Distilled water yes ,how about using those mold wipe bags in the room you keep your records especially if there's any dampness or you bought vinyl records with mold in the sleeves. I've been using them...like 12 bucks for 3 bags will last you a couple or move years...I know a humidifier, but they make the air hot...
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.
- ...
- 29 posts total
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. |
Although I am a good little audiophile and would never think of using anything other than distilled water in my RCM solutions or alone to rinse, I do have to wonder how "minerals" in tap water could possibly do any harm, if you then vacuum dry and maybe even if you air dry the washed LPs. We are talking about very low concentrations of metals in ionic form, in solution in water. It's not as if those ions are going to disturb tracking or groove contours. And by the way, distilled water will still have metallic ions in it, as distillation does not remove them. And yet, when I had access to water from my lab at NIH (before I retired), which was both distilled and deionized, I used that, but still I am doubtful of the value. As to the rest of the story, read previous lengthy and detailed threads here and read the book by Antinn. |
@lewm Of course anything worth doing is worth overdoing! That is the way we operate in the world of vinyl. |
- 29 posts total