Record-playing Rituals?

Where you are at - 45-55% RH in the entire home is fine for guitars, books, wood, etc. 30% is very low and HUGE static problems arise as well as drying out pretty much everything. Above 70% is just too moist and you may start having mold & moisture problems but probably need 75%+ for that.

So given the largess of you environment it sounds like you are doing GREAT to keep it at 45% RH during the winter (overall). HOWEVER...55-65% in the small area around your turntable area is ideal. I find below 55% RH things start to sound worse due to static build-up and a bit of a drying of other things in the vinyl playback chain.

BEAR IN MIND THOUGH that this is done to mitigate static so at 50-55% RH you can do fine WITHOUT local humidification BUT you need to mitigate static charge build-up. I am trying to investigate this as we head into the winter months. This is why I started a thread inquiring about the NEW Dust Bug performance.

Bear in mind that there are several factors involved - turntable drive type, platter material, platter finish, mat material and vinyl cleaning methods and products used. So this is why everyone has varying degrees of the impact of this problem. Unfortunately my TT materials are pretty bad from a triboelectric perspective so I need to figure out what mitigation options are optimal. Right now I am using local humidity and ionic treatment to keep the problem in check. Humidity has a host of ancillary benefits so it's not a bad way to do it but it's always best to identify all the "static generators" in any system set-up.

Latest empirical data findings:

1) Carbon brush imparts a negative charge on LPs.
2) Static gun (Discwasher) produces produces + (positive) ions on trigger pull and - (negative) ions on trigger release.
3) In lower than 50% RH Static guns WILL charge the LP surface and can produce localized charge regions on LP playing surface side ESPECIALLY if used only 2-3" from record surface (a.k.a. "can do more harm than good if not used in the proper application").
4) To minimize any localized charging on playing surface (i.e. from static gun usage) in environments below 45% RH sweep record with carbon brush. At worst, it will impart a slight negative charge to the LP.
5) At 50% RH or higher it is VERY difficult for the LP to hold a static charge! This also coincides with best music playback (NOT a coincidence!). This also helps the cartridge to perform as well as to last.

"The best way to experience music is to lose your mind and come to your senses."

Ive heard that alchohol is a no no for cleaning but I havent found any real data concening the negative effects. My chemist buddie doesnt think there should be any problems with respect to damaging the vinyl. Does any one have any specific findings on this?

To get dirty/noisy records clean and silent initially, if needed, I give them a good bath using a very low cost but effective procedure that has worked for me for 20 years and my good vinyl still sounds like new. This is a procedure that should only need to be performed once initially per record side if needed.

First I spray them down with a very dilute solution of Shaklee Basic H cleaner in distilled water. I then run my old Discwasher brush around the record while on the turntableto loosen up the dirt. Then I fold a soft and absorbent paper towel to form an absorbent edge to remove the moisture from the record and repeatedly run the edge across the record while turning, re-folding to create a new dry edge as needed, until the record is dry to avoid unwanted dirt deposits accumulating on the stylus.

Mapman,

you definitely want to rinse that record off again with purified water after what you described.

Rccc,

Alcohol poses no threat to the vinyl as long as none of it spills between the glass and your mouth. ;-)

Seriously, it poses no threat within anything resembling the typical time frame of record cleaning. It is also only a moderately effective cleaner.

For myself, if I've got a seriously dirty find from the local resale store, I rinse under the faucet first with warm water to get the worst off, then follow up with dish washing detergent and a wet sponge, then faucet rinse again, followed by RO water rinse, which I have on my sink for drinking. I then take it over to my Nitty Gritty RCM and do it up with a solution of alcohol and RO water with a trace each of Direct bathroom cleaner and photoflow; or if I want to get serious, I use the multi step Walker Audio Prelude system. If the record isn't so dirty then I skip to one of the last options. If I've already done that at some point, I just use a carbon fiber brush followed by the Mapleshade Ionoclast followed by the Walker Audio Talisman. If this last bit sounds obsessive, it isn't as both are relatively cheap compared their brethren that they best, and they take but a moment to do. I always dry brush the stylus and frequently brush with Last stylus cleaner ending up with a touch of Stylast.

Since my TT is a Maplenoll airbearing linear tracker I preceed all this by turning on my air pump. I frequently quick check the horizontal arm balance since my floor changes a bit with the weather under a few hundred pounds of components. Occasionally I'll clean the arm bearing with a tissue to keep it effortless.

The Hagerman Trumpet has a well engineered two stage manual slow turn on sequence that insures tube health and performance so I do turn that on and off as I use it, optimally giving it at least an hour to warm up. My amp has no such feature but that also gets turned on and off as used. For serious sessions, I'll turn off the power strip with my computer etc. and unplug any unused audio component.

Then comes the hard part: what record to play...