yes, RO water removes/reduces minerals. it ought to be ok. its been recommended by many guys too online. or you could rinse using plentiful RO from the purifier and a final rinse with distilled to be safe 
Suggestion for record cleaning Bath
- Thread starter mahiruha
- Start date
Hi Psychotropic
some Purifiers advertise Minerals are necessary for our health, thats why my doubt. If they remove minerals/chemicals thats good.
In RO Filters water is made pure by passing water through membrane which holds back minerals, solutes chemicals etc. while Distilling water requires boiling water and condensing steam generated from it.
I think threshold for cleaning vinyl should be how much passion/time/money you have. For me quick, best and easy method is ok.
I am also and we all should also be open to correction as we are never 100% sure of things we use.
Regards
some Purifiers advertise Minerals are necessary for our health, thats why my doubt. If they remove minerals/chemicals thats good.
In RO Filters water is made pure by passing water through membrane which holds back minerals, solutes chemicals etc. while Distilling water requires boiling water and condensing steam generated from it.
I think threshold for cleaning vinyl should be how much passion/time/money you have. For me quick, best and easy method is ok.
I am also and we all should also be open to correction as we are never 100% sure of things we use.
Regards
Hello Mahiruha
Here are my suggestions, hope you like it
(1) From pics it looks brush bristles are thick and long choose stiff, thin & thick bristles brush
(2) shortened brush on both side will clean both side of vinyl
(3) see if you can incoporate a water jet at bottom it will dislodge dust particle after scrubbing
(4) make two disk with center hole to cover record lable
Regards
Here are my suggestions, hope you like it
(1) From pics it looks brush bristles are thick and long choose stiff, thin & thick bristles brush
(2) shortened brush on both side will clean both side of vinyl
(3) see if you can incoporate a water jet at bottom it will dislodge dust particle after scrubbing
(4) make two disk with center hole to cover record lable
Regards
I wonder if even newborn babies are bathed with such care & consideration !yes, RO water removes/reduces minerals. it ought to be ok. its been recommended by many guys too online. or you could rinse using plentiful RO from the purifier and a final rinse with distilled to be safe
Hello,
this is a very interesting piece of literature on record cleaning. Sort of historical development in record cleaning. Rellay enjoyed the reading in a hot summer afternoon at office.
Cleaning Vinyl Methods
Thanks,
Mahiruha.
this is a very interesting piece of literature on record cleaning. Sort of historical development in record cleaning. Rellay enjoyed the reading in a hot summer afternoon at office.
Cleaning Vinyl Methods
Thanks,
Mahiruha.
no chance! there's no way any mother can compete with a vinyl nut
i've got a 3M micro fibre/granule scrub pad scratchless it says lets see how that does compared to velvet pads today!!!
shaizada
Active Member
If anyone here has a serious collection of LPs or even plan to have one, you must invest in a proper record cleaning machine.
See, many people have LPs that are irreplaceable. Then the cartridges can get very expensive as well and the last thing you want to do is destroy any such cartridge from record gunk stuck in the grooves.
If you're serious about taking care of your equipment and records, I would try to get some VPI cleaning machine or a Nitty Gritty cleaning machine.
The VPI 16.5 is an excellent buy and is what I am going to get in a week or so when my dealer gets back to me:
After an initial wash, one can use the carbon fiber brush (like that audioquest brush in the picture) to keep the dry dirt away from the stylus. I've heard many a popping and cracking record become mesmerizingly quiet after a proper cleaning through the VPI.
Most of my audio buddies here use it and one must get something if you're at a risk of an big record collection .
See, many people have LPs that are irreplaceable. Then the cartridges can get very expensive as well and the last thing you want to do is destroy any such cartridge from record gunk stuck in the grooves.
If you're serious about taking care of your equipment and records, I would try to get some VPI cleaning machine or a Nitty Gritty cleaning machine.
The VPI 16.5 is an excellent buy and is what I am going to get in a week or so when my dealer gets back to me:
After an initial wash, one can use the carbon fiber brush (like that audioquest brush in the picture) to keep the dry dirt away from the stylus. I've heard many a popping and cracking record become mesmerizingly quiet after a proper cleaning through the VPI.
Most of my audio buddies here use it and one must get something if you're at a risk of an big record collection .
