Wigwam Jones
Caesar non supra grammati
Introduction
I am a notorious tightwad, not to mention on a limited budget. As a result, one of the things I do is buy thrift shop vinyl records. They are quite often dirty and in serious need of cleaning before they can be played; even the best of them.
Note: If you don't want read a lot of words that basically don't say anything, skip down to the summary. Otherwise, hang in there and let me offend or amuse you.
I wash my records in the kitchen sink, using tap water, Dawn dish detergent, and 'paint pad' scrubbers that I buy at the local hardware store. I use microfiber cloths to dry my records after I'm done washing and rinsing them with lukewarm water.
I don't use odd chemicals found only in strange magazines that attract DEA or NSA attention, I don't have secret formulae, I don't measure exactly, I don't used dionized rainwater that's been tripled filtered through the wool of lambs who have never known a man or whatever it is the obessive-compulsives get up to. I'm not a frickin' alchemist, nor do I want to be one. This is just washing records. No different than washing dishes. If you don a lab coat, latex gloves, and goggles to wash your car or your collection of shrunken heads in a NEMA certified room, you're going to be disappointed in this thread.
Not every record is returned to like-new condition, but a high percentage of them are, and this makes it worth my time and effort to continue to do so. If I buy 20 records at a thrift store on a weekend for a couple dollars total, I'll spend an hour or so washing them in the sink before playing them. 15 to 18 of them will be in what I would rate VG+ to M- condition when I'm done. The rest are merely VG, sometimes worse. It's not always easy to predict what I'm going to end up with; some excellent-looking records still have a lot of clicks, pops, and other noise on them. Some look pretty chewed-up but still sound quite acceptable. You just never know.
I have, on a couple occasions, noticed that even after my usual cleaning regimen, a record will either still sound 'dirty' when played, or in a few cases, the stylus needle will actually pile up garbage as it plays the record. It's clearly digging out crap that I missed with my cleaning method. Keep in mind, this is quite rare; it's not the normal result.
Experimentation
I have experimented with some other cleaning methods. I have tried, with varying results, Fantastik cleaner, Windex, rubbing alcohol, and various combinations. I've even sprayed some records with bathroom cleaner, and Lysol. I'm talking about a record which I paid less than a buck for which doesn't sound right anyway. It's junk if I can't fix it with some extreme method, so why not?
These extreme methods have sometimes fixed the problem. I don't do it that often; it's a PITA, it smells, and frankly I'm not fond of inhaling isopropyl alcohol fumes. But they do seem to add a bit of 'oomph' to my normal cleaning regimen when I need it.
However
I was recently given a box of records from a lady who placed a 'come get them' ad on Craigslist. Hey, free is free, right? Turned out to be a box of old American Songbook type stuff, which I love! And in there as well were a bunch of 78 RPM records. Some were fascinating-looking. For example, the "Alabama Jug Band." Ooh, interesting!
I cleaned them in the usual manner. Dish soap and paint pads, dry with microfiber cloths, let them dry in the dish drainer. No, no alcohol, I know what that does to shellac. Then hit them with the Discwasher brush and play.
Scratchy. Surface noise. Ugh. Not impressive.
I employed various software to clean up after recording it, and it did an admirable job. Still, I was hoping the records would have cleaned up a little bit better than they did.
Then I Remembered
It was at that point that I remembered that many years ago, I had purchased a pint of Disc Doctor Miracle Extra Strength record cleaner. The stuff is intended to be used with special brushes or a Record Cleaning Machine. I didn't have the special brushes or the RCM. And I had never used it, it was just sitting around.
So, I decided to give it a shot. The instructions call for mixing it 2 parts fluid to 1 part water. Well, that's pretty strong, and I'm too cheap for that. So I mixed it 1 part fluid to 2 parts water. I used my usual paint pad for scrubbing the records.
I started by rinsing the 78 RPM records in the sink, to get the most of the dust or dirt off that would flush off with water. I used hotter water than I normally do with vinyl, as I wasn't as afraid that I'd warp the records.
