I thought it might be interesting, for those of us who occasionally indulge in vinyl fetishes, to discuss how we clean records.
To begin with I try not to let my records get too dirty in the first place -- always keep them in their sleeves, and if they're on the turntable the turntable lid is closed. However, most LPs will require a quick spiff-up before playing. Since I never could afford the megabuck$ record vacuuming systems, I use the old standard DiscWasher with a drop of D4 fluid on the pad, spread out with my fingertip then wiped on my shirt to make sure it is slightly DAMP but not wet enough to leave any liquid on the record. I rotate the album by hand a revolution or two, while picking up any dust (or cat hair!) off the record surface with the DiscWasher, rolling it forward as it slowly sweeps the surface. I clean it on my shirt every 1/4 revolution or so. (I have a high-intensity desk lamp over the turntable to illuminate it when cleaning.)
If the record is really dirty (this used to happen a lot when I bought used LPs), I'll sweep it first with my microfiber turntable brush. I forget who made mine -- there's no name on it -- but there are several similar brushes on the market. I sweep the record in the opposite direction of playing, digging it into the grooves to loosen whatever's packed into the grooves. This usually takes several revolutions before the sweeping comes up clean. Then I'll proceed to a DiscWasher clean as described above.
I have a ZeroStat gun (shown above, from DiscWasher) which I'll occasionally use on a brand-new staticy LP but it's rarely necessary, and not very effective. A good cleaning with the D4 fluid usually works better to remove cling-on dust-attracting static.
Last, I have a DiscWasher stylus brush which I put a drop of D4 on and sweep the stylus with (back to front) every few plays, or if I've just played a particularly dirty record.
These few procedures do a pretty good job of keeping my LPs as noise-free as possible. After a few disastrous attempts I learned never to wash LPs in the sink, or to use any kind of detergent trying to "clean" them. The residue was awful.
And of course you only handle LPs by their edges -- never touch the grooves.
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