To Clean or Not to Clean........That is the Question.

I think commonsense has to prevail - I only clean a record as and when I feel it needs it (loads of dust , fingermarks etc) with a proper record cleaning fluid and a vinyl duster. But use it sparingly. Remember, if a record does not need cleaning, leave well alone.

Regards the stylus, I have a little brush (these are purchased at any good music store).

Have you got a local record store?  I get every one of my Lp's cleaned as I buy them (unless new obviously), whether I buy them off tinternet or from my local record shop.

The local shop offers a record cleaning service for £2 per lp.  For this it is placed on the keith Monks (I think) record cleaner and then placed in a new inner sleeve with a protective PVC jacket for the whole album sleeve.  Very good VFM as well.  I often end up buying a few LP's whilst there as well, which get cleaned FOC.

Then after that its just good housekeeping with the records.

I used to take my second hand LPs to a record shop to get them cleaned on one of those machines - it cost me £1 for each LP. They did a great job.

 Then I got one of these

I clean all of the s/h ones on it now. I got 5 at a record fair on Saturday which will get the treatment soon

There are a number of suggestions here in this forum for how to mix your own replacement solution

Bye the way - I know someone who cleans his records with tap water - and says it does a great job

At the basic and value end you have some spray and wipe solutions - the Milty products are excellent in this regard. Nothing beats a proper wet vacuum record machine clean though and even new records can benefit from this as the stamper in production sometimes leaves a very thin film on the surface that a wet clean will remove.

Make sure to always brush your records before play with either something like the Pro-Ject Brush It or Milty Exstatic brush and keep your stylus clean - the Clearaudio Elixir of Sound is an inexpensive and effective stylus cleaner that'll keep dust and muck out of the grooves. 

Enjoy the music! 

Don't listen to the Stuburn Rega guys, but buy a record cleaner such as the Okki Nokki. After a clean up your records will be antistatic and free from dust and other contaminations. The needle will really enjoy this and you can actually hear a more clean soundquality in the form of bigger dynamics (s/n is better) and sweeter treble.

Robin 

Cheers Guys,

Well seeing as its my birthday in 6 weeks time....it looks like I know what I will be asking for

Bearing in mind I have been buying a lot of vinyl from charity shops recently....it certainly wouldnt do any harm to give them all a clean and then a quick brush before playing.

First of all, you need to prepare the entire area that you are going to use for the cleaning process. You need to properly cover the cooking area and other electronic gadgets so that they don't get damaged. cleaner poole