"Cleaning" Vinyl Makes It Worse Not Better!

@antinn Fascinating! I hadn't known of the Helios before, but found it on the SS special order page, where it is shown in the old-style body. I know of someone who has asked Peter if he would make a high-output Hyperion, and it seems he already does.

@oldaudiophile "Yes, I know what you mean.  The little bottle you're talking about is Mofi's Ultra Record Wash concentrate for ultrasonic cleaning machines.  Again, you can make your own for a fraction of the cost."

Okay, can you tell me how to make my own Ultra Record Wash concentrate? I'd appreciate it.

Neil!

It is always a pleasure to find you ever since we first crossed paths in the VPI Forum now many moons ago.  Some things never change and I marvel at your patience.  FWIW for any who are lurking and not sure what to make of all this let me add my name to the many, many endorsers you will encounter for Neil Antinn.  He is the real deal and no person who has carefully followed his advice is not better off.

Regards,

Bill Stevenson

Hi Bill, 

Thanks for the kind words, and yes, it's been a bit of journey since the VPI Forum days.  I very grateful to @whart for jumping in as Editor and Publisher of the book and making it available for free.  Although there are days when I ask myself why did I do this, LOL.  I went back to work a few years ago, so it's not like I do not have enough to do.  But is always good trying to help people.  

Take care and best wishes for the Holiday and New Year,

Neil

@vitussl101 Again, I cannot emphasize enough how important I think it is for all those interested in record cleaning to read "Precision Aqueous Cleaning of:  Vinyl Records" at the Vinyl Press.  BTW, if you haven't already figured this out, "antinn", a contributor in this thread, is the author of that book.  It's not an easy read for non-scientific minds, like me, but definitely worth the time.  I tried, as best I could, to incorporate Neil's guidance into my cleaning approach.

That being said, without going into too much detail, here's the method to my present madness:

I use a Knosti Disco Anti-Stat (basically, the same as a Spin-Clean but with goat hair brushes) to pre-clean my records prior to cleaning them in my ultrasonic machine.  I fill the Knosti with MOFI SUPER RECORD WASH for this.  I think this step can be avoided for records that are already relatively clean.  However, for records that are really dirty (I don't have any), I would definitely do this or some kind of pre-clean step.  When my MOFI SUPER RECORD WASH supply runs out, I'll fill the Knosti with distilled water and 0.5% Liquinox, instead.  All of this is done at room temperature.

After this pre-clean step, I use a basic 6-liter 40 kHz 110-volt machine filled with distilled water and 0.004% Tergitol 15-S-9 set to operate between 27C and 31C and run it for 30 minutes without any records in it.  Then, I use equipment I purchased from CleanerVinyl (record spinner; bath filter; record spacers; etc.) to put the pre-cleaned records into the US cleaner.  I do 2 records at a time, spaced 1.25" apart and run them at 0.5 RPM for 15-minute cycles making sure the bath fluid temp never exceeds 37C.  Then, I use my record lifter device to raise the records out of the US tank bath and let them rotate above the machine at 5 RPM for about 15 minutes to help with drying.  After that, the records go into my Knosti's drying rack until they are completely dry.

When I get around to it, I'll invest in a small HEPA air cleaner that I can set up near my drying station to help catch as much airborne dust motes as possible.  Also, I intend to purchase a better US machine (i.e.  Elma Sonic P60H) at some point to continue tweaking my cleaning approach.  On the other hand, I may just say "to hell with it", bite the bullet, get a Degritter Mark II and use the contraption(s) I have now as a pre-clean step and/or final rinse step.

So, Neil, if you're still following this thread, have I learned anything?