Record cleaning - what's your method?

[lazylistener]

It's laborious and tiring, but cleaning vinyl is actually quite therapeutic for me, and I do it as often as I can when I have new inner sleeves lying around.

I've settled onto using the Vinyl Vac, which works wonders, along with a homebrew mixed from distilled water, 99% isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of Ilford Ilfotol. A lot of collectors have recommended Tergitol/Triton-x100 as a surfactant, but Ilfotol has been a great substitute, since Tergitol/Triton isn't as commercially available (only available through archival supply stores, and they don't ship worldwide). I use a paint pad as a brush, and it's been a terrific combo for cleaning new and used vinyl. Fact: about 70% of the records I've cleaned with this method have been new vinyl, and the brush has accumulated a fair amount of dirt. Mad.

It'll be great to use an ultrasonic machine, but it's just too big for my room atm. I'd love to hear what everyone else has been using!

 

[Cloud]

I pretty much just do this

 

[lazylistener]

I pretty much just do this

LOVE oddboxTopper! Looks like he's going to do an updated one soon.

 

[apholden]

As I mentioned in Products We Love, I recently got a Squeaky Clean, and it's doing great so far. It sounds like my setup is basically the same as @lazylistener with a couple brand names swapped out.
Don't apologize about the Ilfotol. I've heard of people using everything from dish soap to X-100, and recently Jet-Dry. As long as it helps your solution evenly wet the record, it's doing its job.

 

[AnthonyI]

I started with a DIY solution one of he local shops recommended, then went to a Spin Clean and finally bit the bullet and got a VPI RCM..........best investment EVER!

 

[kvetcha]

Squeaky Clean mk3 plugged into a cheap Home Depot Buckethead shop vac. Currently using Todd the Vinyl Junkie concentrate to make my fluid - felt a bit dear to begin with, but the one bottle of concentrate makes so much fluid that the pain in my wallet will be long faded by the time I need another.

The Squeaky Clean is a real winner, though. So cheap! So effective!

 

[debianlinux]

Squeaky Clean with the paint pad FTW. I clean all new records and resleeve if for no other reason then to eliminate static and paper dust. So far, I have never had to reclean a record. I am still a long way from cleaning my whole collection, though. I won’t put a record on my table that I have not cleaned, though. I do add hepastat to my mix for anti microbial and anti static properties.

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

I know @HiFi Guy recommends Vinyl Zyme from Todd the Vinyl Junkie. Pricey, but comes with high praise. I am likely to pull the trigger on this myself. At $50 will last 1 or 2 gallons of distilled water, depending on the strength you desire.

 

[manonkouch]

None

 

[AnthonyI]

I know @HiFi Guy recommends Vinyl Zyme from Todd the Vinyl Junkie. Pricey, but comes with high praise. I am likely to pull the trigger on this myself. At $50 will last 1 or 2 gallons of distilled water, depending on the strength you desire.

Mixed mine at extra strength, so 1 gallon for $50..............I'm still working on that first gallon which was purchased Dec 2017

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

Mixed mine at extra strength, so 1 gallon for $50..............I'm still working on that first gallon which was purchased Dec 2017

Any recommendations for what combo I should get to reach $100 for that free shipping? I was gonna do 2 bottles of concentrate but now that seems a little overkill.

 

[AnthonyI]

Any recommendations for what combo I should get to reach $100 for that free shipping? I was gonna do 2 bottles of concentrate but now that seems a little overkill.

I don't remember shipping being that much to warrant looking to pad the order for free shipping.........I could be wrong

 

[Melt Face Molly Drop]

I don't remember shipping being that much to warrant looking to pad the order for free shipping.........I could be wrong

$8 for 2 day priority. Not bad, but if I'm gonna need more of this down the road, I like to be a fiscally responsible young man.

 

[MikeyPD]

Currently I am using a VinylVac with the London Jazz Collector recipe for cleaner.

 

[Tinnitus]

Tried to add a photo, but something about filesize won't let me. VPI with TTVJ juice.

 

[SnowmaNick]

VPI 16.5 with MoFi solution and brush. 2 cycles with cleaners and 2 with distilled water per side. Then into a MoFi inner sleeve if it’s not already.

 

[mcherry]

VPI 16.5 with TTVJ. Started out with a spin clean which I still think is a great affordable way to clean records. But batch cleaning got tiring and hubs wanted to get me something for my birthday back in ‘17.

 

[zombie.modernist]

I've been using the RDV and their one-step for the last two years. New records get one cleaning pass, older buys get two, or more, or more and a rinse if necessary. It's served me well, but at some point I would like to get a VPI or Okki Nokki style RCM with wand arm and automatic platter. Besides the manual turn, the downside of the RDV is the flip-and-vac process which makes using any cleaner that requires a thick layer, or doesn't contain a surfactant a PITA.

 

[LeeVing]

VPI 16.5 usually with a homebrew -

75% Distilled Water,
25% Isopropyl Alcohol (I try to get 99% IPA, but a lot of places don't sell it. 91% from Target is what I have now.)
2-3 drops of Dawn (as a surfactant)

For the real dirty records, I'll do once with this and then another cleaning with some TTVJ.

I have been reusing this VPI bottle since I got the RCM years ago...

I have some MoFi stuff, but I can't say I'm a fan of it.

 

[trickyseven]

Squeaky Clean with extra strength ttvj. What a difference clean records make. After cleaning records get a new sleeve city inner.