Steam cleaning records 2

I've seen data sheets on PVC which list water absorption properties. A data sheet might read:

Water Absorption % increase 24 hrs @ 25°C (ASTM D570)

The percentage is usually less than .5%, sometimes much less, but it does indicate that PVC *can* absorb H2O.

I should have added to my post above that I am making no claim or judgment about whether the rate of water absorption of PVC is significant, let alone beneficial. I am just remarking on an observed property of the material.

Tvad,

Without examining the ASTM specification and knowing more about the properties of vinyl, it's impossible for me to know much about its absorptive action, i.e. the rate of absorption. I can hazard a guess, however, that it's probably not constant over time. It may soak up the largest percentage of water in the first minutes of exposure.

Even if this is true, to what extent this hydration does or does not benefit the listening experience is unknown to me.

The primary point that Charlie was trying to make is that steaming is effective as a part of the cleaning process and experience has show us who have been steaming for a while has little or no impact on record quality. There are a lot of reasons why steaming is effective but as many have said, your ears will tell you whether it is effective in your case. Also, can steaming hurt your records, most definitely yes especially if you get the vinyl too hot. as for removing the various components in vinyl, I can not say whether it will or will not for certain, but a one or two steam application to clean a record in my experience has been a significant improvement in listening quality. Vinyl is a pretty tough material and as some of the older records we all have will testify, it can last for many decades without significant deteriotion.