I don't think it is necessary to clean a record before every play (some folks think that this may actually degrade the sound... I don't know about that but I do know that practially every record cleaning fluid does leave a sonic fingerprint). I clean a record immediately after purchasing it (I was able to completely salvage a $1 junky looking copy of an original 6 eye "Kind og Blue" to an acceptable playing condition after cleaning). After cleaning, record goes into a rice paper sleeve and then gets cleaned with a Decca carbon fiber brush for the next couple of turns. I use the Turomat cleaning fluid but have used a homebrew concoction in the past (in my spare time, I am a Chemistry professor).
