Agree with @analogluvr --if you are in NY you should be able to source distilled water cheaply at a grocery in 1 gallon jugs. If you don’t have a vacuum RCM, you can manually pre-clean. Tap water is filled with minerals and you are adding contaminants. I would avoid.
I use a variety of cleaning methods including vacuum and ultrasonic, and for used records, always pre-clean, but that’s me. Sometimes, it is necessary because the ultrasonic alone doesn’t do the job. And you’ll pollute the bath pretty quickly unless you’ve set up a filtering system, something that’s been discussed here and elsewhere at length.
I like AIVS No. 15 as a stronger cleaner but it requires some agitation and you don’t want to be scrubbing a dirty record. So, I’ll often clean to try to get most of the particulate matter off, using a mild cleaner - i like the Hannl (which Syntax here turned me onto) but any decent record cleaning fluid will do. Then I do the more rigorous cleaning with the AIVS No. 15 if warranted. (Those Disc Doctor or MoFi applicators work pretty well for this, better than a brush in my estimation, for the more vigorous agitation, though they require pre-wetting which uses more fluid).
You might be able to do US only even with dirty records if you DIY a filtration system for your bath. But, if mold, I’m not so sure. I basically avoid moldy records. I know that some have used Sporicidin for mold remediation.
There’s no ’one way’ to do this- but mold takes it to another level and @slaw’s suggestion of steaming might help here.
It’s a process you can and should refine as you go, to see what works best for you. I don’t use one method or set of methods for every record, but vary the methods employed based on condition of the record and playback. Sometimes, I’ll work a particular record multiple times. Sometimes, it’s just not going to get improved past a certain point, and requires you to replace if you care enough about the record.
Good luck.
I use a variety of cleaning methods including vacuum and ultrasonic, and for used records, always pre-clean, but that’s me. Sometimes, it is necessary because the ultrasonic alone doesn’t do the job. And you’ll pollute the bath pretty quickly unless you’ve set up a filtering system, something that’s been discussed here and elsewhere at length.
I like AIVS No. 15 as a stronger cleaner but it requires some agitation and you don’t want to be scrubbing a dirty record. So, I’ll often clean to try to get most of the particulate matter off, using a mild cleaner - i like the Hannl (which Syntax here turned me onto) but any decent record cleaning fluid will do. Then I do the more rigorous cleaning with the AIVS No. 15 if warranted. (Those Disc Doctor or MoFi applicators work pretty well for this, better than a brush in my estimation, for the more vigorous agitation, though they require pre-wetting which uses more fluid).
You might be able to do US only even with dirty records if you DIY a filtration system for your bath. But, if mold, I’m not so sure. I basically avoid moldy records. I know that some have used Sporicidin for mold remediation.
There’s no ’one way’ to do this- but mold takes it to another level and @slaw’s suggestion of steaming might help here.
It’s a process you can and should refine as you go, to see what works best for you. I don’t use one method or set of methods for every record, but vary the methods employed based on condition of the record and playback. Sometimes, I’ll work a particular record multiple times. Sometimes, it’s just not going to get improved past a certain point, and requires you to replace if you care enough about the record.
Good luck.