Washing Records..

[cvcgolf]

Has anyone tried this method of cleaning your records?.. I have and the results have been very surprising and fantastic.. I first used this method on a few older Sinatra and Ella lp's that were used and noisy.. Made a significant improvement.. I then purchased a few used records recently at my monthly record swap meet in my area.. The records I bought looked really clean but the first record I played was very noisy.. After playing the first side I checked my stylus and it was full of dirt/debris!.. Used my magic eraser method to clean the stylus and played side 2.. Same noise and gunked up stylus.. It's obvious that the vendor must have cleaned the records with windex or something and they look clean but the grooves are just full of crap.. I then washed all the records, the same way as in this video, and the improvement was night and day.. Noise was 95% gone and was like playing a new record altogether.. Don't worry about the label getting wet.. My labels get soaked and they dry fast and look as if nothing happened at all.. Try it and post your results..

 

[3db]

I have some old beater vinyl I can experiment on but until try it for myself, I remain highly skeptical.

 

[afterlife2]

I did that when all my records were full of salt water, except I did not use soap, just water then I dried it wih a link free T-shirt and rag. Did the trick for me.

 

[slipperybidness]

It looks like he is using dish soap?

If you are going to use detergent on vinyl, then I would ONLY use lab detergent. Lab grade detergent / surfactant is formulated to be easily rinsed and not leave any film or residue!

https://us.vwr.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?catalog_number=21837-005

 

[Swerd]

Liquid dish soap, such as Dawn, does the job and rinses well.

The only thing I would do different is use less detergent and mix it with water before putting it on the record.

 

[Swerd]

Dawn's main ingredients are sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate.

Liquinox uses sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate.

They aren't chemically identical, but their detergent properties in water (solubility and critical micelle concentration) are similar enough to make them easily interchangeable. For cleaning grunge (finger prints and dust) from vinyl records, both get the job done. If you have to perform sensitive chemical analysis on lab glassware, where contaminants in the range of 1 part/million are too much, then use Liquinox.

Don't use as much detergent as shown in that video. Maybe 1% of what that guy used is all that's needed. Excess detergent is only harder to rinse away.

 

[slipperybidness]

Dawn's main ingredients are sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate.

Liquinox uses sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate.

They aren't chemically identical, but their detergent properties in water (solubility and critical micelle concentration) are similar enough to make them easily interchangeable. For cleaning grunge (finger prints and dust) from vinyl records, both get the job done. If you have to perform sensitive chemical analysis on lab glassware, where contaminants in the range of 1 part/million are too much, then use Liquinox.

Don't use as much detergent as shown in that video. Maybe 1% of what that guy used is all that's needed. Excess detergent is only harder to rinse away.

Agreed on most accounts.

If you insist on using "dish soap", then I would recommend using Ivory Liquid Soap Instead of Dawn (less additives).

You likely missed 1 detail when you were comparing Liquinox to Dawn----Dawn has perfumes / fragrances added and Liquinox does not. I would be concerned about the scent getting absorbed into the paper labels. I'm not sure about Ivory???

In the grand scheme of things, we are probably splitting hairs at this point. I'm sure Dawn would be fine, but if you have it available then Liquinox would still be preferred.

And yes, you make a very good point on the QUANTITY of detergent to use!!!! Almost everyone uses a huge excess of these materials for daily chores! Once the CMC has been reached, any more detergent is a complete waste of resources, and will also be more likely to leave residues!

Edit: ppm levels? maybe in the 70s
Our detection limits are single-digit ppt for most elements via ICPMS!
All of our lab ware is soaked in mixtures of concentrated acids for hours before use (and of course we are located inside a class 1 cleanroom).

 

[Swerd]

Agreed on most accounts. In the grand scheme of things, we are probably splitting hairs at this point. I'm sure Dawn would be fine, but if you have it available then Liquinox would still be preferred.

Yes, we are splitting hairs .

If you insist on using "dish soap", then I would recommend using Ivory Liquid Soap Instead of Dawn (less additives).

Ivory Liquid Soap (also made by Procter & Gamble) does not specify what surfactants it uses, but they do admit to adding fragrance. http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=16003712

You likely missed 1 detail when you were comparing Liquinox to Dawn----Dawn has perfumes / fragrances added and Liquinox does not. I would be concerned about the scent getting absorbed into the paper labels. I'm not sure about Ivory???

I ignored it deliberately because the fragrances are added at significantly lower concentrations than the detergent.

