Is there a way to clean...


...records without the use of a machine, that would work even remotely well?
tonyptony

Showing 2 responses by jhendrixfan

I like Pawlowski6132's response even though it is more intense than what I do. I use a rubber LP workmat and use a steamer (Eureka 350 w/the best distilled water I can get), Disc Doctor, Steam again, type of cleaning process for worst case/best results cleaning - all by hand. I use either baby towels or microfiber cloth to wipe the records (found some NICE microfiber cloths at some $1 stores nowadays!) I have a friend that uses an ironing board (w/cover) to steam clean by hand and he basically can only use one hand/arm. So with 2 working hands it's a snap.

I learned the proper steaming technique directly from Charlie Rehm (he is the one that pioneered it and had to convince (repeatedly) Michael Fremer that it worked and was worthwhile). He provided an actual demonstration (it should have been videotaped).

If an LP is not extremely dirty or of unknown origin then many times steaming alone will produce fabulous results.

I use a Swiss Air (local area to TT) humidifier w/distilled water and a digital humidity temperature meter to continuously monitor RH near the TT set-up.

Like Charlie I believe that steam cleaning lowers the tendency of an LP to become electrostatically charged. It's fun, inexpensive and non-toxic.

Also bear in mind that the TT mat plays an important role in static as well. Best mitigation technique is increased humidity (60+ % in TT area).
Disc Doctor.

However if you can't afford it, then at the very least get the best distilled, or reverse osmosis, water that you can and a Eureka 350A steamer. Even without "cleaners" you would be AMAZED how well Steam, done right, will clean up your vinyl! And, of course, it all needs to be done manually AND it will not degrade your LPs the way some chemical cleaners can.

As I mentioned before, even if you can afford the Disc Doctor products you MUST steam clean the LPs to get maximum playback potential from them. I have empirically tested this with all types of systems so whether you have an Acoustic Raven TT with a Schroder tonearm and a Lyra Titan cartridge or a Music Hall with a Goldring cartridge you WILL notice the difference.