HumminGuru Orbit Vinyl Record Static Remover

Nothing against the Humminguru, but the Zerostat should work too, if used properly. Trying to find the definition of "properly" on line can be problematic, I admit.

IMO, you don’t want to ask for “service “; you want to return that unit and receive a new replacement from your seller.

Late response to bdp’s post of 9-19. Static charge, great or small, will instantly distribute itself evenly across the exposed surface of an LP, the side that is in play. Therefore the concept that the Hudson brush neutralizes the LP surface that it is traversing or has traversed, while the untouched grooves between brush and label remain fully charged is faulty. The better way to think of it is that the brush, as it travels, is constantly reducing the average charge on the surface taken as a whole. So when you’re done, the surface would measure no or low static charge, but during play there was gradual reduction in charge as the brush moves from outer to inner grooves. But charge wouldn’t have been neutral throughout play at any time.

bdp, I am not sure what you are getting at when you say "Handheld guns may be used on both sides of the LP, for instance immediately after cleaning and drying on a vacuum machine."  It's fine to do that but one cannot assume the LP is going to be free of static charge on the later occasion when you choose to play it, if that was your implication.  Cleaning the LP only helps to eliminate dust and dirt; it does not confer immunity to static charge build up.  Charge happens when you remove an LP from a paper sleeve, even if it was inserted into the sleeve in a presumably static-free state.  Or it can happen in an instant when you yourself are charged up after walking across a wool carpet or etc, and you then first touch the LP.  Dis-charging needs to be done just before play.  (You probably know all this; I am just reacting to what you wrote.)

As regards the Destat. I was prepared to buy one during our annual trip to Japan, last June.  I found out, at least by inquiry in some of the major stores in Akihabara, the electronics mecca of Tokyo, that the device is not even sold in Japan. They'd never heard of it. 

Harpo, That device you bought may be fine, but an alarm bell was triggered when I read that it has a copper element that needs periodic cleaning.  Devices that work to produce ions such that there is a metal element that periodically needs cleaning or replacement often also produce ozone, which is not good for humans.  They are usually used in "clean rooms" needed for manufacturing or other medical endeavors.  Normally, they are turned on only when humans are out of the room. Although probably only a tiny amount of ozone is produced in the process of deionizing an LP surface, I'd advise you to be careful with it.

I bought an electrostatic charge meter in order to determine for real what goes on with these devices. The meter tells me that my 50 year old Zerostat still works fine, if used properly as per instructions. Vinyl accumulates a negative charge. So you need to flood the surface with positive ions in order to neutralize the LP surface. The Humminguru, and nearly all others, emits both pos and negative ions. I have asked myself why those two oppositely charged ions don’t combine and neutralize each other before the charge on the LP can be neutralized. But apparently it works.