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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
7 responses Add your response
sca68
3 posts
 
Hi there Hanaleimike
I had the same problem last week burnt 3 albums
what I changed was stay at 4 inchs away and dont heat up
the soap.
My method is
1/ steam 4 inch away
2/ while steam is still visable apply soap and scrub with cut to 1 inch paint brush
3/ vac away
4/ apply walkers enzine(Does wonders)for 1 minute scrub with vpi brush
5/ vac away
6/ apply alcohol 99% with distilled water 1/4 mix with vpi brush enough just to cover 10 seconds is fine
7/ vac away
8/ distilled water 10 seconds
9/ vac away
I know this looks like alot but this is just for used records (garage sale)makes them almost new .
For new I start from 4 the enzime and work to 9
Out of 1000 records 3 burnt albums is not that not bad.
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.
motnic
23 posts
 
Is the crackling permanent i.e. on repeated play is the cracking the same? I ask because I wonder if you are not hearing static.
larryi
3,974 posts
 
Hanaleimike,

I bet those on Kauai would dispute whether Hana is as beautiful as the Na Pali coast.
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.
zenblaster
504 posts
 
After you steam clean what type of vacuum are you using to remove the dirty water? I damaged a few records while vacuuming the water, the head of the vac came in contact with the record/slurry and made some very fine scratches. I am very cautious now not to let the vac come in contact with the record. Still gets me mad that I damaged some very nice (and expensive) records.
BTW-Do you live on Maui? I noticed your moniker, Hana is one of the most beautiful spots onthe planet.
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.
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