the stylus if I can see debris on it. (I'm very short-sighted).  That's not very often.

"My opinion, people are way too obsessed. Get a little perspective." There, I'm agreeing with Miller again.