Microfibre cloths and washing up liquid are the business!

[shahsy]

I have often thought of buying a record cleaning machine but what has always put me off is time and space and the thought of spending 4 or 5 hundred quid on a rotating vacuum cleaner with a small hose!

I've been buying vinyl now for going on 25 years and in the past I have on occasion cleaned records with some meths and a velvet record cleaning brush.

Anyway, to get to the point!

Many record dealers I have known over the years have always prescribed lukewarm tap water, Fairy washing up liquid and a lint-free cloth.

I recently bought a few different microfibre cloths and some allergy-free washing up liquid (non-perfumed etc) and have been cleaning some old 7" singles. with astounding results (to me anyway!)

The way I have been doing this is -

1 - Have a quick listen to both sides of the record.
2 - Choose 10 records to clean.
3 - Clear all dishes from dish rack.
4 - Run the taps so that water is lukewarm.
5 - Add non-allergy washing up liquid to a new dish washing sponge and apply to both sides of the record.
6 - Using a small square of microfibre cloth, make a pad and run it clockwise around the record 4 or 5 times.
7 - Repeat on side b of the record.
8 - Place in dish rack.
9 - Repeat for 9 more records.
10 - Grab record 1 and rinse small square of microfibre cloth and run it around the record 4/5 times on both sides, rinsing the cloth between sides.
11 - Rinse the record on both sides under the running lukewarm tap and shake off excess water.
12 - Ball up microfibre cloth No.1 and wipe in a clockwise direct on each side to remove the majority of the water.
13 -Ball up microfibre cloth No.2 and repeat to remove any remaining moisture.
14 - Place back in dish rack.
15 - Repeat for remaing 9 records. This all takes about 15 minutes.
16 - Take all the records to the record deck.
17 - Place record 1 on deck and spin at 78rpm whilst holding microfibre cloth No.3 against it.
18 - Play record at 45rpm and smile to yourself at how much better it sounds!
19 - All of the above (except the listening) should take no more than 15 minutes.

I don't have any plans now for buying any exotic alcohol/distilled water/snake oil combinations and vacuum cleaners.

This works fine for me and is very quick. There does not seem to be any apparent residue that can be heard and I'm just a little sad that I've only just discovered this.

Any used records that I buy now are subject to cleaning I've described above and it's great hearing the before and after results. There is NO static build up issue with the cloths I've been using.

Be sure NOT to buy cheap microfibre cloths. Good ones will have a mix of polyester AND polyamide which a have finer denier/fibres.

Any UK guys can PM for details on washing up liquid used and cloths tried and rejected.

Give it a try, what is there to lose?

I am certainly NOT looking to buy a record cleaner gizmo or any kind of snake oil cleaning fluid after using this method. It works!

Happy cleaning

s

[Spectral Morn]

Hi shahsy

Welcome to SOG. I hope you don't mind but I removed your first sentence...about Mods and moving the post...hope that was okay.

Interesting process you have gone through...I am sure many will find your info helpful and worth trying.


Regards D S D L---Neil

[symon]

This is great stuff.
One immediate question I have - how do you keep the centre of the records dry? I wouldn't want to damage the paper centre disc by doing this.

[Covenant]

If I tried that the wife would say "while your in a cleaning mood you can do the oven".

[symon]

...and the cupboards, behind the computer, the floor, the windows...

[Spectral Morn]

What ? You don't keep them clean already


Regards D S D L---Neil

[Primalsea]

I use a microfibre cloth too but use HMV record cleaner instead of warm tap water. I live in a hard water area and have concerns with mineral deposits being left on the record. However the microfibre cloths really do work well as they seem to get right into the grooves unlike my disco antistat cleaner which is actually rather hopeless.

[Marco]

Guys,

Whilst I salute Shahsy's micro-fibre cloth and washing-up liquid method as a cost-effective cleaning solution, I'm afraid there's nothing like cleaning your records on a professional record cleaner.

The main difference is that, although manual methods get the grunge off of dirty records pretty effectively, what they don't do is properly dispose of the grunge released, where most of it still sits inside the record grooves, unseen by the eye, but unfortunately seen all too easily by the stylus tracking the grooves and then heard by the listener, not always in terms of noise, but often more insidiously by degrading sound quality unconsciously.

With a vacuum-pump equipped professional cleaner, the grooves are sucked clean of any grunge - all the dirt and debris sitting inside the groove walls is effectively disposed of and the results, sonically, when listening to music afterwards is all too obvious. The VPI record cleaner I obtained recently therefore remains to date as one of the most vital components in my vinyl replay chain.

Marco.

[symon]

Ah yes, but as a quick fix, better than nothing approach, microfibre cloth and a cleaning thing seems a good way to go.
This has been one of my recent learning points. Until now I would never even thought about cleaning a record. I'll be off to get some microfibre cloths tomorrow.

[Spectral Morn]

Confession time....I don't, and never have cleaned any of my records. I do use a Decca Brush and I also have a Hunt EDA brush...and thats it. And I don't feel the need to go out and get a record cleaner. My records are for the most part fairly silent, bar clicks from visible scratches. Now maybe they could be better cleaned either via a wet manual method or a machine. I dare say there would be benefits but I just don't feel the need to subject my valuable vinyl to any of these methods. I think it may in part have to do with one of my duties 20 years ago as a Saturday boy in an audio shop I worked in. I was the record cleaner and I hated doing it. The noise the possibility of destroying a valuable record, which did happen once....I just don't like record cleaning machines.

Not everyone can afford to buy a machine to clean records, so Shahsy's method would possibly help those in that camp. However Marco is right removing residue from the grooves is where a machine does win over manual methods.

You pays your money and makes your choice. Or not like me....



Regards D S D L----Neil