Record Cleaning - Soap and Water - test results
- Thread starter Snade
- Start date
southp
Active Member
Hey Doug, yes the black foam "gaskets" came with the outlet covers.
I clean all my records with his mixture of Dawn, Alcohol and distilled water, using the paint brush and microfiber towels. Then an air dry for an hour and they look like new.
This is the best thing I have come across and the cheapest as well!
Great thread and very informative.
This is the best thing I have come across and the cheapest as well!
Great thread and very informative.
soundweasel
Super Member
I picked up everything I needed at Homeboy Depot tonight! I'll put it all together tomorrow. :yes:
Thanks for a great posting! :thmbsp:
southp
Active Member
Let us know how it goes. I'm now comfortable enough with this system that I'm using it on my "good" records not just thrift-store finds. Besides which, the DIY label saver also saves a ton of time. In the time it took me to listen to side-A of Appetite for Destruction I washed these with soap and water; Fabulous Ray Charles, Led Zep I, Magical Mystery, Sgt Pepper, Help, Johnny Cash at San Quentin, and Bob Marley Exodus.
Not a bad 20 minutes of work!
soundweasel
Super Member
Well, I made my own this afternoon and hope to test it out tonight.
I added a few "custom" touches like neoprene washers where the handle screw passes through each plate, used a heavy duty marine caulk/adhesive to attach the gaskets, and porcelain handles because they match the side plates (and were cheap). :yes: Also, I used a length of brass screw to join the two knobs instead of the "mystery metal" screws that came with the knobs, re: no rust.
I also made one side "fixed" by gluing the knob to the plate. This allows me to put a record over the screw/on to the plate, drop the other plate into place, and simply screw the other handle on.
Total cost -- about $10. Not paying $50 for a GroovMaster -- priceless!
UPDATE: Clean records sound better! :yes:
Because the plastic plates are very flexible it is important that you not tighten down the handles too much as it could cause the outer edges of the gasket to lift off the record, allowing water to reach the label.
Overall impressions -- worth the effort to build it. Sound improvement is worth the cleaning effort. :thmbsp:
I added a few "custom" touches like neoprene washers where the handle screw passes through each plate, used a heavy duty marine caulk/adhesive to attach the gaskets, and porcelain handles because they match the side plates (and were cheap). :yes: Also, I used a length of brass screw to join the two knobs instead of the "mystery metal" screws that came with the knobs, re: no rust.
I also made one side "fixed" by gluing the knob to the plate. This allows me to put a record over the screw/on to the plate, drop the other plate into place, and simply screw the other handle on.
Total cost -- about $10. Not paying $50 for a GroovMaster -- priceless!
UPDATE: Clean records sound better! :yes:
Because the plastic plates are very flexible it is important that you not tighten down the handles too much as it could cause the outer edges of the gasket to lift off the record, allowing water to reach the label.
Overall impressions -- worth the effort to build it. Sound improvement is worth the cleaning effort. :thmbsp:
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soundweasel
Super Member
Can this thread be "Stickied"?
The information in here has proven very useful to me as I venture back into vinyl. :yes:
I referred to it multiple times as I prepared to clean my "new" old records I acquired recently, and have made a few minor contributions to the methods and tools described herein.
Does anyone else think it should be "stickied"? :scratch2:
The information in here has proven very useful to me as I venture back into vinyl. :yes:
I referred to it multiple times as I prepared to clean my "new" old records I acquired recently, and have made a few minor contributions to the methods and tools described herein.
Does anyone else think it should be "stickied"? :scratch2:
Cleaning Vinyl
I have been following this thread with some interest, and would like to offer my thoughts.
Water is a universal solvent and by nature contains dissolved solids. Tap water contains dissolved solids, and depending on were you live the total dissolved solids, or TDS's, may be 1500 parts per million or less than 10 parts per million.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and my water is normally between 70 and 90 parts per million. We are on a community well and a small amount of disinfectant (chlorine) is also added to the water.
I feel if you use tap water to rinse your vinyl records some of the dissolved solids will remain imbeded in the grooves of the record. Is it enough to cause a problem? I cannot say with any certainy.
There are a couple of ways to remove the TDS's in your rinse solution. You can make or buy distilled water, or you can use a point of use reverse osmosis (RO) filter system. A quality and well maintained RO filter will remove 98% of the TDS's and any chlorine that may be present in the water. I am not sure about water softeners, and what the final water is like.
As I said in the beginning it is just something to consider.
I have been following this thread with some interest, and would like to offer my thoughts.
Water is a universal solvent and by nature contains dissolved solids. Tap water contains dissolved solids, and depending on were you live the total dissolved solids, or TDS's, may be 1500 parts per million or less than 10 parts per million.
I live in the Pacific Northwest and my water is normally between 70 and 90 parts per million. We are on a community well and a small amount of disinfectant (chlorine) is also added to the water.
I feel if you use tap water to rinse your vinyl records some of the dissolved solids will remain imbeded in the grooves of the record. Is it enough to cause a problem? I cannot say with any certainy.
