"Cleaning" Vinyl Makes It Worse Not Better!

FWIW the basic rules for UT are as follows:

• The power to produce cavitation is proportional to the kHz, so a 120kHz UT needs more power than a 40kHz.
• For ultrasonic tanks, the bubble diameter is inversely proportional to the kHz, so a 40 kHz UT produces a large bubble than a 120kHz UT.
• The cavitation intensity is proportional to the bubble diameter and the tank power (watts/L) but there is a maximum power above which no addition cavitation intensity is obtained.
• The number of cavitation bubbles produced is proportional to kHz, so a 120kHz produces more bubbles than a 40kHz, but smaller bubbles.
• The smaller the tank volume, the more power that is required. It has to do with the ratio of the tank volume to its interior surface area.
• For lower kHz units (<60kHz), if the tank bath flow rate (from filtering or spinning) >50% of the tank volume per minute, cavitation intensity decreases.

The Humminguru is 40-kHz and the tank is only 400-ml, so even with only 60W it is a proper ultrasonic unit and produces fully developed cavitation.  The Degritter is 120kHz and 1.4L, so it needs much more power, but at ~300W it's a powerful machine.  But the KLAudio is the king of the hill, it's a beast - 40kHz, 0.78-L and 200W.  The KLAudio is the most powerful recording cleaning UT sold.  While the HG and DG can often benefit from a touch of surfactant for cleaning efficiency, the KLAudio is just brute power (and its water level sensors prevent the use of surfactant).

I suspect some of the LPs that I was able to revive were casualties of bad prior cleanings, rather than kludgey tone arms on changers which caused groove chew.

Hi @whart , I completely agree. There’s a well-known vinyl store in Oakland CA that kind of specializes in jazz. Great LPs, but I noticed a lot of static pops on many I bought there. Proper cleaning and vacuuming only helped so much. The owner is a deeply knowledgeable guy who has participated in nearly every aspect of the record biz since the ’70s. But still. One day I watched him "clean" a batch of consignment LPs by rubbing a damp cloth around their surfaces. Aha! No wonder. As much as I want to support him, I stopped buying records there. Once those particles get cemented in, it’s very difficult to get them all out.

I've had a Degritter for about 3 years. It's a work horse and cleans well. Sometimes a record cleaned in the Degritter later picks up gunk and has to be cleaned again. There is nothing you can do about groove wear or even loud vinyl. There is no standard for how vinyl is made. Some of the new 180 gram records wear quickly. I think their vinyl is soft. Sometimes they just pick up gunk that can be cleaned off. Other times, they simply wear quickly. All that being said, I swear by the Degritter.

My VPI 16.5 and 17 vacuum RCM have never let me down.

Use the VPI fluid or the ‘L Art du Son fluid which is even better.

@vitussl101 I've used Mofi's Super Record Wash (nothing else with or added to it) in an US machine at room temp with excellent results.  While doing so, I've never allowed the fluid temperature to exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  However, Mofi doesn't recommend using Super Record Wash in US machines.  I couldn't get them to tell me why or what's in Super Record Wash that makes it inadvisable for use in US machines.  Their Ultra Record Wash concentrate, which they say is specifically designed for US machines, is probably the same or very similar to Degritter's cleaning fluid or just the quadruple distilled water, very little Tergitol and whatever the hell an anti-static cleaning additive is.  You can make your own at a fraction of the cost.