Generic Record Cleaning Solutions


I own an Orbitrac record cleaner and the fluid ran out. I was about to buy replacement fluid and got to thinking about generally available stuff, like generally available in a hardware store. I've got some trashed records I won't play due to clicks and pops, so I tried denatured alcohol. It dries quite quickly and without residue or water left behind. I could find no softening of the vinyl or other deterioration of the record surface. Has anyone tried out something similar? I'm now wondering about carbon tetrachloride, xylene, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, god knows what other carcinogenic fluids I can try.
rg500g

Showing 4 responses by crem1

A gin vs. vodka shoot sounds like what is needed here on the freezing Eastcoast.

But back to record cleaning ... Several contributors on other sites are recommending Ivory (a drop or so) and "clean H2O" has anybody had experience with that combo ?
Threaders: Should you 'all want to go insane, just google "record cleaning solutions" dozens of options or skip to artsandmedia.com home page click on record cleaning. Either way you should find enought suggestions to test out to keep this blog going&going. Don't wipp it ! Clean IT ...
Threaders : The key to cleaning solutions is the purity of the water and should you use iso alcohol the percentage of pure iso in the bottle. My personal favorite is GC Electronics , cat # 10-1507, 100% isopropyl alcohol , anhydrous pure that sells for under $10.

There are many , many web sites offering record cleaning formula's, just google a bit to locate them. Lloyd Walker said he buys his water from a company that sells H2O for reactor based power plants. Personally, I buy auto battery water from Prestone or Peak.

I'm obcessive about record cleanlyness. The clearner the vinyl the more potential information in the groves. In my opinion there are only 15 or 20 truly remarkable articles on the subject. One of the best is located on Michael Fremers web site just google until you find it.

Lastly, no matter how clean your records , should your reproduction chain be grunged with a poor/dirty preamp , phono section , etc., you may be hard pressed to enjoy the effort. Its all a part of a process. Enjoy the music.