# How to clean your LP whiteout an LP cleaner, Mythos and what I do?



## deprofundis (Apr 25, 2014)

I heard all sort of things, use rubbing 100% alcohol, bad it will damage the vinyl, I heard from my father WD40 & all-purpose cleaner. I said to him wrong, bad thing it Will damaged the vinyl whit deposit of fat.

So I use a silk cloth or velvet and dont use, heavy products like these on my LPs, don't wont to scrap them, see?

If not what scientificly proven to clean vinyl propper?


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## DBLee (Jan 8, 2018)

For the most part, rinsing them well with distilled water and then carefully wiping down with a microfiber cloth does the trick.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I use alcohol all the time, never a problem, sounds like new again.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

I would be very wary with liquids, I have only ever used a carbon fibre brush and had no problems. The most important thing is not to touch the playing surface in the first place.


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2019)

Dan Ante said:


> I would be very wary with liquids, I have only ever used a carbon fibre brush and had no problems. The most important thing is not to touch the playing surface in the first place.


So...lid up - better sonics, allegedly, but more dust? It's not just touching that makes the vinyl dirty. Or lid down (or no lid at all)?


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I experimented years ago with PVA glue. It takes ages to dry (even if you put it on a turning turntable) and can be a pain if theres any residue but it did get every bit of crap off the disc and was hugely effective (but dont get any on the label!). Theres lots of youtube videos on this. Its also quite an expensive way to clean. In the end i settled on using the Knosti disco-antistat cleaner loaded with a solution of one quarter rubbing alcohol to three quarters distilled water. I found this the best solution and you can buy rubbing alcohol in big quantities so its cheap. Its also very effective. There is nothing wrong with using diluted rubbing alcohol. It doesnt attack the vinyl in any way. Ignore some of the idiots out there. Ive used this method for 30 years and it hasnt damaged any vinyl, ever. All the vinyl i sold on ebay was cleaned this way and i got a lot of comments about how clean and lacking crackle my records were.

PVA method:


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Get yourself a Nitty Gritty


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

God, you could spend hundreds on this! Project even make a dedicated turntable exclusively for cleaning! Only £300!!!

I used to have a sticky record cleaner, rather like one of those rollers for removing fluff from clothes. It worked extremely well, I must say. You can get silicone-based ones now, they get good reviews on Amazon.

If you are going to use a liquid, use pure IPA (iso-propyl alcohol, propan-2-ol), or alternatively, don't! A carbon brush should suffice, unless the surface is very dirty, and it will get dirtier if you use a liquid, as the dust tends to clump together with it.

Whatever you do, DO NOT USE WD40!!!!!


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## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

I have had great success with Techspray 1610-P (16 fluid ounce bottle). It is over 99% isopropanol. [email protected]
You will want to mix it with pure, de-ionized water, NOT distilled water. When you create the mix, use 25% Techspray with 75% de-ionized water. If you have a large collection of lps, I strongly recommend you invest in a record cleaning machine. It would be well worth it.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

My mate doesnt use IPA fir cleaning. Hes been using Windolene for as long as i can remember and swears by it. He says theres too much rubbish talked about vinyl by audiophiles. The room where his vinyl is stored always smells like freshly cleaned windows too. Lol.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Glad I managed to find this: from a series of excellent adverts on British TV


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

What a pain! It's the reason I switched to CDs and never went back.


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## DaveM (Jun 29, 2015)

Never have to clean an LP:

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/sweet-vinyls-sugarcube-sc-1-real-time-pop-and-click-remover-any-good


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

Merl said:


> PVA method:


1.) I wish I'd known about this when I still had my vinyl collection.
2.) That disembodied conductor's arm holding a baton is the freakiest thing I have ever seen. Evar. Did he, like, go out trophy hunting for a conductor? 
3.) If you put that wood glue "laminate" on your turn table, would it play and would the sound be upside down?


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

CnC Bartok said:


> Glad I managed to find this: from a series of excellent adverts on British TV


I was a classical music buyer for Tower Records when CDs were still new to the market. I once had a woman come in and complain that her CDs weren't playing any more and she damned well wanted her money back. After some interrogation, she revealed that she had put all her CDs through the dishwasher because, you know, why not? They looked like dishes and what a brilliant idea.

