Record cleaning machines are a rip off and sometimes they make the situation worse. All you need is the softest grade tooth brush, a 1$ bottle of Dawn dish soap, and a bit of time. Wash them in with a bit of running water and soap, in a circular motion, don’t be shy, then dry rinse really well and dry in the rack. I have 12,000 or so records, I use them to make a living, and do this method all the time. It works.
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I assume au_lait's tongue is well in his cheek as soft grade brushes used in a circular motion....arrrgh. I have used a Nitty Gritty some 30 years with very good results. But the drive is worn out and I have to help it turn the disc. Looking to replace so all your posts are very helpful. Clearly US is the way to go, but the Kirmuss four+ stage palaver is not for me. Neither do I trust the smug pseudoscience ladled out by Mr K. Costly, but the Degritter looks the way to go. Computer control manages all functions automatically and makers don't stress any need for additives to plain old distilled water. |
I have a Project RCM. Best investment I have made in my audio hobby. Even records that look clean sound better. I don’t play any vinyl that has not been through the cleaner at least once. It’s a manual vacuum based system but is a breeze to use. After cleaning a few hundred records I could go through the motions without thinking. Every clean record goes into a new MFSL inner sleeve and is dated. |
https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/rushton-paul-diy-approach-ultrasonic-cleaning-lps/ After I read this article I went DIY US with a VPI Cyclone to remove the rinse water. It’s total cost was more than $1000, I spent total (US and VPI) just about $1800. It’s the best thing I ever did for my collection. I used Discwasher D2, D3, D4, etc. I used Record Doctor with their juice and MoFi juice. Then I used the VPI with their juice and MoFi juice and the Walker 4 step program. The Walker got them clean and quiet, but it’s very tedious, somewhat less so than the Kirmiss though. None were as complete and as easy. A big plus is that static is temporarily removed as one of the detergents has an agent to de-static used in hospitals and clean rooms. The rinse is very important. The cleanest water (Type 1 Regents) is very important so no debris is left behind. Always use a fresh, new inner sleeve also. The records stay quiet. When they get dusty that causes some clicks or pops I just rinse again and play after a ten minute air dry. I can do about six records an hour, much faster than the Walker system and like greased lightning compared to the Kirmiss. The plus, not anticipated, beside quiet records is the stylus stays cleaner and wears less. After more than 1500 hours on my turntable the stylus of my Sound-Smith Helios looked like it had 300-400 hours according to Peter Lederman. There is a very lengthily thread on the VPI forum, with Harry chiming in from time to time. It is quite illuminating in that you can learn all the problems to avoid without experiencing them yourself. |
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