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hi shaizada,
looks like you're another fan of single driver speakers and tube amps! the almarro is an el84 amp?
regarding rcms, i've had one record cleaned on a nitty gritty and was pretty disappointed. nothing compared to manual soaking and scrubbing. the lp didnt even look as clean as it comes out with manual cleaning.
i've found that there's also a lot of hype around these machines. nitty gritty for one claims no platform is there (unlike vpi) so the lp side that's just cleaned doesnt touch anything and get contaminated when you flip it over but they happily hide the fact that the same vac sweep brush that's scrubbing the vinyl is also touching the vinyl during the vacuum cycle! and there's no way you can brush off dirt from the vac sweep pad between cleaning and vacuuming cycle unless you unscrew the record which will become time consuming. there's also no way you can rinse on a nitty gritty unless you do it manually separately.
i subscribe to michael fremer's view point that a vacuum should only be used to soak up excess fluid not do the actual cleaning. that way the pad of the vacuum tube is touching only clean residual water.
between the two i prefer the vpi. you can get two vac tubes and switch em out for cleaning vacuum and final rinse vacuum. was thinking of getting one but will get a moth audio rcm later on. their diy kit works out cheaper to import to india.
right now using a homemade vacuum.
regards
looks like you're another fan of single driver speakers and tube amps! the almarro is an el84 amp?
regarding rcms, i've had one record cleaned on a nitty gritty and was pretty disappointed. nothing compared to manual soaking and scrubbing. the lp didnt even look as clean as it comes out with manual cleaning.
i've found that there's also a lot of hype around these machines. nitty gritty for one claims no platform is there (unlike vpi) so the lp side that's just cleaned doesnt touch anything and get contaminated when you flip it over but they happily hide the fact that the same vac sweep brush that's scrubbing the vinyl is also touching the vinyl during the vacuum cycle! and there's no way you can brush off dirt from the vac sweep pad between cleaning and vacuuming cycle unless you unscrew the record which will become time consuming. there's also no way you can rinse on a nitty gritty unless you do it manually separately.
i subscribe to michael fremer's view point that a vacuum should only be used to soak up excess fluid not do the actual cleaning. that way the pad of the vacuum tube is touching only clean residual water.
between the two i prefer the vpi. you can get two vac tubes and switch em out for cleaning vacuum and final rinse vacuum. was thinking of getting one but will get a moth audio rcm later on. their diy kit works out cheaper to import to india.
right now using a homemade vacuum.
regards
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tried something new last night. been having a niggling doubt that velvet is not enough to clean. so i got a scotch-brite non scratch scrub pad made by 3M. pink in colour with micro granule layer one side and sponge other side. used the granule layer to scrub the lp and man the difference is HUGE! the lps look cleaner and shinier and the sound is CRISP. if you've ever lived in the countryside and looked out after the first rains, you can see for miles and mile the air looks very clear cos the rains sort of wash away the floating dust in the air. its a very dramatic difference cos the air always seemed to look clear before. cleaning with the scotch brite pad was like this. i had cleaned ten lps before with velvet and ten with the scotch brite and i'm going back to reclean the velvet cleaned lps. its that big a difference.
the pad itself seems safe since no scratches happened. its nice and rough but not as rough as the normal dish cleaning pads. 20 bucks and its going to last for 100 lps at least.
i also apply cleaning fluid to the lps one after the other and soak them for 5 minutes then scrub.
mahiruha, you can try this instead of the brush you've got cos the bristles as hiten has pointed out will be fat. one more point with an lp bath container like you've made is that with each successive lp you clean the water gets dirtier and loses more of its cleaning power so you're cleaning lps with dirtier and dirtier water as you go along. point to ponder
the pad itself seems safe since no scratches happened. its nice and rough but not as rough as the normal dish cleaning pads. 20 bucks and its going to last for 100 lps at least.
i also apply cleaning fluid to the lps one after the other and soak them for 5 minutes then scrub.
mahiruha, you can try this instead of the brush you've got cos the bristles as hiten has pointed out will be fat. one more point with an lp bath container like you've made is that with each successive lp you clean the water gets dirtier and loses more of its cleaning power so you're cleaning lps with dirtier and dirtier water as you go along. point to ponder
Hello Stevieboy,
thanks for your suggestion. Today I will be getting some used LPS and definitely try it out on them. Just to double check are you pointing towards this.
3M India: Non-Scratch Scrub
Your hunch regarding the record cleaning bath is true. I was changing water every 5 lps just to get read of of the accumulated dust. Also there is another problem is how much detergent needs to be added to 5 litres of water to get a solution of even density. I need to research a bit on that. But every research has its own good outcomes also. I play lot of snooker and also need to clean the snooker balls. I find this distilled water isopropyl alcohol mixture does wonder to snooker balls they behave very well after cleaning.
Thanks,
Mahiruha.
thanks for your suggestion. Today I will be getting some used LPS and definitely try it out on them. Just to double check are you pointing towards this.
3M India: Non-Scratch Scrub
Your hunch regarding the record cleaning bath is true. I was changing water every 5 lps just to get read of of the accumulated dust. Also there is another problem is how much detergent needs to be added to 5 litres of water to get a solution of even density. I need to research a bit on that. But every research has its own good outcomes also. I play lot of snooker and also need to clean the snooker balls. I find this distilled water isopropyl alcohol mixture does wonder to snooker balls they behave very well after cleaning.
Thanks,
Mahiruha.
Hello Kamal,
well I am sure they are but the difference is the for them only post cleaning visual appearance matters. Mothers don't put them under a stylus to see how do they sound.:lol: I am benefitted greatly by the baby cleaning equipments . My sister has two little kids and there are few small tubs and baby shampoo in my house. As she is in bangalore most of the time , I am making full use of those tubs and shampoo to clean lps. I found Jhonson baby shampoo to be quite good.
