What is the best way to clean Vinyl?

Right @lewm, LP's are made of PVC. But it is my understanding that the terms PVC and vinyl are not synonymous. Am I mistaken? I've seen sheets of vinyl the same thickness as LP's, and the two don't at all look the same. LP's are much stiffer than vinyl.

In any case, LP's (the plural of LP) should not be referred to as vinyls ;-) . IMO, of course.

Consumer alert:

For those apprehensive about ordering a product with a less than perfect reputation for reliability from a Hong Kong company such as Humminguru (understandable imo), that ultrasonic cleaner is now available on Amazon. $499 (free shipping, of course) for the machine and the optional adapters for 7" and 10" discs.

I don't know what the warranty is like, but if you buy on Amazon you can at least immediately return the HG hassle-free if it arrives DOA. If I had $500 to spend on a single cleaning method, I believe I'd go for the HG.

For those suffering from static on your LP’s: I enthusiastically recommend the Furutech DeStat III. I for years suffered with the Zerostat (I still have my original pre-Milty), then discovered the much better (far less "fussy") Nagaoka Kilavolt No. 103, which I used for 25 years (a quarter century?! Time flies when you’re having fun ;-) .

Furutech introduced the original DeStat years ago, but it wasn’t until the "III" version was introduced that I desired and acquired (look out Dylan ;-) one. I had reservations about the design of the I and II. The DeStat III? Fan-f*cking-tastic! Very easy to use, and VERY effective at killing static on PVC (LP’s are NOT made of vinyl). The DeStat III is, unfortunately, not cheap. It retails for $390, and sells for that price down into the low-to-mid $300's. I waited until one came up on eBay, somehow getting mine (new) for $200. I’m a patient guy, and a cheapskate ;-) .

@jjbeason14: I would encourage you to do a pre-cleaning of the LP before immersing it in the Spin Clean tank, especially if you buy used records. Why, you ask? By running tap water over the LP in the sink (at the pre-cleaning stage tap water will suffice) and gently "washing" the record with a paint trim pad and mild detergent (read all about it in the Neil Antin-penned treatise referred to above, the Bible of record cleaning), you are removing at least some of any large particles of dust and debris present on the PVC (and in the LP’s grooves). The record will therefore not shed it’s now-removed dirt into the water in the Spin Clean, preventing that water from becoming contaminated. Various clear plastic label protectors are available on ebay and Amazon, the one I bought having a handle with which to hold the LP whilst cleaning.

If you want to get really nutty, buy a second Spin Clean, adding a couple of drops of a surfactant (Talas Tergitol 15-S-9) and cleaning agent (Alconox Liquinox) to the distilled water in the first, pure distilled water in the second for a final rinse. If you can spend a couple hundred bucks more, some people prefer to suck the water off the clean-but-wet LP with a Record Doctor vacuum machine (the cheapest available), rather than leaving the LP to air dry (unless you’re room is very dust-free, you know what leaving an LP out will result in: dust on the record).