Drying the vinyl after Spin-Clean

7

70WR

Super Member
A friend says he just place his records on a drying dish rack after using the spin clean instead of wiping with the lint free cloths. Haven't tried the cloths he says.
Is this okay?
I have the deluxe spin-clean on the way and wondering about this. I'd think it would be okay as long as one uses distilled water in the mix, and I have plenty of distilled water (steam cleaner use in the garage).
 
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Distilled water or Aquafina is the way to go. I use microfiber towels for drying and then into a clean MFSL sleeve. The cloth wipes that come with the SC are a waste of time IMO. The Spin Clean works great. I've cleaned at least 500 records over the past few years using mine.
 
Drying

Before I built my record cleaning machine, I used the spin clean. For drying I did this:

Setup a spot next to the spin clean with an old record cover lying down and a lint free clother on top of it spread out.

Clean your album as you normally would.

When you remove it, hold it in the air with your fingers on the inner label and your thumb on the outter edge (like holding a platter). Dry that side gently with a lint free cloth. Turn over and dry the other side. That gets about 85%

Now lay it down on the table (the lint free cloth). Wipe down that side with a cloth. Turn over and wipe again. This wipe while lying down allows you to apply more pressure. It should be pretty much 100% dry at that point.

Be careful putting them back in their sleeves. Check the sleeve. If they are dusty then your record will get dusty again.

You know you can vacuum your sleeves out ? I use a shop vac with a round dust brush attachment which allows me to get close and vacuum without sucking the sleeve down the tube.

Better yet, build a RCM...LOL
 
^ Looking if there was any advantage or not allowing the air dry over the wipe dry.
I'm getting to hate cleaning vinyl - less/easy is better in my case.
 
If there are particles suspended in the liquid, wiping dry stands a chance of removing them. Air dry would certainly leave them on the record.
 
It seems to me that with an air dry, any material suspended in the cleaning fluid would just settle back onto the surface of the record.
 
Drying a record with most types of cloth may put a static charge on the record. Air drying is always better. With the right mix of alcohol/distilled water records dry quickly.
 
If you live in a place that has particularly hard water then air drying would be a problem. If you use straight cold water, it has hardness, and you know how that treats shower and tap heads over time. So, a wipe would be better as that trace stuff is suspended in the water.

I use microfibre cloth and I occasionally go to a Pearl Vision and splurge on lens cleaning wipes for eye glasses. These things do not scratch lens coatings, and they are great for lps. They cost a couple of bucks though - not horrible, but you can tear through a box if you have a stack of lps.
 
eb2jim said:
If you live in a place that has particularly hard water then air drying would be a problem. If you use straight cold water, it has hardness, and you know how that treats shower and tap heads over time. So, a wipe would be better as that trace stuff is suspended in the water.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't be using tap water on records:no:. Distilled water.
 
Vacuum. I have an old 1.5HP shopvac that I modded with MFSL "velvet" pads (spares that come with their record cleaning pad) so as not to scratch. Works great. I imagine any vacuum cleaner will do. All you need to do is modify one of the attachments so no scratching takes place and you're good to go.
 
Seems to be mixed for air dry compared to wipe - I do have a vacuum
I also have a very nice small size Gast air compressor. With the filter, maybe light to moderate psi can rid residue off the vinyl surface as another option.
 
I dry 'em with the a towel then let them sit for a few minutes... (I do used distilled water) After a record gets dried with a towel on both sides, I let it sit as I was a few other albums... then I flip it over and let the other side air out as I do a few more albums.. then I put it away, and put the newly cleaned record in that spot to dry. After a while its a little assembly line... Washing, flipping, packaging...
 
I wipe lightly with a soft cotton t-shirt to get the bulk of liquid off. After I hold the record with both hands along the edge from the tip of my middle finger to heels of hands and wave it up and down. Its fun on thinner records because you can hear it go woopa woopa woopa.
 
Unless you're working in some government spec'd Clean Room, vacuuming the the way to go. Just for grins, hold up a record cleaned with SC to a bright light, dust is everywhere.

My method:
1. Use Spin Clean
2. Over sink, squirt distilled water on to record to rinse SC solution off.
3. Use lint free microfiber towel to get most of the water off. Place in dish rack until batch of records to be cleaned is finished.
4. Use RCM with rinse cycle. For LP's that I'm planning on transferring to digital, I'll use the Audio Intelligent 3 step solution with the RCM.
5. Store records in new poly sleeves or the like.
 
