Getting and keeping records clean................

Thanks I talked to Gayle and she is going to call me later to see if she has enough parts to build one. She found a case with a chip out of the corner.

"Sso, has the steam cleaning craze faded?"

Nope. I use one every time before I vacuum. I was going to mention it, but somehow I lost my internet connection and posted at the same time. Odd.

Get a handheld steamer! I bought one for $25 or so. In conjunction with the RCM, it's by far the cleanest and quietest my vinyl's ever been. I've tried a ton of other methods, and nothing was as good as vacuuming. Steaming kicked it up several more notches. For $25 or so and more uses than just LP cleaning, you can't go wrong IMO.

Also...

If you're getting a Nitty Gritty, you may want to find an old turntable to scrub your vinyl on. I use a Technics SL-BD2 that the only thing that's still operable is the platter spinning. On a Nitty Gritty, there's no platter to lean on while using a little elbow grease, therefore the LP will bend a bit if you apply any pressure.

I was given a ton of old vinyl that sat in an attic for about 20 years. My fingers turned black by just pulling them out of the jacket. Dust, mold, and residue from all the inscense the guy's wife burned took their toll.

Rinsing in the sink, steaming, scrubbing, vacuuming, re-steaming and re-vacuuming brought them all back to as good as new.

Sorry for side-tracking.

The only trouble with cleaning on a turntable is that before you clean the other side of the record you have to clean the turntable.