Whats the best record cleaning fluid?

Mfsoa,

The cleaning fluid (any cleaning fluid) emulsifies or dissolves contaminants and holds them in suspension or solution.

The vacuum then removes the scummy liquid. So the answer to your question is, "both".

That's not to say the brush won't get dirty, clearly it will. But if you don't vacuum the scummy liquid off the record and just let it evaporate, the scum will be left behind. Even worse, it will probably have been broken down into finer particulates which will be much harder to remove. Using cleaning fluids without vacuuming is probably worse than not using them at all.

Purple Death is purple degreaser concentrate. Works well in very small amounts. Use plenty of water to rinse. I use a Groovmaster and then follow up with vacuuming.

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I live by the Great Lakes. Perhaps I don't need to source distilled water vs well water most of you get. I went to the drug store looking for triple distilled & I think they got my Lic.# thinking I was a Meth freak.

Lucius

Brian,
Sure,at some point we can have a fun filled afternoon cleaning records. I also use the Vpi brushes double mounted on a brackett that sits on my VPI 16.5 turn table. I keep the record wet and let it spin for 3 or 4 minutes. The attachment I made for the shop works very well to clean it all off when done. It's amazing how clean the LP's come out.

Tim

For about the last 30 years I have used just about every fluid, brush, and vacuum made. I actually started with the Keith Monks vacuum but sold it as a pain in the ass. I have had a noted chemist and audiophile "design" a cleaning fluid, which was largely pure water and a surface tension breaker. Some of the fluids are volatile which is a problem using the Loricraft or other string vacuums. Some have odors that suggest alcohol. Some systems include a final lubricant.

My one observation is that while all of this seems rather straight-forward, in reality one can hear great differences. First a string machine is far superior to other machines as the material in contact with the vinyl is changed every cleaning. Also the vacuum area is quite small allowing greater vacuum.

Fluids also make a difference. With some I have static electricity induced on the record after cleaning which of course attracts dust; just what you want after cleaning! While I love one step cleaners, such as the excellent L'art du Son, even with a good vacuum, I find a final rinse does improve the cleaning.

I had tried various enzyme treatments with no benefit, but the Walker does seem to add. I must say that I don't exactly know how much, however, nor why. I have used only his cleaner and rinse as compared with all three steps. All three is clearly superior. I have also used the enzyme on previously well cleaned records and found improvement. I don't really understand what is being removed in this use after many previous cleanings.

Presently I have three competing fluids: AudioTop, L'art du Son, and Walker Prelude. I have cleaned previously cleaned records with Prelude and found improvements. I have cleaned records cleaned with Prelude with AudioTop and found no improvement, and I have cleaned records previously cleaned with L'art du Son and found a slight but worthwhile improvement.

I have found the three fluids mentioned above to be superior to Disk Doctor, my chemist's formula, and RRL. L'art du Son's one step is clearly the easiest to use. While DIY solutions may be effective and cheap, they are not the best in terms of sound.

Where I live the city water has high sodium. We use a reverse osmosis filter on the water we drink. I have been told by a chemist that the reverse osmosis filter yields water as pure as distilled water. I have used it versus the Walker Ultra Pure water and heard no difference.

One final comment. I have several times heard the Laser turntable which reacts violently to dust or other materials in the tracks it scans. At CES years ago, they had purchased several well used records in Las Vegas and cleaned them with L'art du Son on the Loricraft string machine. I still remember how free of pops and clicks the sound was and how true the sound was. I have never taken the final plunge and bought one of these tables, but I suspect it is the one real test of record cleaning.