Record Cleaning Using Vacuum Machine for Cleaning and Ultrasonic for Final Rinse

The procedure is basically covered in Niel's book.  My cmments are specific to my setup and equipment.  First, it takes typically 4.5-6 minutes per record for the dirty record procedure and it takes about 3.5-4 minutes per record for the clean record procedure.  The records are vacuum dried because Neil reported finding 10%-30% residual solids left on the record surface using air drying techniques.  So it is important to get the debris off the record while it is still suspended in the cleaning fluid.  I use a microfiber towel to dry the turntable on the Cyclone between each side of the record during drying. I have also found that the surfactant (Tergitol) is critical to getting the record clean.  In other words, just using distilled water in the HumminGuru, for example did next to nothing.  HumminGuru says the same thing.  Their supplied bottle of stuff is a surfactant.  I also found, like many others that the ultrasonic final rinse does improve the sound of the records.  Ken Micallef of Stereophile describes the sound as like lifting a haze.  I would describe it as adding a little sparkle to the sound.  Note though, that when I tried just running a previously cleaned record through the HumminGuru alone, without first pretreating it with surfactant there was no appreciable improvement.  Again water alone does not seem to penetrate sufficiently into the record grooves.  This might be a characteristic of the HumminGuru because of the frequency of operation and would not apply to other brands of US cleaners.  Next, How does the VPI MW-1 compare to my HW-17?  It is not appreciably quieter.  The vacuum pump is noticeably stronger.  Both machines allow cleaning in both directions.  On my HW-17 the Tergitol solution was in the built-in tank, so both the Liquinox and the distilled water were dispensed by lab squeeze bottles.  With the Cyclone all fluids are dispensed by squeeze bottles.  No big deal.  Every day I clean 3, 4, 5 or 6 records.  It is easy to check the water in the HumminGuru so I do so at the end of every day and usually dump the water just to be safe every 3rd day.  It is not a lot of water.  The machine works flawlessly, but it can't clean a dirty record.  For that you need something that can scrub and vacuum.    So, how does this work?  Very well, the records sound better than they did just using the HW-17 and the extra step only takes a couple of extra minutes. 

I was in a hurry and did not explain myself well.  The record is taken out of the HumminGuru after the final rinse and placed back on the Cylcone turntable.  The top side is vacuum dried.  The record is removed and turned over, but before placing it back on the turntable to dry the other side I use a microfiber cloth to dry the turntable.  This just takes a few moments and prevents the dry side of the record from picking up any moisture.  Some people have expressed concern about using a RCM with a full size turntable because when the record is turned over if the turntable is contaminated in any way foreign material and moisture could transfer and adhere to the just cleaned and dried side.  With just a little care this possibility is easily prevented.

Leaving the record slightly damp from the Teritol cleaning in the VPI seems to provide the reduction in surface tension in the rinse step in the HumminGuru.  Alternatively, the surfactant that is supplied by HumminGuru is also effective.  In my opinion, the addition of IPA to the US machine is not a good idea.  My thought process is a) it is not necessary and b) it could need to be in a higher concentration consistent with safety.