Record is noisier after cleaning:

To respond to Roydavis's post, and in regards to cleaners using Alcohol in thier formulations, I'm certainly no expert on the topic, so please don't ask me for hard scientific data to support any claims, pro, or con.

I reckon one must decide personally what they want in thier cleaners, and most good companies will disclose the basic ingredients.

From what I know, is that yes, Alcohol can be detrimental to vinyl, and I would gather that the important thing, is what type-grade, how much Alcohol is in a formulation, and how long it would be left on the surface?

While I know MFSL didn't use it in past formulations, one will fond that two of the very best vinyl cleaners, AIVS, and Walker do. In fact, it was mentioned here not long ago, about Walker's newest rave, the new Final Rinse they came out with, and as I understand it, this product contains small trace amounts of Alcohol.

I know just enough, to know that Alcohol supposedly doesn't do as much as one would assume it does, being a grease remover, but one characteristic, is that it acts as a Surfactant, making water "wetter", reducing surface tension.

I know there are other things that it does, supposedly helping lift-seperate the nasties (I think) from the vinlyand perhaps Jim P of AIVS might chime in to explain these scientific explanations, which I'm so poor at doing.

Evidently, the Lab Chemists-etc at AVIS, and Walker have determined that Alcohol is safe in thier formulations, provided that one properly follows thier directions. Mark

I also found that my records were noisier after using the X2000 fluid from Hannl. Switching to the L'Art du Son fluid from France was an improvement as was increasing the final rinse with distilled water.
When I switched to pure steam cleaning (as discovered by Crem1), the risk of fluid contaminants disappeared.

Often doing nothing is the best plan. As the physicians oath says: first do no harm. Any chemical compound must leave something behind in some way. I try to play a record clean, if I can.

What is the vinyl communities general opinion on the formula from the Library of Congress and the National Library of Canada? They both recommend using Tergitol.

-- Sanjay

Readers & Posters : As I recall, the alcohol formulation issue demanded a lot of attention in the 1980-90's when some fluid designers reformulated claiming that any form of alcohol could cause vinyl to become brittle and noisey.The "anti-alcohol" point of view got a lot of print in "TAS & Stereophile" for years , without scant scientific study.

I do recall an excellent article published in "Positive Feedback" by a chemist/engineer detailing the flaws in the "no alcohol" viewpoint. The Professor pointed out studies affirming that a brief dousing of alcohol was harmless and all alcohol fluid bases were harmless, unless , alcohol was in immediate contact with the vinyl for 20+ minutes in the form of a bath. I also recall no retort to the Professor's comments : I have not re-read the article in a dozen years.

I am familiar with the recommendations of the of NLC & LOC. I have accociates that work at the LOC that tell me both recomendations were more or less directives , published with scant doctumention open the public-at-large , and are in need of up-dating. That is not to say Tergitol is dangerious or otherwise harmful, only that these recommendations were made many,many years ago : No recent research has been conducted to affirm or modify those recommendations.

The above issues do appear mute ,as Halcro stated, with steam rinses that remove all cleaning residues from the vinyl.

All that been offered above is an aside, should the recording be defective from manufacture. Nothing can calm a defective/owner abused LP.The option of doing nothing or something to remove noise is a matter of personal choice. Nevertheless, it has been my experience that using the correct hand tools , fluids , a RCM & Steam most noise can be effectively removed. However, some experienced steam users believe steaming alone with micro cloth drying removes noise from LPS. Again, another option.

FYI: The issue of what is to be done with the ageing waxes , '78's & LPs is an internal matter of debate at both Institutions ; the Libary of Congress has been leaning towards digital reproduction for waxes .

The sheer volume of their combined holdings and the associated costs for storage may determine the outcome.