Record cleaning - what's your method?

They've always been way out of my price range so forgive my ignorance, but how does an ultrasonic cleaner work?

I'm starting to think an upgrade from my Squeaky Clean might be my next focus after the holidays. It's served me well but I'm thinking there are better functioning vacuums.
 
dbarila said:
They've always been way out of my price range so forgive my ignorance, but how does an ultrasonic cleaner work?

I'm starting to think an upgrade from my Squeaky Clean might be my next focus after the holidays. It's served me well but I'm thinking there are better functioning vacuums.
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Uses ultrasonic sound waves to agitate the liquid and remove the dirt. It’s the same as those machines optician stores use to clean glasses.
 
dbarila said:
Do they only use water or do they still use a cleaning fluid?
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I think it’s mainly water although some people would use a small amount of fluid in the bath too. It all depends on what you want. It’s not a mix of fluid like for the RCMs though.
 
So if I don't want to take a chance on Kickstarter, is there an options between Squeaky Clean and. $700 jump to a VPI or Pro Ject?
 
dbarila said:
So if I don't want to take a chance on Kickstarter, is there an options between Squeaky Clean and. $700 jump to a VPI or Pro Ject?
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Yes, the Record Doctor V is a solid record cleaning machine for $200. It uses a vacuum, just like the VPI and Pro-Ject models. It's manual, you hand turn the record, no motor, hence the cost difference.
 
dansomeone said:
Yes, the Record Doctor V is a solid record cleaning machine for $200. It uses a vacuum, just like the VPI and Pro-Ject models. It's manual, you hand turn the record, no motor, hence the cost difference.
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I've looked at this but in my mind have debated if it's really an "upgrade" from the Squeaky Clean. That's not a knock on it because I honestly don't know.
 
dbarila said:
I've looked at this but in my mind have debated if it's really an "upgrade" from the Squeaky Clean. That's not a knock on it because I honestly don't know.
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Agreed, it's a manual vacuum cleaner, like the Squeaky Clean. I chose the RDV because is it is a self-contained unit, no separate shop vac needed. And only the record label rests on the platter, so no risk of cross contamination while cleaning.

Frankly, I wouldn't consider a motorized vacuum cleaner enough of an upgrade over a manual unit. The time it takes to clean a record is so brief, why not just turn the record by hand while you stand there. What else are you gonna do for that 10 seconds?

That being said, I'm considering taking a shot on this kickstarter for only $360. It's a very reasonable cost.
 
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kvetcha said:
Either, but in theory distilled water is sufficient.
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Something to consider, the HumminGuru uses 350mL of water to clean one record. Unless you reuse that water, which probably isn't recommended, that's nearly one gallon of water to clean ten records. I'm guessing the cost of all that distilled water is higher per record than Chisto, TTVJ or most other cleaning fluids.

Of course, if you have a quality water filtration system in your home, it would reduce the cost significantly.
 
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dansomeone said:
Agreed, it's a manual vacuum cleaner, like the Squeaky Clean. I chose the RDV because is it is a self-contained unit, no separate shop vac needed. And only the record label rests on the platter, so no risk of cross contamination while cleaning.

Frankly, I wouldn't consider a motorized vacuum cleaner enough of an upgrade over a manual unit. The time it takes to clean a record is so brief, why not just turn the record by hand while you stand there. What else are you gonna do?

That being said, I'm considering taking a shot on this kickstarter for only $360. It's a very reasonable cost.
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I have no problem with Manual. I just feel like my Squeaky Clean takes a while to vacuum off so I'm looking for something a little faster. The slow vacuuming time has me wondering if it's not really getting all the fluid and dust out of the grooves. My main concerns would be how good it vacuums and the noise that it puts out.
 
dbarila said:
I have no problem with Manual. I just feel like my Squeaky Clean takes a while to vacuum off so I'm looking for something a little faster. The slow vacuuming time has me wondering if it's not really getting all the fluid and dust out of the grooves. My main concerns would be how good it vacuums and the noise that it puts out.
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It can't suck too hard, that could damage the record. And the noise, well, it's a vacuum. Keep in mind the HumminGuru is quiet, but it takes 7-10 minutes to clean and dry one record, so if speed is your concern, it's not going to help you there.

My RDV takes about four slow rotations, two one way and two the other, to dry a record. How long does the Squeaky take?
 
dansomeone said:
It can't suck too hard, that could damage the record. And the noise, well, it's a vacuum. Keep in mind the HumminGuru is quiet, but it takes 7-10 minutes to clean and dry one record, so if speed is your concern, it's not going to help you there.

My RDV takes about four slow rotations, two one way and two the other, to dry a record. How long does the Squeaky take?
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It seems to depend on the record. Some seem to clean faster than others. It gets about 90% of the fluid off on the first pass but there's definitely wet spots in the groove and some of them seem pesky and take a good 5 or 6 turns to go away (which at that point it's debatable if it vacuumed dry or just air dried.

Also, with the RDV, does having to flip the record over to dry it cause a mess? I always thought that was a weird design.
 
dansomeone said:
Something to consider, the HumminGuru uses 350mL of water to clean one record. Unless you reuse that water, which probably isn't recommended, that's approximately one gallon of water to clean ten records. I'm guessing the cost of all that distilled water is higher per record than the Chisto concentrate, or even the TTVJ concentrate.

Of course, if you have a quality water filtration system in your home, it would reduce the cost significantly.
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I'm most likely to use only the ultrasonic wash and then do a separate vacuum dry on my Squeaky Clean, so I should be able to get a few uses out of each small tank.

Assuming it gets backed. ;)
 
dbarila said:
It seems to depend on the record. Some seem to clean faster than others. It gets about 90% of the fluid off on the first pass but there's definitely wet spots in the groove and some of them seem pesky and take a good 5 or 6 turns to go away (which at that point it's debatable if it vacuumed dry or just air dried.

Also, with the RDV, does having to flip the record over to dry it cause a mess? I always thought that was a weird design.
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No mess, the fluid stays on the record, via surface tension? Unless you drench it, which I wouldn't advise.
 
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I just noticed the Project VCE. Any thoughts on that versus the S2? The price tag seems a little more reasonable to me. Is the S2 really worth another $200?
 
Can someone link me the dispenser bottle everyone uses? I'm going to make the chisto soon, bought the distilled water today. But decided I don't want to dispense it from the same container I used the TTVJ. Unless it makes sense to just use the spray bottle that comes with it?
 
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