Genius.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

If an LP only needs cleaning with a cloth or LP cleaning brush - it doesnt need cleaning at all.

If you pick up an old LP and it has encrusted grime in the deep groove - no dry cloth or cleaning brush is going to shift that.

I used to have a VPI cleaning machine - glorified suction machine really. I used something halfords sell called Groom - car upholstery cleaner. Spray it on - let it foam up - use a special nylon brush to work into the grooves - and leave for 10 min. Then ideally rinse with distilled water - then pop on VPI and suction off all liquid. Or if no VPI you can always just leave to dry - then do other side. I found this method worked well and I never noticed any degradation.

No method works on groove damaged LPs.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Alternatively, a very good method is to coat the surface with clean engine oil LL 5w-30 Castrol, leave for a couple of hours and then clean off with brake fluid before a final clean with a water blaster set to medium spray, leave overnight to dry in front of a good heater set to hot and in the morning you will be surprised at the result.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Interesting thread. My opinion: 

1. Some noise or pops have to be accepted, if we are LPs fans. Otherwise, we are listening CDs or SACDs and we stop investing to LPs, which materially are very sensitive and accustically inferior to CDs.
2. I found all these exotic cleaning methods simply terrifying. Maybe because were completely unknown to me. 
3. My, very traditional, cleaning methods are: 
A. Cleaning Sprays.
B. Anti-static clothes
C. Knosti, second gen.
And the most important: don't touch with my fingers the disk surface. Our fingers is the worst enemy of the LPs.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Dan Ante said:


> Alternatively, a very good method is to coat the surface with clean engine oil LL 5w-30 Castrol, leave for a couple of hours and then clean off with brake fluid before a final clean with a water blaster set to medium spray, leave overnight to dry in front of a good heater set to hot and in the morning you will be surprised at the result.


No! No! No! Have you not noticed that you are using oil, then water, which have very different properties,and of course do not mix. To overcome this, use the yolks of a couple of eggs, which will act as an emulsifier.
Alternatively, don't use the water step at all, but substitute an industrial sand blaster instead of the pressure washer.
And to save time and money, if you're using Castrol, why not just put the LP on top of your engine or carefully balance it on the exhaust manifold, and drive around for a few hours.
Once more, you will indeed be surprised by the results.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

CnC Bartok said:


> No! No! No! Have you not noticed that you are using oil, then water, which have very different properties,and of course do not mix. To overcome this, use the yolks of a couple of eggs, which will act as an emulsifier.
> Alternatively, don't use the water step at all, but substitute an industrial sand blaster instead of the pressure washer.
> And to save time and money, if you're using Castrol, why not just put the LP on top of your engine or carefully balance it on the exhaust manifold, and drive around for a few hours.
> Once more, you will indeed be surprised by the results.


Come on now be serious


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

WD40 is a horrible idea. The only time I've ever heard of it being used, is by unscrupulous used record store owners, to make their records _look_ like they are in better shape than they really are.

It is bad for the record, and will cause the bond of the stylus to the cantilever, to break down.

Alcohol will degrade vinyl, if it makes contact for too long, but record cleaning is not long enough. Diluted about 10% alcohol with steam distilled water, and a couple drops of surfactant (Photoflow or dish detergent, such as Dawn) makes a great record cleaning fluid. Just make sure the alcohol is 99% pure. And minimize the time on the record.

Wipe it on with a soft brush, then wipe it off a lint free microfiber towel.

I sometimes use this technique on subsequent plays AFTER an initial cleaning on my ultrasonic record cleaner.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

There are lots of digital machines that remove the noise from LPs now but I use old methods. I use a sticky roller called *In The Groove* that removes about half of everything that collects in the grooves. When used repeatedly it helps make even the oldest LPs sound good again.

Part of cleaning can also be the needle you use on your turntable cartridge. I switched to an *Ortofon OM S-120 cartridge and needle *a few years back and it helped a lot. The needle edge is much thinner than typical and plays further in the groove; the cartridge weighs less too. I found that, as long as I keep the needle clean using alcohol and a little brush, it helps clean the LPs when I play them.

Back in the 1970s I used to wash my LPs in the sink then dry them by putting a pencil through the hole and spinning them. That helped but, as memory serves, wasn't as good as the methods I use today.


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