I don't sniff my record labels – why do you ?

Edit: ppm levels? maybe in the 70s
Our detection limits are single-digit ppt for most elements via ICPMS! All of our lab ware is soaked in mixtures of concentrated acids for hours before use (and of course we are located inside a class 1 cleanroom).

I said ppm because rinsing detergent from a vinyl record with running tap water probably doesn't leave it any cleaner than 1 ppm total organic carbon. Any cleaner than that isn't needed.

Biological lab samples can be subject to other organic contaminants, such as detergents, where ppb (nanomolar) and lower (picomolar) are of concern.

ICPMS (inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy, or is that plasma mass spec?) sensitively detects (if I recall correctly) metals and cations. Heavy metals such as lead, cobalt, mercury, etc. are toxic at very low concentrations and tend to bind tightly to anions and charged surfaces, hence the concentrated acid wash you mentioned. I don't have any experience with electronic manufacturing, but I suspect the cleanliness requirements are more stringent than in biological or drug manufacturing.

 

[cvcgolf]

Damn guys.. Nice detailed conversation but how about going and washing a record and then telling us if you hear an improvement.. 10 minutes to wash and 2 hours or less to dry.. It's that simple.. Kind of like the magic eraser stylus cleaning..

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Damn guys.. Nice detailed conversation but how about going and washing a record and then telling us if you hear an improvement.. 10 minutes to wash and 2 hours or less to dry.. It's that simple.. Kind of like the magic eraser stylus cleaning..

Well, it has been agreed that it will clean the vinyl.. So yes it will improve the sound if your vinyl is dirty/dusty.. For clean vinyl it does nothing.

 

[slipperybidness]

Damn guys.. Nice detailed conversation but how about going and washing a record and then telling us if you hear an improvement.. 10 minutes to wash and 2 hours or less to dry.. It's that simple.. Kind of like the magic eraser stylus cleaning..

Well, that technique is for amateurs. I use this
http://www.amazon.com/SPIN-CLEAN-STARTER-RECORD-WASHER-SYSTEM/dp/B002UKSZUU

 

[Swerd]

Well, that technique is for amateurs. I use this
http://www.amazon.com/SPIN-CLEAN-STARTER-RECORD-WASHER-SYSTEM/dp/B002UKSZUU

And that technique is for stingy amateurs .

Nothing less than this is recommended for true vinyl-philes

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OSI0H7Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0M8X223669P6HZA7HSR6&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

 

[Swerd]

Damn guys.. Nice detailed conversation but how about going and washing a record and then telling us if you hear an improvement.. 10 minutes to wash and 2 hours or less to dry.. It's that simple.. Kind of like the magic eraser stylus cleaning..

We were only having a little fun .

Seriously, I have no problem with that record cleaning method. It works and it couldn't be simpler. No, I haven't done that in a long time only because my old records aren't that dirty.

The only (very minor) quibble I have is the guy in the video used way more detergent than he needed. More detergent won't do a better job, but it will be much slower to rinse off.

If I had records to clean that way, I would fill a plant spray bottle with some water, add a few drops of detergent, mix it up, and spray the mix onto the record. The rest I would do just like in the video.

 

[slipperybidness]

And that technique is for stingy amateurs .

Nothing less than this is recommended for true vinyl-philes

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OSI0H7Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p23_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0M8X223669P6HZA7HSR6&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

Hahahah.

Yeah, I know, didn't expect to get called out on it, thanks

Yeah, instead of paying $4K for a record-cleaning machine, I would just take that $4K and re-purchase all my vinyls new, on 180 gram vinyl! Heck, probably even get a couple copies of my favorites.

Honestly, the Spin-Clean is also over-priced for what it is. It is nice, makes the chore easier, and I like it. But, it really should cost closer to $50 or less!

We have a local HiFi store that will clean your vinyl with a NittyGritty for $2 a pop. That's not too bad. I have considered taking a few to experiment, but never did.

 

[3db]

Well, that technique is for amateurs. I use this
http://www.amazon.com/SPIN-CLEAN-STARTER-RECORD-WASHER-SYSTEM/dp/B002UKSZUU

Thats still on my my must pick up list but I'm gonna hold off until the looney bounces back on the exchange. It will be over $120+ with shipping and exchange....far too expensive for plastic and some chemicals.

 

[djreef]

Dawn has to have a free and clear version that excludes a lot of the chemical crud. If not I'm sure the other free and clear versions (Seventh Generation, Clorox Green, etc) would work just as well.