Should you use cleaner on your stylus?

Before we suggested the ever more popular Mr. Clean Magic Eraser we owned and used ZeroDust, ExtremePhono, RRL #9 liquid and even one of Twl's ex-Linnie matchbook strikers.

My experience is that the MCME cleans better than any of them, and it's safe for hollow cantilevers as Nsgarch mentioned.

Joe's suggestion of less frequent use makes sense if you're concerned about abrasion. But diamonds are pretty hard and a stylus sees thousands or millions of times more abrasion playing one side of an LP than it gets from a 1 second dip in MCME.

We used to use MCME only every tenth side or after a dirty side, like Joe. Then Jonathon Carr of Lyra explained to me that a stylus picks up a microscopic layer of melted vinyl particles on every play, even if the record is perfectly clean. The MCME is abrasive enough to remove this layer. ZeroDust, XtremePhono and liquid cleaners will not. I have verified this using a photographer friend's 200x microscope camera.

Therefore, this is what we do after EVERY side:
1. Dry brush stylus from B-to-F
2. Dip stylus once or twice in MCME (NEVER brush or scrape with it)
3. Dry brush again to remove any loosened particulates

Note: use only the white MCME, not the blue ones. The latter contain cleaning chemicals.

Any small, short-bristled brush will do. Relax, it's just a brush! ;-)

I used the corner of my CF record brush for nearly a year. That worked fine, though it's not quite as stiff as a "real" stylus brush.

Then these higher model ZYX's started showing up. They include a free stylus brush! Not bad for a few kilobucks, huh?

How about a small paint brush like artists and model builders use? Cut the handle down to a convenient length. Choose one with coarser bristles and trim them off short if necessary, so they have a little stiffness to them. Should cost you about $0.59.

Thommas is 99.44% correct.

A dry, white MCME can in fact release solvents, but only at temperatures above its flash point.

If your Magic Eraser bursts into flames during stylus cleaning you may be rubbing too hard, and residual solvents shouldn't be your first concern.