Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records

@mijostyn,

No arguments that maintaining cleanliness is critical, but I have found as I stated in the paper that even new records benefit from initial cleaning, the pressing plants are not clean.  Maintaining cleanliness is addressed in Section VI, what other items should have been addressed?  One of the problems is that some 'practices' are doing more harm than good.  I now no longer use any brushes, just a quick visual+UV, and if necessary a swipe with the microfiber anti-static cloth to dust away lint/particulate, and my records now play better - but that is my experience.

Neil

Neil,

This is an amazing piece of work. I've just read the 3rd Edition and it was so enlightening! I would like to plan a procedure to clean my vinyl collection, which has mostly been unplayed for 30 years since I adopted CDs. I think a certain amount of mould has developed; I've test played a few titles and, besides the surface noise, I found the stylus picks up a lot of debris, and soon it's not riding in the groove and the record sounds very distorted.

Anyhow, since I'm based in the UK, the info you have added on alternatives to your preferred cleaning products is very useful indeed. The Alconox products are difficult to obtain here but it looks like I could get BASF Dehypon LS54 easily and inexpensively. My question: Is there any reason Dehypon could not be used both for the pre-clean, and the final wash stages (at different dilutions)? I note in chapter XIV on UCM you allude to using Dehypon for pre-clean at 0.025 - 0.05%, but I don't recall seeing that option mentioned for your manual procedure.

Thanks for your help
Rob

@robjordan,

Rob,

Dehypon LS54 is a just a pure nonionic surfactant, and relatively mild.  For pre-clean you want a more aggressive cleaner.  See what is written Table II.  A top quality liquid, machine clothes detergent that is not colored (no dyes), unscented (no fragrance) and contains no anti-bacterial agents can be a very effective pre-cleaner, but you want to buy the best you can get since the cheaper versions have a lot of fillers and other junk.  Prepare as specified Chapter III - there is a specific section of III.AU/EU/UK Prepare the CLEANER Spray (or Wash) Bottles:

Good Luck,

Neil

Thanks, I read your suggestion of laundry detergent, but my difficulty is that it leaves a lot to interpretation, especially as someone who is not au fait with the ingredients. Ecover Zero appears to meet your description, and it does state a list of ingredients. I wonder if you could have a look and see if you think it would be suitable?

https://www.ecover.com/products/zero/zero-laundry-liquid/

Ingredients:

Aqua, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Laureth-7, Alcohol denat., Potassium oleate, Sodium citrate, Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, Bio poly ethyleneglycol propyleneglycol oligo ester, Citric acid, Sodium hydroxide