Record-playing Rituals?

Doug, I know about this, so I only played the first two cuts on each side in its original state until I applied the RR treatment, cleaned and vacuumed. After treatment I played the entire side. The muddyness of the bass stayed on, so it was not because of the effect you had mentioned.
Regards

I just bought a second VPI 16 cleaner. One is used for really dirty records, the other for everyday use. After cleaning a really dirty one it goes to the everyday use machine for final cleaning. Felt on everyday machine will not get so dirty if no dirty records are cleaned with it. I can also clean 2 records at once, I buy a lot of collections. Really dirty records may take 2 or more cleanings. NEVER use a volatile alcohol (Isoprpyl, Ethyl, Methyl etc) 1.They damage your records. 2 Alcohol does not clean vinyl. The only use for alcohol is to get more of the surfactant into solution. I manufacture cleaning solution, so I'm not giving any more clues. Double and triple distilled water is a wate of money. By the time it's exposed to the air for 15 seconds it's just as contaminated as regular distilled water. Save your money to buy records. I used to use a preservative, made my own and sold it for $15 for 8 oz. At this point, I'm not sure whether preservatives help, hurt, or has no effect.

So exposure to the air will add trace minerals?

Detlof, glad to hear you are giving the Record Research fluid a workout. There are a couple of issues with testing these cleaners that should be considered. First, the fluid I sent you was part one of a two part solution. It is the heavy duty version, developed as a replacement for the (EPA) banned "First" which was a Freon based product. A second cleaning should be done with Record Research Vinyl Wash, the more dilute every day cleaner.

Do I understand from your post that you washed with the Record Research and then washed again with Nitty Gritty? If so, you have not heard the Record Research properly. You should wash off the Nitty Gritty with the RR and do no additional rinse for your next test. The only bottle of Vinyl Wash I had on hand was the 32 oz. size, and no small "clean" containers to make up a sample.

I will ask RR if they will send me sample size versions of Vinyl Wash, or mail me some clean sample bottles, and I will pour you enough for the test. I just wanted you to have the chance to hear this for yourself, and sent what I had on hand. Judging from your well written post, you appear to be (mostly) favorably impressed. Perhaps the follow up rinse with this additional RR product will provide the magic you are after.

Doug, Maicomike, Slawney, Deshapiro, and others, are you interested in trying this too? If so, I should know in advance so I can ask for some extras when I contract RR. Hopefully all of you will follow up with your own results if you wish to become involved.

There are more contaminants in the air than in the water. Even water that has been processed with an ion exchange filter is fine. In the 70s I had a system with several baths. Today that's not so practical. Trace minerals are so small, we're talking minimicrons, that they fit between gaps in the porous surface of the vinyl. Now if you have really hard water, there could be enough to hinder playback. Actually the biggest contaminant in the cleaning fluid is the surfactant itself. It tends to gum up brushes, because it is a very high molecular weight with a complex molecular structure. Dirt and dust and grease are what will hurt your records and cartridge. The type of brush is pretty inconsequential, I use a lint brush, a reccomendation from the vinyl asylum, for really dirty records. I use the last brushes, a little overpriced but not for audiophile stuff, for everyday cleaning. I clean the brushes regularly to remove dirt but more importantly the cleaner (surfactant) buildup.