Cleaning Vinyl Records

craner

Beast of Burden
This counts as 'technology', right?

Now look you lovely buffs, I'm a lazy person when it comes to some things, one thing being dusting, to which I have a Quentin Crisp-like aversion.

This means that I sneeze a lot. It also means that a lot of my beloved LPs are close to unplayable. So I need to clean them. And I need to clean them without destroying them. And I dont know how to do this.

What is the easiest way to do this?
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
You will need:

Two soft sponges.
Two bowls.
Distilled or purified water.
Ecover (or similar non harsh) washing liquid.

Put luke warm distilled water in one bowl along with a small amount of the detergent.
Get a bit on one sponge and gently wipe the record following the grooves.

In the other bowl you should have just plain distilled water. Use this and the second sponge to wipe away excess detergent and dry the record.

Leave the vinyl propped up somewhere to dry.

Using regular water will leave calcium deposits and other stuff on the record. Some detergents are also too abrasive.

I think there's an old thread about this.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Oh, thank you. And thank you, I missed that thread. I should have known there would be one, though.

Finis.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Although, actually, I probably need to buy a new stylus as well. How much does a stylus cost these days? Where can I buy one? I currently have a, uh, hang on

ortofon 5E. Can you still get those?
 

dHarry

Well-known member
You will need:

Two soft sponges.
Two bowls.
Distilled or purified water.
Ecover (or similar non harsh) washing liquid.
[...]
Using regular water will leave calcium deposits and other stuff on the record. Some detergents are also too abrasive.
I've used any old detergent, tap water and cloths, but maybe I don't love my records enough.

These from my private collection have nice covers, though:

pike_dave~~_jazzforth_101b.jpg
- with herbie hancock on hammond organ; funky

586290.jpg
- nice breakbeat on this one.

va_amanandawoman_cover_print.jpg
- though mine has the photo/still in a heart shape...


RainbowRainbowRising.jpg
- embarrassment from my youth

manampld.jpg
- grim conceptual electro


Did you know that the active ingredient in dust that irritates your olfactory mucous membranes (or is it their cilia?) and makes you sneeze is the faeces of dust-mites? Just thought I'd mention it.

(I'm under serious pressure here at work, hence my recent increased frequency of posts, with value-added irrelevant nonsense, around here. Denial, displacement, etc.)
 

Leo

Well-known member
Now look you lovely buffs, I'm a lazy person when it comes to some things, one thing being dusting, to which I have a Quentin Crisp-like aversion.

This means that I sneeze a lot. It also means that a lot of my beloved LPs are close to unplayable. So I need to clean them. And I need to clean them without destroying them. And I dont know how to do this.

What is the easiest way to do this?

have you sorted this out yet, craner? more concerned about the sneezing than the record cleaning.

also, are you saying you sneeze on to your records, covering them with spittle and other bodily fluids? don't you have handkerchiefs or tissues in Wales?
 
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