Homemade Discwasher Fluid?

[Mikado463]

back in my college days we used a concoction of distilled water, vodka and Kodak 's release agent(not sure this is what it was called, it was 50 plus years ago), regardless, those are the things we did back in the 'Dark Ages' !

Fast forward to today my cleaning regime when I feel it's needed (initial cleaning of new / used Lp's) is utilizing my DeGrittor ultrasonic cleaner and my VPI vacuum. My cleaning solution of choice is reagent grade medical distilled water and L'art du Son concentrate. Distilled water only in the ultrasonic machine.

just listened last nite to my 58 year old recording of Ahmad Jamal's 'Heat Wave' , sounds superb !

 

[trochetier]

back in my college days we used a concoction of distilled water, vodka and Kodak 's release agent(not sure this is what it was called, it was 50 plus years ago), regardless, those are the things we did back in the 'Dark Ages' !

Fast forward to today my cleaning regime when I feel it's needed (initial cleaning of new / used Lp's) is utilizing my DeGrittor ultrasonic cleaner and my VPI vacuum. My cleaning solution of choice is reagent grade medical distilled water and L'art du Son concentrate. Distilled water only in the ultrasonic machine.

just listen last nite to my 58 year old recording of Ahmad Jamal's 'Heat Wave' , sounds superb !

Cleaning Lacquer Discs

Cleaning lacquer discs

www.nedcc.org

Some years ago I found a recipe for manually washing LPs, it used pure isopropyl alcohol with a few drops of Dawn Dish washing soap and diluted with DI water. If I can dig it up I will post it.

 

[Squishman]

Cleaning Lacquer Discs

Cleaning lacquer discs

www.nedcc.org

Some years ago I found a recipe for manually washing LPs, it used windshield washer fluid winter formula, with a few drops of Dawn Dish washing soap and diluted with DI water. If I can dig it up I will post it.

Yowser! ha.

 

[Swerd]

All ultrasonic devices generate very high frequency vibrations (usually 30-40 kHz) that in water create many tiny bubbles or voids. This is called cavitation. When these voids collapse or implode (they are filled with a partial vacuum, not air), they generate shock waves. The shock waves are strong enough when very close to the imploded void, but rapidly weaken when a short distance away. Cavitation is often employed in ultrasonic cleaning baths and can also be observed in pumps, propellers, etc. These shock waves are much better at cleaning dust & finger prints on LPs than any other physical method.

One drop of detergent significantly lowers the surface tension of water and allows greater cavitation in an ultrasonic cleaning bath. Those shock waves should work better at cleaning finger print residue from record groves, if a low concentration detergent is present.

Ultrasonic cleaning - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That Kodak releasing agent was probably Kodak Photo-Flow 200. It's cheap, $22 on Amazon. A 16 oz bottle will last a life-time for 50+ people.

One of Photo-Flow's components is a detergent called Triton X-100, also cheap on Amazon. 500 mL is about the same size as 16 oz. One bottle will last a very long time. I used it for many different purposes in a biochemistry lab.

At home, I have used concentrated dish washing liquid, because I never bothered buying any TX-100. It works just as well in an ultrasonic bath cleaner.

Many people fear using any detergent when cleaning records. Detergent can remain on record surfaces if it hasn't been adequately rinsed off. This is especially true if too much detergent is used. One single drop is plenty. More is not better – it doesn't clean better and it's harder to rinse off. Rinse the detergent away with plenty of water. Two rinses are good, 3 rinses is not too much. That Degritter looks good but the price is repellent. I like that it has a separate tank for rinse water. But one rinse is just not enough.

 

[Squishman]

I think I'll use my Vinyl Vac for just this one record I got over the weekend. Plays well but some crackles. I only payed $5 for it. Other than that I don't use the Vinyl Vac as much as I used to. This one will no doubt benefit from it.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

I used to use a small dry record brush. I don't remember who manufactured it. I used to buy all my records from an audio hifi store that told customers to never use liquid on records. They sold small brushes from various brand names and a motorized record vac machine. I always used just a small soft record brush. No static afterwards either.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think most of the threat ran its course and most folks with vast expertise in Vynil records already pitched in their suggestions, so forgive me for being off-topic, but am I the only one who read the title as "
Homemade Dishwasher Fluid?

 

[davidscott]

I used to use a small dry record brush. I don't remember who manufactured it. I used to buy all my records from an audio hifi store that told customers to never use liquid on records. They sold small brushes from various brand names and a motorized record vac machine. I always used just a small soft record brush. No static afterwards either.

Me also. Never owned a record motorized vac machine.

 

[Squishman]

I think most of the threat ran its course and most folks with vast expertise in Vynil records already pitched in their suggestions, so forgive me for being off-topic, but am I the only one who read the title as "
Homemade Dishwasher Fluid?

