Deep Cleaning Records With Steam?

The best Audiogon thread EVER!

I went out and bought the steamer at wal-mart. Please excuse my ignorance, there are a few things I do not understand.

1) How far do I hold the steamer nozzle from the record?

2) What kind of motion do I use? Circular following the grooves or maybe from top to bottom?

3) Is there a particular brand or type of dish rack to get to prevent scratching the record?

4) I'm confused, do you physically towel dry the records, or air dry them in the dish rack??

Thanks in advance, GREAT JOB!

Hiffile:

Remember its always the journey ...

1. That's a variable from 1" to 3", the SF-227 has a Lot of Steam Power--Keep a vinyl-type glove on your hands for safety sake. The 227 can leave a scalding red streak should you overlap your hand.

2. Holding the LP on an angle facing away from your face and body, spray the groves in a circular motion. Top to bottom or reverse doesn't really matter just watch the label. Always wipe it dry or cover with a circular piece of vinyl, I use a "give-away" jar opener.

3. Yes, a vinyl-type covering over all the frame works for me. Soft and non-abrasive.

4. Some air dry and some do not. Using an extremely soft micro cloth seems to be the perferred method of those who do not combo with a RCM. Soft is the perference, just a slight wipe once or twice , allow air drying for several minutes depending on your home enviorment.

Thank you for the kind words. I only hope that what we have diccussed will enhanse your listening experience.

12-09-07: Hififile
1) How far do I hold the steamer nozzle from the record?

About 6 inches. I lay an LP on the kitchen counter (on top of a microfiber towel) and use the bent nozzle so I can hold the steamer nearly horizontal. Easier on my wrist.

2) What kind of motion do I use? Circular following the grooves or maybe from top to bottom?

Not sure that it matters, but I generally use a circular motion following the groove. I figure if the steam is moving in the same direction as the groove, it's more likely to blast it out of the deeper part of the groove. I also know that this is just speculation on my part.

3) Is there a particular brand or type of dish rack to get to prevent scratching the record?

I use the garden variety dish rack we already had. It is rubber-coated wire.

4) I'm confused, do you physically towel dry the records, or air dry them in the dish rack??

Personally I use a terry-cloth style microfiber towel (it claims 90,000 fiber naps sticking up per square inch). This helps wipe the gunk and water out of the groove. I then rack the LP after towel-drying it to let any residual moisture evaporate. Also, if you have gotten the label wet, you'll want to rack it until it's dry. You don't want to put a wet record back into its liner sleeve.

To avoid getting the label too wet, I lay an oriental rice bowl over the label. It covers it perfectly without covering any of the groove.

If you have the space available to set up a cleaning area, my advice is to source a junk turntable (Goodwill, your local audio dealer may have taken some crappy trade-ins), which is what I've done. This is the perfect platform for both applying fluid and steaming. You can steam an entire side in about 5 seconds at 45 RPM with a garment steamer. I usually apply fluid with a carbon fibre brush, steam, brush again, steam, brush and vacuum.

Quick, effective, and if you're steaming at 45 RPM you'd have to work extremely hard to damage the record. I like about 2.5-3 inches away.

Readers : I have come across a Microfiber polishing cloth that appears to be significantly better than most cloths on the market. The Flitz 4 star Microfiber Polishing Cloth, www.Flitz.com , is made of Starfiber @ Microfiber; threads are 100 times finer than human hair, absorbs 4 times its weight in liquid and reportly works "electostatically". The cloths are sized from 12x12", 16x16" and 21x24" and range in price from $5.00 to $9.00. The cloths appear to be a perfect mate to our steaming efforts for a fraction of the cost others would charge for similar, but not as superior a product.