How to clean my vinyl records from the 60's?

Question

I have been told that to clean vinyl records it's as easy as washing them in soapy(detergent) and presumably rinsing them and drying them afterwards

Answer 1

I was told by a DJ many years ago that to clean records you should wash them in dishwashing detergent. Do not use a cloth, simply dip them through the detergent several times then rinse with clean water . To dry them, put a pencil through the hole in the centre and spin the record to flick the water off. DO NOT use a cloth as this may scratch. I never tried it myself as I had cassettes, not records.

Answer 2

I wouldn't use detergent to clean them, I use rubbing alcohol with a cotton ball.

Answer 3

Im unsure if you can still buy it or not but i have one and it is called metrosound as i have records too it removes the dust.it is made of a very hard rubber and on the outside is a velvet material like the womens skirts, blouses were made of you can buy the velvet at spotlight or a material shop and i suppose you would glue the velvet on to the rubber of the same size as it. but that is only if  you cant purchase one from any antique stores or vintage music sellers.

but if you can i highly reccommend the metrosound.

Answer 4

If you treasure your vinyl records like i do then the only way to clean them properly is with a Record Cleaning Machine.Records do indeed sound better than CD's and can be as quiet, but you can only help a record sound this good through the use of certain chemicals. The catch is they must be removed by suction, however that very act itself cleans it in a way nothing else can. You don't have to pay a fortune to buy one.Nitty Gritty make a basic model which you can buy at Music Direct for around $300.This is the one that i use to clean my LPs. They are sometimes for sale on eBay even cheaper.

If you can't afford or do not want a machine the other way is a combination of alcohol ,distilled water, and detergent ,but NOT dish washing  detergent which contains additives like lanolin to protect your hands. Something like window cleaner should do. But you need to buy or make 3 velvet brushes(1 narrow brush for applying the cleaning fluid, 2 wide brushes,1 to remove surface dust and 1 to dry the record with. This will improve your records but nowhere as good as a machine. I hope this helps. The process is rather long to clean them this way but i can tell you the steps in cleaning them if you want to know.

Answer 5

I just use a mild dish-washing detergent, lots of water...so soapy water...doesn't harm them at all.

Answer 6

A dish-washing detergent will not harm them just put a little in the basin and wipe records over then dry them but watch for fluff of th drying towel. ~~

Answer 7

Try the tips listed on this site! who knew that maintaining lp's was so crucial?!

http://www.squidoo.com/VinylRecordCleani...