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Deep Cleaning Records With Steam?

It has happened again. Major tweak and record provider has available a steam cleaner made especially for records. Anybody try steam for cleaning lp’s? What were your results? Since a unit can be had for about $20 at Target, 15% of what the tweak provider is charging, is it worth a try?.
tiger
crem1
672 posts
 
FYI : Maple-You-Know-What sent me a message using my friends months ago , claiming intent to give full acknowledgement on the Web site. So far nothing...Perhaps I can make them an offer they can not refuse ... Now who said that ??
crem1
672 posts
 
Water Matters : From the above posts it seems few have reviewed the Water posts of the last years. Just remember when ever you put H2O into a heating tank lots of chemical changes occurr ,and when you seen those little black specks chances are thats carbon. Lots of entry points for comtamination, by metal composition , air or water. Look at the debris of a fire -- What do you see Carbon and other junk.

I use Peak because its cheap , widely available and reasonably manufactured to remove most of what ails vinyl. The secret is in the rinse, the rinse cleans aways debris. That's where money matters. Again, Peak does a very good job. Should you want to spend more , go ahead no problem.

Dispite the beating I am taking in some Euro-Circles, use any record cleaning fluid you want. Sure , some have cleaning improvements over others , But Generally, they all work about the same. Use a RCM or not thats' your decision, the American Way , options. Cheers to all, especially Martina@GE. LOL
sunnyboy1956's avatar
sunnyboy1956
424 posts
 
I was a somewhat reluctant convert to steaming. Acquired a steamer from Argos,in London, UK, for Sterling 29 thats nearly $58, last month.The initial results were somewhat mixed but certainly less than expected. Records were cleaner but a lot of pop and crackle remained.After watching Stltrains video I guess I was not doing it quite right. Was steaming and vacuuming with a VPI 16.5 simultaneously and later using the API one step cleaning solution followed by another round on the RCM. Last night I tried the Stltrain method and wow there was a distinct improvement. Background noise was sharply reduced.Cleaned a 25 year old Indian ghazal lp. The result was pretty spectacular. Achieved almost similar results with a 30 year old Beethoven lp bought in what then was East Berlin.
I obviously need to refine my cleaning method. I have not been able to locate a good source for really good quality pure water in New Delhi, India, where I live. This should not be a problem. I suspect with better quality water the results are bound to improve. Am currently using the same distilled water that we drink at home.
Thanks to all the stalwarts and Gurus on this thread for further enhancing the vinyl experience for me.
doak
199 posts
 
Thank You Charles. :-}
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Crem1,

I whole-heartedly agree with you about the rinse. IMO and IME pure rinse water is where money is best spent. It does not take much water to properly rinse. No flooding is needed. A teaspoon at most. Any more is a waste in my experience. Being judicious with the fluids also helps the vacuum process.

I'm getting very good results steaming with distilled water. It is cheap, fairly pure, and easily found. The Peak battery water is not so easily found and I don't want to spend the kind of money it would take to ship pure water in any quantity. I have also found that 1/2 a teaspoon of white vinegar mixed with the water used in the Perfection keeps the inside clean and the left over water is clearer looking when poured out. I do this every other time I steam.
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