Just to clarify, alcohol is a generic term and there are thousands of alcohols. I believe most people are referring to isopropyl alcohol although one poster mentions using ethanol. I would recommend isopropyl alcohol and not ethanol.
Another generic term is vinyl for LPs. The vinyl is actually polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is not PVS as someone mentioned above.
The PVC in LPs do contain stabilizers and plasticizers. The stabilizers are used to prevent degradation of PVC. The plasticizers are used to keep the PVC plastic or flexible and reduce brittleness. Removal of the plasticizers does not make the PVC more durable but makes it more brittle and can cause cracking.
Alcohols can cause leaching of plasticizers and stabilizers from the PVC but with isopropyl alcohol it would be minimal with short exposures.
Most commercial LP cleaners use some type of surfactant or detergent. In my experience, any surfactant or detergent that contacts the PVC surface leaves behind some surfactant or detergent which can than be picked up by the stylus and gum it up.
In my opinion, distilled water and dilute isopropyl alcohol works well. For stubborn or more tightly bound surface crud an ultrasonic cleaner can be used. Ultrasonic cleaning can speed up leaching of stabilizers and plasticizers, so I would not overdo it. Using these in a reasonable fashion will not degrade the LP over the owners lifetime. The stylus will probably do more damage than isopropyl alcohol.
By the way, the hardest thing to remove from a PVC surface are the residues from finger prints. The finger print residue is made up of ions, proteins, lipids and amino acids, which can chemically bond to the surface. Distilled water and isopropyl alcohol will not remove them. In this case a commercial cleaner and/or ultrasonic cleaning is required.
Another generic term is vinyl for LPs. The vinyl is actually polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is not PVS as someone mentioned above.
The PVC in LPs do contain stabilizers and plasticizers. The stabilizers are used to prevent degradation of PVC. The plasticizers are used to keep the PVC plastic or flexible and reduce brittleness. Removal of the plasticizers does not make the PVC more durable but makes it more brittle and can cause cracking.
Alcohols can cause leaching of plasticizers and stabilizers from the PVC but with isopropyl alcohol it would be minimal with short exposures.
Most commercial LP cleaners use some type of surfactant or detergent. In my experience, any surfactant or detergent that contacts the PVC surface leaves behind some surfactant or detergent which can than be picked up by the stylus and gum it up.
In my opinion, distilled water and dilute isopropyl alcohol works well. For stubborn or more tightly bound surface crud an ultrasonic cleaner can be used. Ultrasonic cleaning can speed up leaching of stabilizers and plasticizers, so I would not overdo it. Using these in a reasonable fashion will not degrade the LP over the owners lifetime. The stylus will probably do more damage than isopropyl alcohol.
By the way, the hardest thing to remove from a PVC surface are the residues from finger prints. The finger print residue is made up of ions, proteins, lipids and amino acids, which can chemically bond to the surface. Distilled water and isopropyl alcohol will not remove them. In this case a commercial cleaner and/or ultrasonic cleaning is required.