Thanks,
Mahiruha.
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hi mahiruha,
yup thats the one!!! feel free with the detergent you should get a decent lather up since anyway you're rinsing. snooker cool! if you were in bangalore we could have got together and played a few frames. i'm not much mind you
but i enjoy the snooker/pool.
regards
shaizada
Active Member
Hey guys,
I've been using the VPI 16.5 for about 2 weeks. This thing is absolutely awesome in what it does. I can go buy $1 or $2 used records out there, put them through the RCM and voila! Nice, quiet surfaces.
The VPI cleaning fluid that came with it was decent, but I bought a bottle of L'art du son and this thing really is so much better at getting those annoying pops and crackles. Here is a review of this cleaner:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue12/LArtduSon.htm
I've been using the VPI 16.5 for about 2 weeks. This thing is absolutely awesome in what it does. I can go buy $1 or $2 used records out there, put them through the RCM and voila! Nice, quiet surfaces.
The VPI cleaning fluid that came with it was decent, but I bought a bottle of L'art du son and this thing really is so much better at getting those annoying pops and crackles. Here is a review of this cleaner:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue12/LArtduSon.htm
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shaizada
Active Member
Here is a picture of the cleaner next to my table. Quite convenient...clean and then play (sorry for the crappy iPhone picture):
Hello Steven,
as per ur suggestion I tried to buy this product in Calcutta but to my surprize it isn't available here. Hence I have decided to ask my sister to get it for me from Bangalore. Could you please tell me where did u get them?
thanks,
Mahiruha
soulforged
Well-Known Member
okay...here's my $0.02...hope i'm not flogging a dead horse...
not sure abt soap or detergents as they tend to leave a sonic residue...and need to be careful with the brush you use...they could damage the grooves...
Prithvi from Absolute Phase provides LP cleaning service as well...if you have some records you really wanna keep, i'd strongly recommend taking it to him...he can also get you the anti-stat brushes...but can they be used for wet-cleaning?
here's what I do...
another thing...pls make sure you have inner sleeves for your records. they really help preserving the records.
not sure abt soap or detergents as they tend to leave a sonic residue...and need to be careful with the brush you use...they could damage the grooves...
Prithvi from Absolute Phase provides LP cleaning service as well...if you have some records you really wanna keep, i'd strongly recommend taking it to him...he can also get you the anti-stat brushes...but can they be used for wet-cleaning?
here's what I do...
- spread kitchen towels on the dining table and place the LP on them
- Spray them with a mix of 80% distilled water, 20% isopropyl alcohol and a drop or two of Kodak Photoflo which acts as a surfactant
- scrub with MoFi wet cleaning brush (picked up from elusivedisc.com). Like steve pointed out, you could also use microfibre cloth (there's another scotch-brite model that comes as spex cleaning cloth) or velvet but ensure that they are lint free
- rinse thoroughly with distilled water. wish i had some hand-shower like contraption...right now i just squirt from a bottle
- leave the LP to dry
another thing...pls make sure you have inner sleeves for your records. they really help preserving the records.
neigh neigh let me lie in peace! 
souforged no microfibre for scrubbing i just use it for wiping it after each stage. microfibre cloths pick up dirt and keep the particles in the microfibres so scrubbing might scratch the lp.
antistat brushes no good for cleaning. too soft!
souforged no microfibre for scrubbing i just use it for wiping it after each stage. microfibre cloths pick up dirt and keep the particles in the microfibres so scrubbing might scratch the lp.
antistat brushes no good for cleaning. too soft!
Here is a picture of the cleaner next to my table. Quite convenient...clean and then play (sorry for the crappy iPhone picture):
Hi shaizada,
I am really thinking about taking the plunge with VPI classic along with this HW-16.5 cleaning machine. Can you tell me what sort of time does it take to clean a record beafore it is ready to be played. What is your satisfaction level with the quality of cleaning.
Thanks.
shaizada
Active Member
It takes about 2 minutes or less to clean a record and play. Now the quality of the cleaning depends on the fluids used and the cleaning technique applied. You can get the surfaces really quite and even make the sound quality better.
Currently I use L'art Du Son which is absolutely fantastic. One bottle makes about 1 gallon of cleaning solution which lasts for a very long time. Next time, I'm going to try the Record Research Labs stuff of the Mobile Fidelity cleaning stuff. Just to change it up a bit.
Also, I like to actually scrub the LP back and forth while it is spinning on the RCM with the nylon brush that is supplied. Really digs into the grooves and scrubs out the grime.
I love the 16.5 as it really gets the job done....VERY satisfied with it. Only complaint is it get a tad bit loud, so can't clean records at night
But I'm nitpicking. It's a fabulous machine and a must have for any vinyl junkie. Follow HiFiMART on Instagram for offers, deals and FREE giveaways!
