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Steam Cleaning - RCM or not?

I posted a couple of times yesterday about this over at AudioKarma, but thought I would ask here as well since Audiogon seems to be at the center of the steam cleaning information.

I tried steaming in earnest a few nights ago; I did an LP I've had for years that had had some minor mold on it, which I removed a long time ago with my RCM, but the spore pattern remained. It was gone in a minute with the steam, which I somewhat expected. What I didn't expect was how lifelike this 3rd pressing, orange-label Dynaflex LP suddenly sounded. Amazing!

My question is this; I'm really drawn to the idea of not using my 20+ year old RCM at all because of the noise, which I'm getting tired of hearing after all these years. I'd really like to be just steaming, lint-brushing with my home-made fluid I've been using a while, steaming again and wiping with a couple of microfiber cloths. That seems to work very well, except that I seem to be getting some gunk on my stylus now and again which may be lint from the cloths.

Is this a concern? I actually did this routine a couple of times to one side of an LP and then did the same thing but RCM'd and not microfibered the other side, and I would swear the non-RCM's side sounded slightly more real in each case. Sonically I'm completely okay with the cloths only, but am a little concerned about possible residue and whatever that is showing up on my needle—although my ears are telling me this is the way to go. Anybody else come to this conclusion?
vanmeter

Showing 2 responses by bogglor

bogglor
2 posts
 
Crem - do you use an attachment with the MC1235? I just got one and want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it... and what strength are you using the steam pressure setting (the one on the handle?) Mine is maxxed out. I find that the first splurt of steam is very drippy so I usually spray that into a towel and then proceed with the trigger held down.

I recently steamed an LP that I had previously cleaned via my homebrew alcohol solution and it actually sounded worse.

It had more pops and crackles post-steaming than it had before, which was totally strange. I think it could be the new Mofi brush I was using, that thing was leaving a lot of threads/strands/residue on the microfiber cloth while I was drying -- could be that some of that thread junk got into the grooves... probably not the steamer's fault.

Right now I don't have an RCM or lazy susan to spin the LP on so I'm just laying it flat on a microfiber cloth and steaming around the LP for about 10 seconds with the bent nozzle held about 3 inches above the LP surface, moving at a steady pace. Any better way to do it with the MC1235? I've read through ALL of the old threads, so I guess I'm seeing if there's an update to your technique over time with this new steamer.
bogglor
2 posts
 
Hmm, there may be some error in my technique then, as I'm just holding the trigger down the entire time while steaming as opposed to a press / wait / press again cycle. I will remove the attachment and try it with your methodology and see if that improves any. It's important to note that it doesn't drip ALL the time, just on that first blast of steam it's a little more water vapor oriented than steam oriented, but it changes over to all steam quickly. If it persists or I find it defective after trying it your way, I will return the item to TI.

Thanks for your reply and all of your innovations regarding steaming. I am hoping that I can get it down to the science that you have!
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