Cleaning vinyl - am I using this thing right???

Marakanetz: I'm surprised that you say that the Zerostat has no effect. This one is, in my experience, trivially demonstrable. In fact, I remember doing this once for my distinctly non-technical mom. She asked me why I was "shooting" my records, so I stuck a wad of cat fur to a magazine using static electricity and then shot the paper with the Zerostat, returning the kitty fur to random distribution...

...instead of "shooting" you can use a drop of Last while on the turntable and spread it over the record surface. Last dries out with no residue whatsoever and takes off the statics even better than zerostat pistol.

I don't totally disagree that LAST may remove the static to a degree approaching the Zerostat. If cost is an issue, as it seems to be since the $60 price tag for the Zerostat was bandied (mine cost $50) a comparison can be made.

Assuming we are speaking of LAST All-Purpose Cleaner, we are talking $20.50 (without shipping or tax) for a 2 oz. bottle. Directions call for using 4 drops per LP to clean, and a bottle will clean about 100 LP's. That makes about 400 drops/bottle. Let's stipluate that one drop of LAST can indeed be spread effectively over an entire LP side (I dunno). The math works out to about 5 cents per drop/per LP side (geez, that is a scary thought). As such, after 1,200 LP sides, a Zerostat at $60 would become the better bargain. Add to this the fact that a Zerostat will likely last most folks a lifetime of listening and that it is easier to use than applying drop(s), I'd have to opt for the Zerostat even when based solely on the financial issue.

As you've just mentioned 4yanx I also have about 1200...1400 LPs in my collection and even barely I should use Last drop on them. I keep them all in either Nitty-Gritty polylined sleves or Discwasher. Once I make a liquid cleaning with VPI the static problem is out for the good three to four months and on some of the records upto half of year(usually light pressed ones). During the three... four months especially on record that I might freequently listen the neccessity to clean becomes more freequent issue than the neccessity to simply "shoot". In case if I pull out the clean vinyl but it has statics(probably it stayed more than 4 months unplayed) I'll drop Last and spread it with the Discwasher sponge arround the surface(usually enough only to use on one side). It figures that Last will last years while Zerostat... well who knows?

Damn! I only WISH that static stayed away from me and mine that long. Where I live, there is often static buildup BEFORE the record has played through! I've tried humidifiers, spraying the carpet with clothes softener, grounding the spindle sump on my TT, and various and sundry other approaches. Guess it is something I have to live with. Oh, I had an old Zerostat that lasted nigh on 20 years before I lost it in a move, so I know that they stand up well.