The "Very Best Record Cleaning Formulation"

I think an alcohol is a very important part of a proper record cleaning formula. I do not care for ultrasonic cleaning. It is messy, inconvenient and of questionable effectiveness. However, I do not think a 25% mixture of any alcohol in water is easily flammable if at all. Over 50% no question but 94 degrees F will not do it. I think most people will be in far more danger at their stovetop. 

My idea of a good record cleaning machine is the Clearaudio Double Matrix Sonic Pro. You put a record on it, clamp the record down and push a button. Come back 2 minutes later to a clean and dry record, both sides, with nary a drop spilled. There are many less expensive machines like the Nessie that are just as effective one side at a time.

@whart , Overall I agree with you. However, it is important for knowledgeable people to point out errors when they see or hear them. Avoiding errors is a very important part of the learning process.  am extremely good at making them. For me the learning process is like bumper cars. Fortunately, I usually wind up at the right exit. You be right scientifically but very wrong from a functional basis. A great example of this is the Kirmuss method. The time involved in cleaning 3000 records that way is prohibitive. 

@wizzzard  Please take all the time you need. Please be well. 

@wizzzard , Could you please respond to my last post, I think you might have missed it. 

I want to spend as little time cleaning records as possible. Antinn's method IMHO is either for extremely bored people or the neurologically deranged. 

Subjecting a record to any heat source is a potentially destructive thing to do. Records do not dewarp themselves. 

Ultrasonic cleaning is an unfortunate fad. Using the same solution over and over again is a great way to contaminate records as is air or fan drying. Do any of us live in clean rooms?

A good record cleaning method or machine should use fresh fluid with each cleaning, agitate the fluid so as to loosen debris, vacuum dry the record and be as fast as possible. Doing both sides at the same time is a big plus halving the cleaning time.    

@wizzzard , This is a continuation of the last post.

Is the BAK detrimental in any way? The effect on static was a total surprise! As I said before my turntable uses vacuum clamping, a great way to generate static. The charges were so high that in removing the record sparks would jump to the tonearm causing a loud pop through the system. I had to mute the system every time I removed a record. I use a conductive sweep arm which discharges the top side of the record fine and the platter is grounded. If I leave the record on the turntable for 20 minutes the static dissipates. When I started using this formula the static stopped entirely. The effect persists over at least a year without recleaning the record. If the BAK is not detrimental I would like to continue it. Suggestions on formulation are appreciated.

I think you should keep the formula in grams as it is far more accurate than measuring in volume which is why I use that method for more critical formulas. If the concentrations are that important leave it in grams. Kitchen scales are cheap. The only problem is that best of them only measure down to a 10th of a gram. More accurate scales would be a lot more expensive. So, you may want to round the formula off to 0.1 gm. 

Another reason why vacuum drying is important for me at least is that my formula is leaving a residue on the record and I want to minimize this. I study my styluses under high magnification and have tracked the deposition of residue on the stylus and after a week there is usually enough on the stylus to clean it. For obvious reasons the residue only accumulates on the pivot side of the stylus. One swipe back to front with a stylus brush is enough to take it off, no fluid required. 

@wizzzard , Thank you for your extended response. Yes, it is Triton X 100 which I got from my hospitals lab. I am a retired family doc. 

I use supermarket distilled water. If you let 1cc dry on a black plate you will see a white residue. My point is that if records are allowed to air or fan dry this and any other residue will be left on the record. Since I have no idea what this is I would have to assume it is abrasive. Vacuum drying will remove the bulk of this. 

Why is Tergitol better than Triton X100?  

I will swap the isopropanol for ethanol immediately. 

People with large record collections may listen to any particular record once a decade. Records left for prolonged periods are notorious for growing fungus. The BAK will prevent fungal grow under normal (not excessively humid) conditions. I went to medical school in Miami, Florida. I made living designing and installing Hi Fi systems in the homes of very wealthy people. I would pull records out of large collections to listen noticing that mildew smell that everyone is familiar with when they leave their laundry in the washing machine too long. 

@wizzzard , I forgot to mention BAK (benzalconium chloride) as a cationic surfactant helps prevent static buildup on the record. This formula does leave a residue on the record which if used with a vacuum machine is very slight. I have to clean styluses once weekly. I get the impression records are quieter after treatment but I need proof of that and will have to devise an experiment. The anti static nature of the solution has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt. I use a turntable with vacuum clamping. It generates huge static voltage charges on the bottom of the record. After treatment there is no significant charge generated.

@wizzzard , excuse me, I missed your comment on denatured alcohol. I was using isopropyl alcohol and will switch to pure ethanol. To Orient you correctly my formula was 1 gallon water, 1 cup isopropyl alcohol. 2 drops Triton X and 2 tablespoons BAK. I do have a scale I use to mix epoxy and catalized lacquer and will switch to your proportions. I would very much appreciate your comments on Triton X and BAK. I use a Clearaudio Double Matrix Sonic Pro, worth every cent. You 

The AR XA was a tour de force of original turntable design and I think Edgar Villchur’s  best work. It is a turntable design every audiophile should study. It has been copied initially by Thorens and Linn, then improved by David Fletcher’s SOTA Sapphire and gussied it up by AJ Conti’s Basis, SME, Avid, Oracle and finally Mark Dohmann with the Helix. The only error is the XA’s lack of an anti skating mechanism. Everything else is commensurate with is price. 

Can I interest you in a set of cable elevators? They only cost $8500:-)

Anything and everything coming from Last is GARBAGE.

@wizzzard Thank you for taking the time to teach us about cleaning fluid. I have been making my own for over a year. It is very similar to yours. I have some questions. Is there a problem using denatured ethanol? It’s more available to us. I have been using Triton X as a surfactant. Is there any reason to change? I also add 10 cc BAK to suppress fungal growth. One other comment is the distilled water most of us use is not lab grade and will leave a residue. For this reason I greatly prefer vacuum drying. Your comment is greatly appreciated!