Steam Revisited

The most annoying thing I find about playing my beloved vinyl is the pops clicks and sometimes the dreaded CRACK!!! Coming through my speakers.

I invested in a VPI cleaning machine $700 + and spent hours meticulously cleaning each LP (I got through about a hundred or so) Still, ether I did it wrong or I expected more but I still heard pops an clicks more than I expected after my hard graft.

Next step clean each one again and then try Gruv Glide $30…. better but still not good enough for me.

I was thinking that maybe in my heady youth playing records in me mates bedroom with 3 Carling Black Labels and a number or two using my Haybrook TT2 and his huge Warfdales.
It may have been that I did not take as much care as I thought in handling my records.
Looking at Aladdin Sane it looks clean enough as do most of my other LP’s.

I invested in an Esoteric Noise Reducer $399 that works, but I know that there is still bits of crap deep in those tiny grooves how do I get my LP’s cleanroom clean?

Searching on Agon I came across a thread about steaming your vinyl, so on Saturday I went to Walgreens and bought a Steamer $30 took it back home and tried it.

I used the techniques that others have tried, applying a cleaner to the LP rotating it on the VPI, adding steam, vacuum and then a second cleaning and vacuum then while the LP was rotating using a microfiber cloth to get anything left over.

WOW it works!! I mean “bloody phenomenal” is all I can say if you have not tried this approach TRY IT!

Some albums still have that tell tale pop and click from scratches on the surface from those heady days with Carlin Black Label but not a sound from dirt or dust.
Some albums are now whisper quite it really did blow me away.