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Record Cleaning - Soap and Water - test results

Record cleaning

Bought a Groovmaster ~ 2 mo. ago. ~ $60.00. Beautiful piece of equipt. This is the BEST..........
 
Record cleaning

p.s. to just posted note on Groovmaster, don't wait to dry just wipe down with micro-fiber cloth and play immediately, just done a Joan Baez............
 
I'm making a return to vinyl after more than 20 years away. One vacuum device that I saw somewhere - get an old turntable and throw out the arm - take a crevice tool from a shop vac and square off the end; just saw it - seal off the end using some of the scavenged plastic or other means - drill a hole in the end of the crevice tool, make the hole the same size as that middle thingie in the turntable (told you I've been away for a while) - as an option the hole can be "sealed" with a small piece of PVC a bit bigger than the middle thingie - drill a few holes, 10 or so, in the now shortened crevice tool - put dual-sticking Velcro on each sides of the holes - on the outward sticking side, put a strip of velvet or other vinyl friendly material - wash record, put on turntable and suck away. I'm planning on building one within the next couple of weeks; I'll take some pics and post them.
 
Super thanks guys. Just read the whole 19 pages and I can't wait to get started cleaning my LPs by hand. And I 'may' get the $30 Sears vaccumn, who knows.

Thanks so much for 'the plan'! :>) I'm on it!

You AK guys are 'the best'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Most Appreciated!!

This should be a sticky. Super information on record cleaning.
 
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I've changed my system. Now my DIY record cleaning fluid is 3:1 distilled water to alcohol with a few drop of Jet-Dry per half-gallon. I just spread it around in arcs with a synthetic paint brush, let it soak and vacuum it up with the little Sears vac.

During the time since I first posted on this thread, I've been experimenting with (a) dry vacuuming first, (b) light sponge scrubbing and (c) wiping dry with a microfiber towel before final vacuuming. I'm just not finding that I'm acquiring many records that need the extra steps.
 
djnagle said:
Couldn't you use PVC pipe ends with a hole in the middle of both and a long bolt and wing nut tieing them together? Maybe a little Permacasket on the edges to seal up well. Cheers.
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This sounds like it would work. :thmbsp: Has anyone tried making a set of these, or found another design that works?
 
I'm convinced the soapy brush method works great! Still on the fence as to wether or not I need to save the lables. They seem really durable no problems at all with getting wet. But for the sake of ease in handling I will build the Saver/holder.
Thanks for the Thread :banana:
 
Re the labels -- I've found that _most_ labels are ok if they get wet. However, some early records I have bled colors when they got wet. So now I try to avoid getting the labels of older records too wet.
 
I used the Dawn / paintbrush method and it worked OK, but some LPs still had the crackles. So I tried a solution of 30% IPA (not the beer!) in distilled water, and the crackles are gone.
 
Just wondering if anyone else has tried using a hand hairdryer (heat off!!) to dry records? I have and when used at an angle to the surface seems to drive the rinse water out of the grooves quickly and speeds up the process.
 
fiddlefye said:
Just wondering if anyone else has tried using a hand hairdryer (heat off!!) to dry records? I have and when used at an angle to the surface seems to drive the rinse water out of the grooves quickly and speeds up the process.
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I'd be concerned about drying the water as opposed to removing it.
 
fiddlefye said:
Just wondering if anyone else has tried using a hand hairdryer (heat off!!) to dry records? I have and when used at an angle to the surface seems to drive the rinse water out of the grooves quickly and speeds up the process.
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I haven't tried a hair dryer, but reminds me that I've always wondered about centrifugal force to drive the water off. I mean, if you spun a record fast enough somehow, would it have the same effect?
 
We made some homemade label savers. Just go to home depot and look at parts that would work. I think we have some little electrical plastic pieces that are the label cover, some weatherstripping for the gaskets, and a door pull that fits a long skinny bolt as the tightening mechanism.

It helps to have a vacuum to vacuum off the water after the cleaning, but you can use a towel.
 
byrdmk said:
We made some homemade label savers. Just go to home depot and look at parts that would work. I think we have some little electrical plastic pieces that are the label cover, some weatherstripping for the gaskets, and a door pull that fits a long skinny bolt as the tightening mechanism.

It helps to have a vacuum to vacuum off the water after the cleaning, but you can use a towel.
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What about finding the bottoms from a couple of rubber plungers of the right size (presuming they exist)? Drill a hole in the middle of each where the handle would fit with and add a washer or something for a gasket, bolt them together through the hole in the middle of the record. Just occurred to me, haven't tried it.... yet.

Shop Vac with crevice tool with some sort of maybe microfibre around the edges for vacuuming? Those small hand vacs aren't meant for liquids are they? The one I had years ago wasn't.
 
Add me to the list of satisfied users of this cleaning method! I just washed my first batch of ten secondhand records today and I'm listening to them now. This method is a vast improvement over the Discwasher I was using before. The improvement in sound is nothing short of remarkable - like getting a new set of speakers or a new cartridge - seriously. Now I will be going through my collection and washing every last album this way.

For the record (sorry about the pun) I'm using Seventh Generation detergent (according to the label it has a water-softening ingredient) with a splash of alcohol, a paint pad for scrubbing, and the 3M/Bondo dent pullers from Auto Zone for grips. I follow up the tap water rinse with a distilled water spray, then hit them with the shop vac and finally wipe with a microfiber towel and hang on a dowel to air out.

Many, many thanks for this excellent, informative thread! :thmbsp:
 
fiddlefye said:
Shop Vac with crevice tool with some sort of maybe microfibre around the edges for vacuuming? Those small hand vacs aren't meant for liquids are they? The one I had years ago wasn't.
Click to expand...

A vacuum that has the power to dry a record seems to vaporize the water. I use a 2-gallon wet/dry vac from Sears but I've never seen any water in it.
 
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