I watched a youtube video a few years about record cleaning. The uploader had a process for cleaning very dirty LPs, including LPs embedded with mold and other organic material. He used a home made enzymatic solution to break down and neutralize the material. He saturated each LP side, deeply scrubbed, then let the solution sit on the LP for about 10 min per side. Then he scrubbed again, vacuumed, then rinsed, then vacuumed again. He claimed that is method was very successful in removing the debris. Makes sense; instead of just scrubbing and cleaning, take time to break down the material so it is easier to remove.
Record cleaning and realistic expectations
I recently purchased some Audio Intelligence solution #15 enzymatic pre clean to use on my VPI 16.5 prior to my usual cleaning with Disc Doctor cleaning solution followed by 3 distilled water rinses. I picked a record that came from a collection in a particularly moldy house.The record had faint white splotchy marks all over that I assumed were mold. Pretreated with AI #15 for 5 min per AI’s instructions. After cleaning and drying, the record was cleaner, but the splotches remained. Did I do something wrong? Could the splotches be something else?
A second record had inner runout marks I assumed were from the old plastic inner sleeve, but going thru the same process these as well did not clean up as well...Hmmm?
Would an US RCM like a Degritter do a better job?
Thanks for any assistance on this.