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crackling in first minutes after steam cleaning

Hi,

I have been steam cleaning my records lately and have noticed that after cleaning, a few have a very noisy crackling sound at the beginning of the records, from the first 30secs to 2 minutes depending on the record. I have been using the same cleaning method for all my records, but only some have had this problem, and only at the beginning. Others are so silent I sometimes think I have the mute on.
I sacrificed one lp to further steaming in the name of science and held the steamer very close to try to "power" out the crackling which I am assuming is debris of some sort, but it got worse.
At first I thought maybe it is because I am heating my cleaning solution which has alcohol in it, but if that were the case, I should have the same problem throughout the record.
Another possibility is my steamer is spraying out something in the first blast at the beginning of the record that passes quickly.

Could it be in the pressing? Is this a common place for pressing problem to occur?
Other then this issue, I like the results from steam cleaning, but these records did not have the crackling before I steam cleaned them, and while I have been using records that I can replace and are still in print ( mostly :( ), it is so random and unpredictable that I am considering stopping the steaming for fear of damaging one of my favorites.

Has anyone seen this before
hanaleimike

Showing 3 responses by hanaleimike

hanaleimike OP
125 posts
 
Motnic,
Yes I thought that too, but I used a destat gun, microfiber static brush, and destat on the cartridge and table, and played on my friends turntable. Sadly it is permanent, but if I stay 4" away with the steamer and don't scrub or vacuum while the steamer is heating the record, I have no problems.
hanaleimike OP
125 posts
 
Upon further experimentation I have discovered that steaming too closely, and applying too much pressure with the vpi brush will alter the grooves, making the crackling sound on playback. I cleaned some new records today keeping the steamer 4-6 " away, and no brushing during the steaming phases. Sounds great, very quiet, no damage, no crackling. I also substituted the Dawn in my liquid with a 1/4 teaspoon of purple cleaner with 2-Butoxyethanol, and alkaline detergents. The purple people recommend 1:15 for cleaning vinyl, ( not records) but I mixed at about 1:250.

Live and learn, sometimes less is more.
hanaleimike OP
125 posts
 
Hanalei Brah, Kauai.

I was using a vpi 16.5, you should try covering the head of the vac with some sort of velvet, just in case.
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