"Cleaning" Vinyl Makes It Worse Not Better!

Sokogear, Have you ever encountered an audiophile who exposed all of his LPs to room air, by removing them from their protective sleeves, and then proceeded to smoke for hours on end? I find it hard to believe that "smoke" damage is a significant factor in the genesis of noisy LPs, except in the rare case of LPs that were rescued from a house fire. Don’t you think that is a bit far-fetched? However, there is such a thing as an LP that has been damaged by excessive play or by other kinds of misuse, like excessive VTF or worn styli. Those LPs can never be helped by cleaning, no matter how hard one might try.

Antinn, as I think you must know, Abe Lincoln was referring to "fooling the people", not making them happy. I for one am grateful for your good work and for publishing your data, even though I continue to use Triton X100.

Cleaning cloth? Ouch! That’s a no no.

If you want to clean and dry records automatically and for reasonable cost look at Humminguru ultrasonic cleaner.

If a more manual approach is Ok then Spin Clean.

@lewm, 

The quote I somewhat butchered was:  You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time" and web 'appears' to attribute it to John Lydgate of Bury (c. 1370 – c. 1451) who was a monk and poet.  

I will not hold it against you for using Triton X100 LOL.  Many people I have worked with had Triton X100 and while adopting some of what I recommended choose to stay with Triton X100.  It really only becomes to an issue when people want a no-rinse solution for UT, in which case you want just enough nonionic surfactant for wetting and keeping the cleaner concentration 50-ppm or less works well and this is where Tergitol 15-S-9 is a major benefit.  

Otherwise, thank you for the kind words and best wishes to you and yours for the Holidays and the New Year,

Neil

back when i was bin diving i used the Walker enzyme with a wet vac brush Nitty Gritty before the Degritter w Turgitol….

Carry on

Jim

never a Monk, sometimes a Poet

Biggest a bunch of malarkey I’ve ever heard. If you’re using a cleaning solvent that’s leaving a residual simply stop using it. Crud buildup over time on an Lp has always been a nuisance and can seriously effect sound quality. Start with good old Dawn dish soap and a clean soft cloth. After a good soap a dope, rinse it good and dry it with a clean soft cloth. Let your ears be the judge my friend, I am certain you will hear a remarkable difference.