I've never seen mold release residue that looks like fine white strands. It's usually a clump of muck that sticks to the stylus and perhaps the cantilever.
But whatever it is it should be removed before the first play, so I agree with Sidssp. All LP's should be wet cleaned and vacuumed before first play, including new ones - maybe especially new ones, since they probably cost more. The pressing plant doesn't clean LP's before shipping them, so whatever's left in the grooves will be ground against the vinyl by the two sharpened edges of a diamond stylus. Care to guess what happens to the vinyl?
But whatever it is it should be removed before the first play, so I agree with Sidssp. All LP's should be wet cleaned and vacuumed before first play, including new ones - maybe especially new ones, since they probably cost more. The pressing plant doesn't clean LP's before shipping them, so whatever's left in the grooves will be ground against the vinyl by the two sharpened edges of a diamond stylus. Care to guess what happens to the vinyl?