That's true, but after a few replies, I am not looking into that now. My bottle of D4 ran out over the weekend so I was just looking for options. And as usual (usually ), this forum provided some good direction.

 

[-Jim-]

I used to be a nut when I was into Vinyl in my youth. I replaced inner sleeves in my Albums with "Angle" antistatic sleeves, had a "Dust" collector Tonearm gizmo, and of course used a Discwasher.

All this discussion made me think about it and I remembered I still have 2 Discwashers even though I still have only a few Albums as I went Digital ages ago. So I went into the storage room, where we keep stuff that probably should be recycled but we just can't part with it, and dug out one of them, still in a Ziplock Bag so the Fluid wouldn't evaporate -right next to our two Technics Turntables which haven't been used in ages either. Here a photo of it.

It still has the original Brush to clean it off and is 1/4 full! I used a Lint Brush to clean it, so I doubt it was cleaned any other way. This one is a bit dinged up as it was the first one I bought, but the other one is better but the bottle & cleaning brush are missing.

Of course I'd finish off the cleaning with a Zerostat like in the photo below.

I'm certain I still have it too somewhere in all that stuff!

 

[trochetier]

https://www.vinylengine.com/

Try the search box for cleaning solution.

 

[trochetier]

I used to be a nut when I was into Vinyl in my youth. I replaced inner sleeves in my Albums with "Angle" antistatic sleeves, had a "Dust" collector Tonearm gizmo, and of course used a Discwasher.

All this discussion made me think about it and I remembered I still have 2 Discwashers even though I still have only a few Albums as I went Digital ages ago. So I went into the storage room, where we keep stuff that probably should be recycled but we just can't part with it, and dug out one of them, still in a Ziplock Bag so the Fluid wouldn't evaporate -right next to our two Technics Turntables which haven't been used in ages either. Here a photo of it.
View attachment 68855

It still has the original Brush to clean it off and is 1/4 full! I used a Lint Brush to clean it, so I doubt it was cleaned any other way. This one is a bit dinged up as it was the first one I bought, but the other one is better but the bottle & cleaning brush are missing.

Of course I'd finish off the cleaning with a Zerostat like in the photo below.

I'm certain I still have it too somewhere in all that stuff!

I use a Dollar Store static dust cloth (similar to Swiffer) to very lightly wipe the LP on the TT just prior to playing. Seems to neutralize static too.

 

[Squishman]

Of course I'd finish off the cleaning with a Zerostat like in the photo below.

I'm certain I still have it too somewhere in all that stuff!

I remember those Zerostats. I never owned one.

 

[lovinthehd]

I thought it worked better when I used my Zerostat before the brush....I also still have the full set minus fluid (the stylus cleaning fluid bottle is empty, don't know why I kept it ). I tried to get the zerostat working again per a post I read in some audio group but it didn't stay working for long and after a couple more tries never got it to work again. I just keep it next to the tt and use the brush dry the few times in a year I use the tt.

 

[declanjames]

Does anyone know of a concoction to make Discwasher Fluid using distilled water? I wonder if pure distilled water would suffice. I ran out this morning. I bet this bottle is over 50 years old!

Pure distilled water alone might not be sufficient to make a proper Discwasher Fluid. A typical Discwasher Fluid consists of a mixture of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol helps to dissolve dirt and grime from the records while the distilled water ensures no residue is left behind.

To create a basic Discwasher Fluid at home, you can mix distilled water with isopropyl alcohol in a ratio of around 3:1 (water to alcohol). This ratio can be adjusted based on the cleaning strength you desire. Remember to mix the solution well before use.

Using this homemade solution can help you clean your records effectively without damaging them.

 

[-Jim-]

Pure distilled water alone might not be sufficient to make a proper Discwasher Fluid. A typical Discwasher Fluid consists of a mixture of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol helps to dissolve dirt and grime from the records while the distilled water ensures no residue is left behind.

To create a basic Discwasher Fluid at home, you can mix distilled water with isopropyl alcohol in a ratio of around 3:1 (water to alcohol). This ratio can be adjusted based on the cleaning strength you desire. Remember to mix the solution well before use.

Using this homemade solution can help you clean your records effectively without damaging them.

Some say to add a drop or two of Jet Dry to this solution.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

With all this discussion about this equipment, I'm sure glad I went digital.

 

[davidscott]

With all this discussion about this equipment, I'm sure glad I went digital.

 

[Squishman]

With all this discussion about this equipment, I'm sure glad I went digital.

I like vinyl over digital. Don't quiz me. I have no answers as to why. I just like vinyl.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

That's great.

I like digital over vinyl. It sounds really good and there's no mess to clean up before or after.