Record cleaning is an essential requirement for anyone with aspirations to get the most out of listening to music on vinyl.
Records, both new and used, should be cleaned thoroughly before playing. Why? Consider the basics of vinyl playback. Music is extracted by the stylus and its cartridge from grooves cut into the vinyl. These grooves are susceptible to the build up of dust, oil (from fingers) and myriad other foreign particles. When these particles are not removed, mistracking can occur when the stylus’ path through the grooves is interrupted (welcome to the world of tics, pops and other surface noise). Even worse, the intense heat that builds up in the grooves as the stylus passes through can permanently ingrain these particles, causing irreparable groove damage that compromises playback.
Cleaning your records with dedicated fluids and brushes (as well as distilled water for a rinse, depending on the severity of the chemicals used in the cleaner) can help to remove foreign particles from the grooves.
One of the challenges in cleaning records is removing the fluids (and the crap retrieved from the record grooves) from the surface of the vinyl.
If you clean records manually, you must dry the records with a soft, lint-free cloth and then allow them to dry further in a holding rack (vinyl dish racks are commonly used), typically for 12-24 hours.
This is why a vacuum-equipped record cleaning machine (RCM) is a necessary and wise investment for any vinyl enthusiast who wants to clean records quickly and efficiently.
There are many different models for many different budgets, but the basics of any motorized record cleaning machine are the same. It must have a motorized platter to spin the record (during both cleaning and drying cycles), a vacuum tube that sits on the surface of the record (with a thin layer of protective material attached to the bottom to protect against scratching) and a reservoir to hold the fluids deposited by the vacuum tube.
To operate you need only turn on the motor, clean the record as it rotates with your chosen brush and fluid, and then turn on the vacuum to activate the suction through the tube. (For particularly soiled or noisy records, you can stop the motor once the fluid is applied and scrub the record, always in the direction of the grooves, before vacuuming the fluid off.)
(This process takes between two and ten minutes depending on how many cleaning and rinse cycles you happen to use. Walker Audio, for instance, recommends and sells a four-step cleaning system, including a pre-cleaning enzyme treatment. Others, such as Disc Doctor or Mobile Fidelity/Record Research Labs, offer simple one-step wash products. As you might expect, the latter option is much cheaper.)
In the end, if you do either method correctly and carefully, the results are roughly the same. However, if you have a lot of records to clean, there is no doubt that the assistance of a machine equipped with a vacuum tube will increase efficiency and save a lot of time.
After I put together my system, I also purchased a VPI 16.5 RCM. Since I brought it home, I clean every record I acquire before I play it and then store it in a static-free, non-scratching inner sleeve. I use a Disc Doctor brush and have tried both Disc Doctor Quick Wash and Mobile Fidelity Super Record Wash thus far. Based on my own experience, I think the Disc Doctor cleaner works better than the Mo-Fi because it coats the record quicker and more efficiently. That said, either will satisfy your basic cleaning requirements.
With a RCM like the VPI 16.5 at your disposal you can expect to enjoy cleaner and quieter records, essentials for any serious vinyl enthusiast.
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