Record is noisier after cleaning:

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.

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 .

Here's what we need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record

One thing occurred to me that hasn't been mentioned. Don't forget to brush the felt pads on the vacuum pickup tube of the VPI after each record (or every 2 or 3 depending on how dirty they are).
I learned that lesson the hard way. I forgot to do that, and the dust and dirt accumulated on the felt pads. Eventually, I was scratching my records as I cleaned them.

Cheers.

Tom

Hi Tom, What do use to brush your felt pads?

-- Sanjay