Record cleaning - what's your method?

So.. I can be a little OCD sometimes. I went on a cleaning binge and cleaned around 400 records or so over a couple weeks. I did this since as a new collector I did not know I should be cleaning new vinyl at the time. So I finally decided I would get some done.

Method was squeaky clean, TTVJ Vinyl Zyme concentrate in a gallon of distilled water. Apply cleaner, light brush cleaner, sit for about 20 seconds and flip to do the other side. I did around seven at a time.

I seeing some mixed results. I spun Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti the other night at is sounded a little worse than before cleaning. Lots of static, even after hitting it with the zerostat. Post cleaning results have been hit and miss I think. So wondering were I might have gone wrong.

Should I have let the cleaner sit longer? Did I flip to soon to clean the other side? Should I have done a plan distilled water rinse? Or is it cleaning new records just might take more than on clean.

On a side note, does anyone else find cleaning records oddly therapeutic?
 
DougTheDog said:
So.. I can be a little OCD sometimes. I went on a cleaning binge and cleaned around 400 records or so over a couple weeks. I did this since as a new collector I did not know I should be cleaning new vinyl at the time. So I finally decided I would get some done.

Method was squeaky clean, TTVJ Vinyl Zyme concentrate in a gallon of distilled water. Apply cleaner, light brush cleaner, sit for about 20 seconds and flip to do the other side. I did around seven at a time.

I seeing some mixed results. I spun Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti the other night at is sounded a little worse than before cleaning. Lots of static, even after hitting it with the zerostat. Post cleaning results have been hit and miss I think. So wondering were I might have gone wrong.

Should I have let the cleaner sit longer? Did I flip to soon to clean the other side? Should I have done a plan distilled water rinse? Or is it cleaning new records just might take more than on clean.

On a side note, does anyone else find cleaning records oddly therapeutic?
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When you say light brush clean, what do you mean? Could always try applying more pressure with the brush to get deeper into the grooves so the Zyme does it’s magic.
 
Has anyone experienced your TTVJ solution starting to smell? I made a new batch 2-3 weeks ago and it smells, as my mom puts it, like an old wet kitchen cloth.
 
Melt Face Molly Drop said:
When you say light brush clean, what do you mean? Could always try applying more pressure with the brush to get deeper into the grooves so the Zyme does it’s magic.
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So, basically three rotations with back and forth scrubbing. Hard enough to have the Zyme produce bubbles. Sometimes I noticed the dot pattern from the squeaky clean pad on the side I cleaned and flipped over. So I wonder if in some cases the vacuum did not get all the cleaner removed. I adjusted the vacuum are a lot based on vinyl thinkness so maybe my method was inconsistent. It'd just bugging the crap out of me.
 
Currently using my Spin Clean for the first time in years - got a few records at a fair that could have used a clean, so thought it give it a go.

Don’t know if this has been discussed, but how do you guys track what has been cleaned in your collection? I’ve started a not on my phone, and I think I might add this to Discogs, but I don’t know if I’m missing a more obvious method.
 
Thackeraye said:
Currently using my Spin Clean for the first time in years - got a few records at a fair that could have used a clean, so thought it give it a go.

Don’t know if this has been discussed, but how do you guys track what has been cleaned in your collection? I’ve started a not on my phone, and I think I might add this to Discogs, but I don’t know if I’m missing a more obvious method.
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I just added a column with the month and year ;)Capture4.JPG
 
I put cleaned records in a separate sleeve and the jacket in a sleeve and store the vinyl outside the jacket. This way it is apparent by looking what is and is not cleaned. I have yet to have to reclean a record.
 
For those whom use an ultrasonic cleaner, how often do you clean a record pressed before the 1980’s and end up with a lot of build up on your stylus after the first couple plays ? Does anyone have some sort of mechanical pre cleaning method that avoids this? I clean records for 20 minutes in a 6l cavitation bath w/a vinyl stack and the motor spinning as slow as possible. Bath contains distilled water and tergitol marketed as tergikleen.
 
Dylanfan253 said:
For those whom use an ultrasonic cleaner, how often do you clean a record pressed before the 1980’s and end up with a lot of build up on your stylus after the first couple plays ? Does anyone have some sort of mechanical pre cleaning method that avoids this? I clean records for 20 minutes in a 6l cavitation bath w/a vinyl stack and the motor spinning as slow as possible. Bath contains distilled water and tergitol marketed as tergikleen.
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I am ignorant of ultrasonic cleaning but I do know the buildup issue is generally a result of inadequate rinsing. The UC may clean better but should still require a rinse stage to get the detergent out.
 
debianlinux said:
I am ignorant of ultrasonic cleaning but I do know the buildup issue is generally a result of inadequate rinsing. The UC may clean better but should still require a rinse stage to get the detergent out.
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Agreed, and while a Spin Clean is no ultrasonic cleaner, they share the same issue........getting whatever cleaning agent you're using out of the grooves completely. Which Ultrasonic unit do you have @Dylanfan253 ?
 
I also don't own an US machine so I'm talking a bit out of my ass, but I know a lot of folks on Hoffman who are into the US cleaners with surfactants or detergents advocated some kind of rinse stage. Some even do a pre-clean on a vac based RCM, followed by a post rinse. I also know some folks don't stack too many records on those spindles as they claim too small of a space results in inadequate cleaning. You might get more help on Hoffman, VE or AK, where more people have that DIY US solution you have.
 
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