Once they were rinsed off, I took the paint pad that had been dipped in the Disc Doctor solution and started scrubbing the crap out of the records, just as I do with dish soap. I followed the tracks around and used heavy hand pressure. The solution produced suds, but not as many as I see with dish soap. It also had a noticeable chemical smell to it, but not as strong as alcohol or other cleaners I've used. It did not have that smooth, gliding feel that soap gives you.
When I had scrubbed both sides of the record, re-dipping the paint pad in the solution as necessary, I rinsed the records in tap water. I noticed that the Disc Doctor solution rinsed off immediately, without needing much rinse time as dish soap does. It also felt very squeaky clean, with no remaining feel of one's fingers gliding over the surface of the record. It felt as if the record had been stripped down to the vinyl and nothing else. That's purely subjective, of course.
The results? The 78 RPM shellac records I cleaned were noticeably cleaner-sounding when I played them. No, it wasn't a 'miracle'. But they were cleaner than they had been. I won't engage in silly superlatives that mean nothing while saying everything, like presence and transparent and imaging and black and empty and blah blah blah. That stuff pisses me off. They sounded cleaner. Get it? Everybody knows what cleaner means compared to dirtier, right? So cleaner. Not perfect, but better, but a pretty good amount.
So Then
So then, given those results, I went back and washed some of my 'problem child' records again, the vinyl ones that I had been unhappy with in the past, despite my best efforts. I pulled out a record that has disappointed me greatly in the past, a DiMara Sisters Cha-Cha Italian record of low pedigree. No one likes this kind of crap but me, but I had wanted to listen to it, and despite my best efforts, it was so noisy, I never could. It made me sad, and I could not bring myself to throw it away, but neither could I play it. So what the hell, I washed it again, using the Disc Doctor solution.
The result was, yeah, amazing. No, still not a miracle. It is not suddenly revirginized. But it is MORE than listenable now. I'd say it has gone up at least a half grade by my estimation, from VG to VG+, possibly even M-. I can enjoy it now (and I am).
The Confession Part
I really didn't think that Disc Doctor or any other kind of 'miracle' solution was going to be appreciably better than plain old soap and water. I have never claimed that such things don't work, but I never believed they were better than dish soap and water, or at least not better enough to justify my buying it. I'm not even sure why I bought a pint of Disc Doctor in the past; something must have gotten me interested enough to drop the bucks on it, but I ended up never using it until now.
However, I freely confess now and in front of AK and ever buddy that to my ear (which is all I believe in), Disk Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner, used the way I described above (a bit off-label to say the least) works better than Dawn dish detergent and tap water. Given the same methodology of rinse, scrub, rinse, dry, the Disc Doctor does a better job and I can hear the difference.
The Caveats
I still won't be using Disc Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner all that much. Why? Because I used about 1/3 of the one pint bottle to clean less than 20 records, that's why. That pint was nearly $30, so I spent $10 to clean 20 records, not counting my time. Dish soap is MUCH cheaper, and as I said at the beginning of this long story, it works MOST of the time for me. To me, clean is clean. If it's acceptable to my ears, I don't need to take it to the next level. I'm satisfied and done.
However, in cases where dish soap and scrubbing doesn't do the job, I will uncork the bottle of Disc Doctor and give it a last-ditch effort to save the record so I can listen to it without my head popping off my body and flying around the room spewing obscenities.
I can't and won't do it for all records. Costs too much.
This is the same reason I won't be buying or building an RCM or a vacuum drying system. Costs too much, too much effort, not interested.
But for the 3 to 5 records in a hundred that don't respond well enough to Dawn dish soap and scrubbing, I'll try the Disc Doctor again. If I get a Christmas bonus from my employer, I might even spring for another bottle of the stuff. I am convinced that it works and works well; better than dish soap in fact.
Summary
Disc Doctor Miracle Record cleaner works better than Dawn Dish liquid when used exactly the same way; applied to a rinsed record with paint pads, scrubbed hard, and then rinsed again and dried with microfiber towels. It is also much more expensive. For those who can afford to use it constantly, I'd recommend that over Dawn. For those who cannot (like me), I would recommend using it for the stubborn records that just don't seem to come clean enough using Dawn.
I am a notorious tightwad, not to mention on a limited budget. As a result, one of the things I do is buy thrift shop vinyl records. They are quite often dirty and in serious need of cleaning before they can be played; even the best of them.
