What are you using to clean LP album covers?

The Pledge idea for cleaning them is intriguing, I might try that myself.  When I was a college student in Seattle, without a lot of disposable income, I bought all my records at Standard Record and HiFi on 65th Ave. NE.  For all I know it is still there.  I hope so.  Anyway it was a mom and pop operation and the records side was run by Mrs. Smith who knew her music and her records.  She was a walking encyclopedia.  Anyway, I learned much about music and about records from her, which I try to pay forward.  Here is one of her tips.  When you buy a new record, remove the outer cover and throw it away.  Keep your records clean, stacked vertically and not packed too tightly.  The reason she recommended against storing record jackets inside any kind of plastic covering is because these covers can harbor mold.  Anyone who buys and collects old records has encountered mold on the surface of some records.  It is pernicious, difficult to remove (hint ultrasonic RCM are ineffective against it), and does negatively affect the sound quality of records so affected.  So listen to the late Mrs. Smith (and me) and ditch the record jacket covers.  There are better ways to take care of your records.  I have records that were new in the 1950s to present that still look and play like new.

Every time I clean an LP that’s not new, I also clean the jacket before putting it in a new outer sleeve. Lately, I’ve been using Method All Purpose Cleaner (because it’s very mild and usually around the house) on a microfiber cloth and it works great. You wouldn’t believe how dirty the microfiber is after a quick wipe. I then dampen a clean part of the towel and give it another quick wipe to remove whatever cleaner is left on the jacket. The whole process takes about a minute and is completely necessary for used vinyl in my opinion.

You can actually feel the difference.  Rub your hand on a jacket before cleaning and note how rough it feels.  After cleaning, do the same thing.  It will be silky smooth.  That's the lack of dirt.

@billstevenson I have thousands of records, and have been using outer sleeves for ages. None have harbored mold, ever. The sleeves are open ended and my records are stored in an HVAC controlled environment. I suppose if people put their records in outer jackets and then keep them in cardboard boxes in a damp basement or garage they'll have issues. But I use the outer sleeves (Sleeve City 5mil) and will continue to do so. YMMV

The only mold I have ever encountered on records in 50+ years of collecting is on used ones I have bought from Discogs.

@lewm +1, same here.

Two things stand out from your post: You store your records in a environmentally controlled residence via HVAC, hence you have control of mold. Secondly, you have encountered mold on used records where you had no knowledge or control of the environment. We could expand the scope of the discussion. People living in cool damp climates are more vulnerable to mold than people who live in arid or semi-arid climates. I am comfortable with that. Not using record covers is still a safer option, but the world is not black and white. What is important here is to provide an exchange of information so readers can make informed decisions. BTW, my house in Florida is under HVAC 12 months a year. I probably wouldn’t have a mold problem unless we had a prolonged power outage such as after a major hurricane. We only have those increasingly frequently. Why worry? Records would be the least of the problems facing an intrepid audiophile after a catastrophic event.  What's a little mold?  Besides we can always sell 'em on Discogs.