Steam Cleaning Damage

Hey EP1 - Don't think there's any way I can say whether you did damage or not, but in my opinion holding the steamer 1/2" from the LP is way too close. I usually hold my Perfection Steamer about 3" or so from the surface. On an occasion where I kind of spas'd out and got close, I did see a visual change in the vinyl in that arean (a darkening)...although no sonic effect that I could hear. My 2 cents. By the way, speed at which you move the steamer around the record is, obviously, another variable. I start inside and work out. I'm guessing I complete a rotation in 5-10 secs. on the inner grooves and maybe 10-15 secs. on the outer.

I agree with ghosthouse, I thing 1/2" is waaay to close; seems too likely to cause damage. I usually do 4-6" and get excellent cleaning.

Yup,No closer than 3-4 "

Steam-fried and simmered here they are hmmmm!!!

Thanks for your insight guys. Thankfully no damage!! Still had a bit of noise so I went overboard with the steamer! Won't do that again!

I seriously doubt you damaged the vinyl with one of these clothing steamers unless you held it in one place for a while. You'd know it was happening because the edge will start to warp. Even so these warps will usually relax back into place once the heat is removed. I routinely use my Perfection steamer right down on the vinyl with no problems at all. That said, I do keep the LP spinning during the steam application. In fact, I think the steam is more effective this way. Otherwise you just give the record a warm shower. :-)

Do you vacuum after steaming? I find this to still be an essential step not only to lift the crud but also to dry the grooves. Moisture left behind will sound something like what you describe.

Also, I find that when steamed and cleaned correctly the surface noise and some fine scratches will sound a bit more pronounced. That's how you know you have all the crud off the surface and out of the grooves. But this also increases the detail retrieval and resolution so one may begin to find other problems in the playback chain.