Note: If you don't want read a lot of words that basically don't say anything, skip down to the summary. Otherwise, hang in there and let me offend or amuse you.
I wash my records in the kitchen sink, using tap water, Dawn dish detergent, and 'paint pad' scrubbers that I buy at the local hardware store. I use microfiber cloths to dry my records after I'm done washing and rinsing them with lukewarm water.
I don't use odd chemicals found only in strange magazines that attract DEA or NSA attention, I don't have secret formulae, I don't measure exactly, I don't used dionized rainwater that's been tripled filtered through the wool of lambs who have never known a man or whatever it is the obessive-compulsives get up to. I'm not a frickin' alchemist, nor do I want to be one. This is just washing records. No different than washing dishes. If you don a lab coat, latex gloves, and goggles to wash your car or your collection of shrunken heads in a NEMA certified room, you're going to be disappointed in this thread.
Not every record is returned to like-new condition, but a high percentage of them are, and this makes it worth my time and effort to continue to do so. If I buy 20 records at a thrift store on a weekend for a couple dollars total, I'll spend an hour or so washing them in the sink before playing them. 15 to 18 of them will be in what I would rate VG+ to M- condition when I'm done. The rest are merely VG, sometimes worse. It's not always easy to predict what I'm going to end up with; some excellent-looking records still have a lot of clicks, pops, and other noise on them. Some look pretty chewed-up but still sound quite acceptable. You just never know.
I have, on a couple occasions, noticed that even after my usual cleaning regimen, a record will either still sound 'dirty' when played, or in a few cases, the stylus needle will actually pile up garbage as it plays the record. It's clearly digging out crap that I missed with my cleaning method. Keep in mind, this is quite rare; it's not the normal result.
Experimentation
I have experimented with some other cleaning methods. I have tried, with varying results, Fantastik cleaner, Windex, rubbing alcohol, and various combinations. I've even sprayed some records with bathroom cleaner, and Lysol. I'm talking about a record which I paid less than a buck for which doesn't sound right anyway. It's junk if I can't fix it with some extreme method, so why not?
These extreme methods have sometimes fixed the problem. I don't do it that often; it's a PITA, it smells, and frankly I'm not fond of inhaling isopropyl alcohol fumes. But they do seem to add a bit of 'oomph' to my normal cleaning regimen when I need it.
However
I was recently given a box of records from a lady who placed a 'come get them' ad on Craigslist. Hey, free is free, right? Turned out to be a box of old American Songbook type stuff, which I love! And in there as well were a bunch of 78 RPM records. Some were fascinating-looking. For example, the "Alabama Jug Band." Ooh, interesting!
I cleaned them in the usual manner. Dish soap and paint pads, dry with microfiber cloths, let them dry in the dish drainer. No, no alcohol, I know what that does to shellac. Then hit them with the Discwasher brush and play.
Scratchy. Surface noise. Ugh. Not impressive.
I employed various software to clean up after recording it, and it did an admirable job. Still, I was hoping the records would have cleaned up a little bit better than they did.
Then I Remembered
It was at that point that I remembered that many years ago, I had purchased a pint of Disc Doctor Miracle Extra Strength record cleaner. The stuff is intended to be used with special brushes or a Record Cleaning Machine. I didn't have the special brushes or the RCM. And I had never used it, it was just sitting around.
So, I decided to give it a shot. The instructions call for mixing it 2 parts fluid to 1 part water. Well, that's pretty strong, and I'm too cheap for that. So I mixed it 1 part fluid to 2 parts water. I used my usual paint pad for scrubbing the records.
I started by rinsing the 78 RPM records in the sink, to get the most of the dust or dirt off that would flush off with water. I used hotter water than I normally do with vinyl, as I wasn't as afraid that I'd warp the records.
Once they were rinsed off, I took the paint pad that had been dipped in the Disc Doctor solution and started scrubbing the crap out of the records, just as I do with dish soap. I followed the tracks around and used heavy hand pressure. The solution produced suds, but not as many as I see with dish soap. It also had a noticeable chemical smell to it, but not as strong as alcohol or other cleaners I've used. It did not have that smooth, gliding feel that soap gives you.