I am going to be in the market for a RCM soon, but I would be worried about putting a record in a jacket that still might have moisture as mold could be a problem. Also I would think just letting them sit in a dish rack air drying would not be that good of an idea, as dust in the air will get back on the clean records. If your going to let it air dry at least cover the rack with lint free rags so dust in the air won't settle on your records while drying.
 
Since getting my Spin Clean at the end of 2010, I have put around 500 rekkids thru it, 99% to excellent results . . . I have done many before/after comparisons with thrift-store, Barter Town, gifted and even brand stinkin' new vinyl and can say without reservation that this system works! . . . and playing previously cleaned ones only requires a quick carbon brushing or wipe with the AudioTechnica cleaner to get that "just washed" sound . . .

I have not deviated from the SC method except to spin 4 times, or more depending, in each direction . . . I clean and store in groups of six records ( I try to have 30-40 ready to go; total discs, not albums as some albums are multi's), placing each one in the small stainless dish rack I found at Pier 1 (no rust!) and only begin drying when the last one is racked, so to speak . . . by the time the last one is spun, the first has dripped off enuff to not saturate the drying cloth, but not so long as to become air-dry . . . and I have found that the cloths from SC work very well and leave no dust behind, just make sure you pre-wash them and tumble-dry them prior to first use . . . I lay the newly cleansed down on a 'bed' of two 100% cotton tees and dry using the cloth, circling in one direction, turning and/or shaking-out the cloth when needed . . . when both sides are dried, I do inspect them under fairly bright light (six-bulb chandeleir about 4 feet above me noggin) and can say that to these hazel eyes, they are shiny-black, blue, red, white, green, etc. and dust-free! . . . and unless physically damaged, sound as good as they look . . .

Thats my 1 cent (tuff economy) . . . if you've only ever used Discwasher-style cleaning methods, as I did back in the day, or never had an RCM of any kind, like I didn't, this is a fairly inexpensive, highly effective system . . . of course you'll only get out of it what you put in, meaning if you ain't into manual labor, then pull the trigger on an a motorized vacuum machine and save yourself the frustration . . .

I was considering one myself, but since I am only regularly cleaning those new-to-me records, including new ones, I think I'll stick with the Spin Clean . . . and use that dough for . . . . MORE GEAR & REKKIDS!!!! :smoke:

EDIT: after reviewing some of the posts, I see some are using the Spin Clean AND an RCM . . . overkill, OCD or other?
 
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imglocked said:
Since getting my Spin Clean at the end of 2010, I have put around 500 rekkids thru it, 99% to excellent results . . . I have done many before/after comparisons with thrift-store, Barter Town, gifted and even brand stinkin' new vinyl and can say without reservation that this system works! . . . and playing previously cleaned ones only requires a quick carbon brushing or wipe with the AudioTechnica cleaner to get that "just washed" sound . . .

I have not deviated from the SC method except to spin 4 times, or more depending, in each direction . . . I clean and store in groups of six records ( I try to have 30-40 ready to go; total discs, not albums as some albums are multi's), placing each one in the small stainless dish rack I found at Pier 1 (no rust!) and only begin drying when the last one is racked, so to speak . . . by the time the last one is spun, the first has dripped off enuff to not saturate the drying cloth, but not so long as to become air-dry . . . and I have found that the cloths from SC work very well and leave no dust behind, just make sure you pre-wash them and tumble-dry them prior to first use . . . I lay the newly cleansed down on a 'bed' of two 100% cotton tees and dry using the cloth, circling in one direction, turning and/or shaking-out the cloth when needed . . . when both sides are dried, I do inspect them under fairly bright light (six-bulb chandeleir about 4 feet above me noggin) and can say that to these hazel eyes, they are shiny-black, blue, red, white, green, etc. and dust-free! . . . and unless physically damaged, sound as good as they look . . .

Thats my 1 cent (tuff economy) . . . if you've only ever used Discwasher-style cleaning methods, as I did back in the day, or never had an RCM of any kind, like I didn't, this is a fairly inexpensive, highly effective system . . . of course you'll only get out of it what you put in, meaning if you ain't into manual labor, then pull the trigger on an a motorized vacuum machine and save yourself the frustration . . .

I was considering one myself, but since I am only regularly cleaning those new-to-me records, including new ones, I think I'll stick with the Spin Clean . . . and use that dough for . . . . MORE GEAR & REKKIDS!!!! :smoke:

EDIT: after reviewing some of the posts, I see some are using the Spin Clean AND an RCM . . . overkill, OCD or other?
Click to expand...

Same procedure here with dish rack never had an issue no dust no left behind cleaner. :thmbsp:
 
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