Upgrade turntable or buy a record cleaning machine

Agree with Tketcham, at least concerning the RCM. Depending on your current collection of records that need to be cleaned, anything that helps reduce the drudgery is well worth the money. i.e., if you have 500+ lps, get, at least, something that spins the record and sucks up the moisture, such as a VPI 16.5. If you have 100 LPs, you can get by with something more simple (an RCM that you spin by hand) as long as you keep up with the cleaning as new records come in.

As far as the 'steam cleaning', that may or may not be a worthy adjunct to a cleaning ritual, but without a RCM, everything I wrote above still applies. Plus, sucking the watery slime off of a record with a RCM will always produce better results than 'dabbing dry with lint-free cloth'.

Before a clean machine, trying a $30 steam unit would seem sensible. It works wonders.

Steam cleaning is absolutely better than any record machine. I have had the best record cleaning machines money can buy and a 300 dollar steam cleaner does a better job period. If anyone tells you different they never tried a steam cleaner. Of course both a RCM and steam is even better. But steam is the bang for the buck. Next buy a better arm, cart and phono. Then buy a better table. Unless this mmf-7 is a horrible table, that makes noise and cant keep a cadence. I dont know.

Cheers

whoops I meant 30 dollar steam cleaner. Sorry I get to excited...

I agree with the others who recommend a RCM. No matter how good or bad a TT is, a record collection needs to be cleaned properly.

I've never heard the MH 7.1, but most reviews indicate that it is a good unit. You can probably enjoy it to its fullest potential with a good and inexpensive RCM (Nitty Griity) + a cartridge and tonearm upgrade if necessary.