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Spin Clean seems to add noise to records?

Hi,
On the strength of good reviews and enthusiastic forum comments, I recently purchased a Spin Clean record cleaning system and cleaned around 20 records with it. I'm a little perplexed.
On the positive side, music sounds great: clearer, more "alive" and more dynamic. On the negative, I'd swear that quiet parts of the record, e.g., the lead in groove and and pauses between songs, sound noisier: more clicks and pops. This doesn't seem to be what a cleaner record should sound like!
Could I be doing something wrong? I've followed the directions carefully. And I could certainly see blackish crud settling to the bottom of the chamber.
The only ambiguous part is how to hold the record when you dry it off with the drying cloths. I tried holding it upright and gently wiping both sides, but that seemed to risk stressing and bending the vinyl disc. I also tried laying it on a table on top of a clean towel or a couple of the drying cloths and then wiping the top surface dry.
Let me also mention that I am using distilled water, and that I have read the "noisy records" item in Spin Clean's FAQ, here:

http://www.spincleanrecordwasher.com/faq.html#15
Eager for your thoughts and advice.
rebbi
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Sunnyboy1956:
Okay, I ordered the AI Enzymatic solution yesterday, along with a dedicated record brush. I'm going to try your method to see if it makes a difference. I noticed on the Needle Doctor web site by the way, in a review of the AI Enzymatic Cleaner, that the reviewer found that the AI fluid gets rid of the noise that Spin Clean can't seem to get rid of. So we'll see...
Thanks!
washline
202 posts
 
I've found that TTVJ's Vinyl Zyme Gold does a much better job than AIVS. It's also a lot cheaper and can be bought in concentrate form and mixed with distilled water in varying levels of concentration. When I used AIVS on my record cleaning machine I found some residual noise until I switched to TTVJ. So far, this is the best enzyme cleaner I've used.
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
4,306 posts
 
Just fyi - AI sells a Step 2 "super cleaner" product that's supposed to follow the Step 1 enzyme solution treatment.

http://www.audiointelligent.com/products.htm
valinar
471 posts
 
I have used my spin clean only on new records so far. I read somewhere that it is a good idea to clean new records to remove film that may be left from the pressing procedure. But after cleaning some there is a static. On the A side of Dylan's Another Self Portrait there is a level of static that renders "Pretty Saro" , my favorite song on the album, almost unlistenable. I ordered the brush with the ground wire from Mapleshade this morning. Hopefully it will help. Any other suggestions that don't call for the purchase of another cleaning machine are welcome.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Valinar,
Do you a before and after comparison? In other words, did you play the disc before cleaning it?
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