Cleanliness is half the life. When it comes to collecting records, in the truest sense of the word even immortality is at stake. Because not only the vinyl-pressed music is meant for eternity. Assuming a correct and regular cleaning, the good, old record sounds as good as new even in decades.
That cracking and crackling inevitably belong to the listening pleasure of a record, is probably one of the biggest errors among music lovers. Because not the record itself provides the characteristic background noise – the vinyl is only dirty in this case. To hear the favorite single from the youth on the turntable, must therefore not be accompanied by the sometimes unsightly background noise. Anyone who knows – and above all applies – the most important basic rules of record maintenance will be rewarded with years of uninterrupted musical enjoyment. What’s more, it’s amazing what you can even get out of very old records with a well-made cleaning.
By far the worst enemy of the record is the dust. Even the electrostatic charge of the vinyl ensures that the finest dust particles from the “black gold” feel magically attracted. The most important ally in the fight against the dust is the carbon fiber brush. So you can carefully remove the coarsest dirt. The easiest way to do this is to hold the brush gently and gently on the plate as it rotates on the plate. Anyone repeating this procedure every time they hang up does not go wrong.
Rough cleaning: remove dust from old records
A shiny vinyl does not just look good, it sounds a lot better as well: the fine needle on the turntable bounces over every little speck of dust. So that does not happen, you can clean the records with simple budget funds.
How to clean old records
The “dry cleaning” should already have the biggest dust removed from your vinyl. Especially dirty records now have an extra treatment:
First, you need the right cleaning fluid. To do this, mix two-thirds of distilled water with one-third of isopropanol alcohol. The latter are available in every pharmacy. Alternatively, you can also use a few drops of dish soap. However, this should not contain skin care substances such as oil or lanolin.
Now you can either dip the plates carefully into the liquid or moisten them on the turner with a spray bottle. For both methods, make sure that the label does not get wet in the middle of the plate.
Let the mixture work for a few minutes. Then vacuum up the coarsest liquid with a kitchen towel.
Last but not least, treat the record again with a microfibre cloth. Again, circular movements in the direction of the grooves.
To be on the safe side, you can let the vinyl dry in a dish rack for a few hours. Then you should put the plates in new inner sleeves. You can get that on Amazon, for example.
For large music collections: plate washers for clean vinyl
Manual cleaning takes some time. Therefore, a so-called plate washing machine is often worthwhile for large record collections.
Here you simply put one record after the other. The washing machine does the rest. The results often depend on the price range of the device.
Decent plate washing machines cost unfortunately right money. For example, the ” Okki Nokki ” model is available for just under 400 euros. By contrast, professional cleaning machines can already go into the four-digit range.
Clean records – mix liquid
There is little need for cleaning fluid, the record should not be drowned. As a cleaning effect, the alcohol is not essential. But it ensures a more effective “rinse” the record grooves. Because alcohol is lighter than water and takes up the dust particles with the rise, where they can then be wiped away.
The cleaning fluid is not needed equal to Literweise, a small amount is already sufficient. Make an approximate mixing ratio of 50:50 between distilled water and Isopropanol. Finally, let a very small drop of detergent drip into the mixture and stir well. The drop of SpĆ¼li takes the tension of the cleaning fluid.
Do not choose the sponge too big, the classic yellow scourers fit exactly between the record label and the edge of the vinyl record.
Clean records with a sponge
Dip the sponge into the just-touched record cleaning liquid with only one edge. If too much water gets into the sponge, you better push it out again. When cleaning it is important to get a little feeling for the right amount of water, so do not despair.
Now pull the sponge over the record from the outer edge of the label in the groove direction. Thus, our mixed cleaning liquid can be distributed over the entire surface of the record.
Once that’s done, pull the dry edge of the sponge inside out to take most of the liquid off the record and remove the purged dust from the grooves. Do not thicken with the sponge too much, rather repeat the process. The remaining liquid remaining on the record can now be easily dried in an airy location.
As an alternative to wiping off the liquid, a microfiber cloth can also be used.
Wash records by hand
Washing vinyl records by hand are the more economical alternative to a record washing machine. It does not work that bad, but it does require some skill. The label on the vinyl disc is made of glued paper and this is not as well compatible with water. So do not romp around so wildly with the water!
The hand washing of records is recommended for a small collection or a few copies that need to be digitized. Last but not least, a clean record also benefits the clay needle.
Clean records directly on the turntable
Why does the record really have to be held in the hand, when the ideal mount is already in place?
Exactly, even with the turntable, the cleaning can be relatively uncomplicated. Of course, no moisture should enter the device. For turntables with automatic tonearm, the feature should be disabled or the tonearm should be lifted after launch and pushed aside. This method makes it easier to avoid fingerprints on the record.
The procedure is otherwise identical to the method described above. Spread the cleaning fluid evenly on the record with the sponge while the turntable is rotating. Stop the record player and pull outward with the dry side of the sponge as seen from a label. Do the same with the second side when the side of the record that has just been cleaned has dried.
Leave a Reply