What is the first thing you do when you unwrap a new vinyl record?

I return it for the same title on CD so I don't have to jump through all the hoops described above.

Seems to me, I'd better invest in an ultrasonic cleaning machine.  Thoughts, anyone?

You won't regret it, though many of us use a vacuum machine of some sort before the U/S. But anything is better than nothing when it comes to cleaning records.

Interestingly enough Joe Harley weighed in on this subject on the Tone Poet news page.  He points out correctly that every record comes out of the press with release agent still in the grooves.  He suggests that each new record be thoroughly cleaned before first play for that reason.  Joe is an authority by any yardstick.  I think his regime involves the use of a vacuum machine first followed by a final rinse using an ultrasonic and distilled water.  I use my HW-17.  Whatever you do, clean it first.

@billstevenson

Thanks Bill!

I have been wading through all 192 pages of "Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records". My take so far is that much of the muck in the microgroove is smaller than the human eye can see, and some in fact is smaller than the wavelength of visible light making it impossible to ’see’ under any light microscope.

I’ve often wondered why lasers are not used instead of diamonds in cartridges. That’s one explanation!

Electrons have a much shorter wavelength, and electron-microscopes can resolve minute detail, but they are hardly consumer items!

I was pleased to read that carbon-fibre bristles get further into the groove (my Audio Quest brush had half a million bristles at last count) so I will continue to use it to stir up the larger lumps of detritus and hope that my ultrasonic machine (still en route from China) will blast out some of the smaller stuff.

Cheers