When I had scrubbed both sides of the record, re-dipping the paint pad in the solution as necessary, I rinsed the records in tap water. I noticed that the Disc Doctor solution rinsed off immediately, without needing much rinse time as dish soap does. It also felt very squeaky clean, with no remaining feel of one's fingers gliding over the surface of the record. It felt as if the record had been stripped down to the vinyl and nothing else. That's purely subjective, of course.
The results? The 78 RPM shellac records I cleaned were noticeably cleaner-sounding when I played them. No, it wasn't a 'miracle'. But they were cleaner than they had been. I won't engage in silly superlatives that mean nothing while saying everything, like presence and transparent and imaging and black and empty and blah blah blah. That stuff pisses me off. They sounded cleaner. Get it? Everybody knows what cleaner means compared to dirtier, right? So cleaner. Not perfect, but better, but a pretty good amount.
So Then
So then, given those results, I went back and washed some of my 'problem child' records again, the vinyl ones that I had been unhappy with in the past, despite my best efforts. I pulled out a record that has disappointed me greatly in the past, a DiMara Sisters Cha-Cha Italian record of low pedigree. No one likes this kind of crap but me, but I had wanted to listen to it, and despite my best efforts, it was so noisy, I never could. It made me sad, and I could not bring myself to throw it away, but neither could I play it. So what the hell, I washed it again, using the Disc Doctor solution.
The result was, yeah, amazing. No, still not a miracle. It is not suddenly revirginized. But it is MORE than listenable now. I'd say it has gone up at least a half grade by my estimation, from VG to VG+, possibly even M-. I can enjoy it now (and I am).
The Confession Part
I really didn't think that Disc Doctor or any other kind of 'miracle' solution was going to be appreciably better than plain old soap and water. I have never claimed that such things don't work, but I never believed they were better than dish soap and water, or at least not better enough to justify my buying it. I'm not even sure why I bought a pint of Disc Doctor in the past; something must have gotten me interested enough to drop the bucks on it, but I ended up never using it until now.
However, I freely confess now and in front of AK and ever buddy that to my ear (which is all I believe in), Disk Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner, used the way I described above (a bit off-label to say the least) works better than Dawn dish detergent and tap water. Given the same methodology of rinse, scrub, rinse, dry, the Disc Doctor does a better job and I can hear the difference.
The Caveats
I still won't be using Disc Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner all that much. Why? Because I used about 1/3 of the one pint bottle to clean less than 20 records, that's why. That pint was nearly $30, so I spent $10 to clean 20 records, not counting my time. Dish soap is MUCH cheaper, and as I said at the beginning of this long story, it works MOST of the time for me. To me, clean is clean. If it's acceptable to my ears, I don't need to take it to the next level. I'm satisfied and done.
However, in cases where dish soap and scrubbing doesn't do the job, I will uncork the bottle of Disc Doctor and give it a last-ditch effort to save the record so I can listen to it without my head popping off my body and flying around the room spewing obscenities.
I can't and won't do it for all records. Costs too much.
This is the same reason I won't be buying or building an RCM or a vacuum drying system. Costs too much, too much effort, not interested.
But for the 3 to 5 records in a hundred that don't respond well enough to Dawn dish soap and scrubbing, I'll try the Disc Doctor again. If I get a Christmas bonus from my employer, I might even spring for another bottle of the stuff. I am convinced that it works and works well; better than dish soap in fact.
Summary
Disc Doctor Miracle Record cleaner works better than Dawn Dish liquid when used exactly the same way; applied to a rinsed record with paint pads, scrubbed hard, and then rinsed again and dried with microfiber towels. It is also much more expensive. For those who can afford to use it constantly, I'd recommend that over Dawn. For those who cannot (like me), I would recommend using it for the stubborn records that just don't seem to come clean enough using Dawn.
This record store really gets nice clean (visually) records. I mean , the blank areas between songs are now quiet. Next I worked on a Ventures record from 1965, still a little surface noise, but improved 200%.........Go figure, I was about to invest in a RCM, now I can get more records and maybe another stylus or two. Thanks for your article.
