The Best Way to Clean Vinyl Records as told by Vinyl Bay 777

To ensure the best sound and least amount of wear on your records, it is essential that they are kept clean. Vinyl Bay 777 's rule of thumb is to never play an album until it has been sufficiently cleaned.

Here is Vinyl Bay 777 's tried and true method for liberating a record from all the dirt, dust, mold and fingerprints it may have acquired over the years - all without special fluid. We will show you a method that utilizes soap, water and a record brush.

For records with only light amounts of dust, we recommend just brushing them off with a carbon fiber brush before playback. As any record collector knows, only about 10% of used records actually come in that condition. For the other 90%, wash them off. Remember, the best cleaning in the world just removes all the dust and dirt. Some records will have scratches and groove wear. No amount of cleaning will fix this. So after cleaning, some record may sound “perfect” and others maybe not so much.


Vinyl Bay 777 's Step - By - Step Guide to Cleaning Your Records

Step 1: Gather Your Cleaning Supplies.
You'll need the following:
-A Basin of some kind
-Dish soap (any kind will work)
-A record cleaning brush/pad (Disc-washer style)
-A few washcloths
-A source of warm water
-A sink with faucet
-Records to wash
-A clean surface to put the records on (their cardboard sleeves)
-Two hands
-Towels to dry off the records

Step 2: Prepare Your Water

Put an extremely small amount of soap in the basin, and then fill it with about 3-4" of warm water. To activate the soap, stir it around with your hand while filling up the basin. Now place the basin on a counter top or other comfortable surface where you will be cleaning your records.

Step 3: Washing Your Records

Put a record in the basin, and turn it around by moving the edge with the palms of your hands (as to not touch the grooves). Once the whole surface of the record is wet, grab the record brush and get it wet. With one hand, hold the record (with your palm) and with the other, move the brush in a circular motion about 10 times. If you've got heavy grime, you might want to do more. After one side is clean, flip it over and repeat.

Step 4: Rinse Your Record

After you've gotten the record clean, put it in a sink and run some cold water over it, and turn the record with the palms of your hand. After one side is clean, flip it over and do the other. After it's clean, turn off the tap and let the water run off.

Step 5: Drying Your Record

Now that most of the water has run off, put a wash cloth in your hand, and grab the record with it. Now put another washcloth in the other hand, and grab the record.

With one hand, hold the record, and with the other, dry it off. Once it's dry, flip it over and do the other side (which should be almost dry by now). Once the record surface is dry, put the washcloths on the labels and press against them with your hand. This should get the labels dry. After the record is mostly dry, set it on top of it's cardboard sleeve, then place it somewhere and let it dry for an hour or so.

Vinyl Bay 777 hopes that your record is now sounding better than ever. Take a look in our store to find some more great music. We are constantly adding new Vinyl Records LPs and CDs into our collection. Check them out.

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