There are a couple of ways to remove the TDS's in your rinse solution. You can make or buy distilled water, or you can use a point of use reverse osmosis (RO) filter system. A quality and well maintained RO filter will remove 98% of the TDS's and any chlorine that may be present in the water. I am not sure about water softeners, and what the final water is like.
As I said in the beginning it is just something to consider.
mikey99
Active Member
I just made one of the DIY label protectors last Friday .
I used brass knobs we had removed from our kitchen cabinets
awhile back. One thing I did a little differently since the screw
for these knobs was smaller, was to slide a piece of 1/4 inch
tygon tubing over the screw. It holds the screw in place and
also fits the record snugly.
I used this to clean several records that I bought from a
seller on eBay. These were rated as near mint, but covered with
dust, hmmm. After cleaning with soap and water, they sound
like new.
I used brass knobs we had removed from our kitchen cabinets
awhile back. One thing I did a little differently since the screw
for these knobs was smaller, was to slide a piece of 1/4 inch
tygon tubing over the screw. It holds the screw in place and
also fits the record snugly.
I used this to clean several records that I bought from a
seller on eBay. These were rated as near mint, but covered with
dust, hmmm. After cleaning with soap and water, they sound
like new.
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dbsoundman
New Member
I'm new to this forum, and I followed the instructions in this thread to clean some thrift store record finds I had which tended to play rather fuzzily, theoretically due to dirt that I couldn't see, inside the grooves. So, I made up a bowl of warm water with some Dawn in it, got a new, clean paintbrush, swabbed each side of the record twice, rinsing in between, and dried them with a microfiber towel. I did notice that I do not have the terrycloth-like towel, but rather the regular flat one. Anyway, I've now done this twice to a few of these records, but still for some reason I get a large accumulation of dirt on my needle everytime I play them. They start out relatively clean, but there's constant pops and noise, and by the time I get about one track into the record, it's staticky/fuzzy sounding, and if I stop it and look at the needle, it's got a large ball of white fuzz on it! I'm really at a loss for what I'm doing wrong now. I've had this problem for a long time. It seems like the only records that play nicely are the ones I got from my dad, and even some of those are no good. The needle is new, purchased just a few months ago. Can anyone help this newbie out?
Thanks,
Dan
Thanks,
Dan
Stanton681EEES
Addicted Member
Like most of us your finding out that unfortunately a vacuum step is needed so bottom line is hand washing is OK but a good record cleaning machine does such a better job. Or at least see if you can get a small shop vac and make a wand out of the long nozzle an glue some velvet to it.
dodog
Addicted Member
I don't know if links to other forums are tolerated here so, if not, feel free to delete this post. I won't take credit for this method, as another forum member here pointed this out to me, but it save me much $$$ and time (forget drilling holes, etc.) and is MUCH cheaper than the groovmaster:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=181384
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=181384
specialidiot
Break Glass, Smoke Lucky
I guess I'm in the minority. An accumulation of "fuzz" early in the first play means he's "doing it wrong".
Get a microfiber cloth for drying.
I don't have a fancy machine with velvet glued to a nozzle and I don't have that problem.
terra1
Addicted Member
If you are still getting an accumulation of dirt on your needle then it is not being cleaned enough. Period.
I am at the extreme of the hand washing nuts. I use a denture brush at about 45 degree or less angle and scrub instead of swab. I scrub about a pizza section and move on to the next until completely circling the record, then scrub in the opposite direction for a 2nd go round. Don't forget the edge and groove outs. Then rinse with a spray thoroughly. Thoroughly wiping my hand around like I'm washing a dish until the soap and film is flushed away. Feeling the surface for any possible embedded debris.
Check for waterspotting on the edge and grooves. If you see them, then they haven't been rinsed enough.
If you have an RCM fine. RCM owners love them so much almost always say its the only way. But if you don't then try cleaning again.
Oh I might add your theory could be wrong and it may not be just dirt. Could be a worn and damaged record not even an RCM could fix.
Snade
humble AK member
Snade
humble AK member
If you rinse and use clean microfiber towels there should be no fuzz or dirt that collects on the needle. Make sure you wash your microfiber towels alone and not with any other laundry. I've cleaned over a hundred records with no lint and no dirt. The method described in the original post will not silence noise caused by scratches or goove damage but it does a good job with dirt, dust, mold and gunk from years of record storage.
Cheers, Snade
chicks
Lunatic Member
That's looks like a great idea. The suction cups are available in slightly smaller diameter (just about the right size @ 4 1/2"), and cheaper at Harbor Freight Tools: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=40993
May need to stop by there tomorrow...
A great deal of confusion here.
Firstly, water is NOT a "universal solvent". If it were there would be no container that would hold the solvent, because it too would be dissolved. The idea of a universal solvent is on a par with that of perpetual motion machines.
Secondly, if you wash and rinse a record and dry it thoroughly (allowing no evaporation of the water) any dissolved solids in the water will remain dissolved and will no longer be present on the vinyl surface. If you permit the water to evaporate by say air-drying then these solids will indeed be deposited.
What you have to worry about when you use tap water are the microscopic undissolved solids in the water. If your local water is relatively free of these then thorough brushing (or wiping with microfiber) and rinsing before non-evaporative drying should minimize the effect of these.