Cleaning liquids

I have spent a lot of time over the past months researching and trying different methods for cleaning vinyl records.

My most recent efforts have focused on experimenting on homemade cleaning liquids. This was triggered by some very poor experiences of so called professional cleaning liquids bought on the internet.

The last liquid I bought basically clogged up the grooves and attracted every piece of dust within a thirty foot radius. Despite every effort to dry the vinyl for days at a time and using every carbon fibre brush and microfibre cloth known to man, I could not get the record clean of the gunge this liquid imposed on it.

The solution (geddit?)

in the end, almost out of desperation I modified another homemade recipe I read about online and lo and behold, eureka, and all sorts of other expressive phrases!

The best bit? It costs next to nothing. You just need clean water, I use one of those home water filters (Brita, Pur etc.) and just add a squirt of dishwasher rinse aid.

if you don’t have a water filter then a bottle of distilled water from your local hardware store will do the trick.

The application

to apply, firstly I lay one large microfibre cloth down to place the record on. I kept one of the spray bottles from the crap cleaning liquid I bought to store and apply my solution.

First you need something to cover the label with. I use one of the spindle ends from the Disco-Antistatic cleaning gadget I used to use which is perfect because it is designed to cover the label. It is also handy to hold the record steady while you wipe the excess liquid off.

With the label covered, I spray the liquid on liberally. I then use my Tacky Toner roller to evenly spread the liquid across the vinyl.

Next, wipe off the excess liquid with a microfibre cloth and then use a second microfibre cloth to dry the vinyl as best as possible.

Drying process

Make sure the vinyl is thoroughly dry before playing. If you have an airing cubboard or similar warm, dry area, leave the record in there for several hours, overnight if necessary.

Playing

when it comes round to playing time, I just use a carbon fibre brush to make sure there is no loose dust in the grooves and a stylus brush to make sure that is clean also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that’s all folks! Hope it works for you. Would love to hear about any other similarly cheap and successful methods (We can’t all afford one of those record vacuum cleaner things!)