Record cleaning - what's your method?

Slimwhit33 said:
It’s so easy. I will say that this ain’t one of the many audio items that one can sneak into their house. My wife’s initial comment was “You know you’re getting rid of that right?” It subsided when I explained that I would not be doing this with every record I play and that I would do them all once and then maybe semi annually. She was fine.
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My wife not only doesn’t mind it, she’s had me run some of her records through it if she feels they’re too noisy. 😅
 
Slimwhit33 said:
It’s so easy. I will say that this ain’t one of the many audio items that one can sneak into their house. My wife’s initial comment was “You know you’re getting rid of that right?” It subsided when I explained that I would not be doing this with every record I play and that I would do them all once and then maybe semi annually. She was fine.
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Just keep track of what you need to clean and wait until she’s not home.
 
I've been experimenting with Neil's recommended cleaning mixes.
The 190 pages is a little overwhelming until you spend some time with the content.
Really impressed with the cleaning of liquinox and tergitol and a VCM.
I even tried out the distilled white vinegar with tergitol as an acid clean.
This acid mix is a nice gem for soaking.

Have a used US 132kHz on the way to polish off the cleaning on some records.
Trying to get down in the super fine grooves.
Vinyl pursuit of clean sound is addictive to say the least.
 
Gotta speed up this cleaning process I think.. gonna take forever if I only clean when I listen. Plan to have a couple marathon sessions over the weekend to see if I can blow out 75-100 of them. Still gonna take a while.. loving the results so far and actually kind of enjoy the process.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Gotta speed up this cleaning process I think.. gonna take forever if I only clean when I listen. Plan to have a couple marathon sessions over the weekend to see if I can blow out 75-100 of them. Still gonna take a while.. loving the results so far and actually kind of enjoy the process.
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Watch the temp of the spindle. It gets hot after awhile. I’ve always stopped when it gets hot to the touch because I’ve heard anecdotal stories of people wrecking the spindle holes on their records.
 
Kris said:
Watch the temp of the spindle. It gets hot after awhile. I’ve always stopped when it gets hot to the touch because I’ve heard anecdotal stories of people wrecking the spindle holes on their records.
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Interesting... I did about 50 albums last night over the coutrse of 3-4 hours.. didn't notice the spindle getting warm but doubt i had reason to touch it to notice. I'll keep this in mind and check next go around.. thanks for the heads up as I hadn't read this anywhere else.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
Just bought my first real record cleaning machine, a VPI 16.5. I've been using a spin clean since I got back into the vinyl hobby a few years ago. Looking forward to giving it a go and seeing if it makes a discernable difference from the spin clean.

Anyone else here have a VPI cleaning machine who's got any tips?
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My Dad did and loved it. Unfortunately it went at his estate sale. I use the $200 Record Doctor V, Works great, but have that damn Hummin g on my mind thanks to everyone here, you too @Ghost ! :p😊
 
Slimwhit33 said:
So, fired it up, threw in a copy of Bab's One Voice which has always been pretty noisy, no matter how many times I put it through the Spin Clean. Ran it through the VPI and its basically click and pop free.. I'm pretty amazed. Now I've got a whole collection to clean.. lol
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The only thing I will add is to still keep a $20 Mofi Brush around for when/if you pick up any older or problem records that need a good scrub. Record Cleaning Brush
 
HiFi Guy said:
I think the VPI brush actually does a better job. You can buy the bristles as a refill if/when they become worn.
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the old man just really felt more comfortable with the felt I think. I Still have them. And he was the king of yard sale and thrift store digs 😁
 
HiFi Guy said:
I think the VPI brush actually does a better job. You can buy the bristles as a refill if/when they become worn.
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I actually use the VPI brush for the first stage Deep Cleaner on older albums, and the MoFi Brush for the regular cleanse. Seems to be working pretty well so far.

A tip for the VPI Machine that I found helpful was removing the tube after each session and before closing the lid. I know many have had broken tubes, and I wonder if it was from pushing it down with the lid all the time, even gently. I couldn't understand why they designed the lid to hit the tube (why not raise the outer wall a half inch so the lid was a little higher??) but removing it removes the issue. We'll see if doing that extends the life of the stock tube. I ordered a backup already based on recommendations here so thank you!
 
Jbraswell said:
I've been experimenting with Neil's recommended cleaning mixes.
The 190 pages is a little overwhelming until you spend some time with the content.
Really impressed with the cleaning of liquinox and tergitol and a VCM.
I even tried out the distilled white vinegar with tergitol as an acid clean.
This acid mix is a nice gem for soaking.

Have a used US 132kHz on the way to polish off the cleaning on some records.
Trying to get down in the super fine grooves.
Vinyl pursuit of clean sound is addictive to say the least.
Click to expand...
I'll be interested to hear if you notice much of a difference in cleaning between 132kHz and the usual 40kHz.
 
Jbraswell said:
Recently picked up a used Cleaner Vinyl US online. 132 kHz
Trying out 12 records today with 3ml Tegitol 15-s-9
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That's a bit of a beast - I hope it works well for you! I'm not having the conversation with my wife of why I have a cleaner like that on our countertop! Hoping to just sneak in the Humminguru ... as if it will go unnoticed either!
 
Angsty said:
That's a bit of a beast - I hope it works well for you! I'm not having the conversation with my wife of why I have a cleaner like that on our countertop! Hoping to just sneak in the Humminguru ... as if it will go unnoticed either!
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It all breaks down pretty well and fits under the sink. (Luckily)

6 is more manageable for cleaning. 12 was a bit crammed.

I clean my wife's jewelry when I break out the US to keep on her good side.
 
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