Record Cleaning

Vinyl record cleaning basics

by Dr.Vince

Introduction:

One of the fun parts about vinyl record collecting is finding used LPs for little money at various flea
markets, thrift stores, garage sales, or music shops and bringing them home for a listen. Most bargain
finds are typically very dirty however, and must be cleaned before being played. This is not just for the
sake of removing pops and clicks during playback, but it also helps prevent permanent damage to the
vinyl record itself or, in the worst case, to your equipment. I’ve seen and heard hundreds of methods
for record cleaning but, as a research scientist and audiophile, I've found most of them unsatisfactory
and some downright reckless. Herein, I describe a four step method for thoroughly yet gently cleaning
vinyl records. I include a discussion of what is involved in each step so that one can understand the
logic behind the methods and more easily modify the procedure to suit their own needs.

Materials list:

1. Enzyme mix (>500,000U Protease/Amylase/Lipase per Liter) –see discussion

2. Homemade Cleaner (0.2% Triton X-100 in 0.5x TBE buffer, pH 8)

3. Distilled water

4. Spinclean and/or vacuum record cleaning device

Methods:

Step 1: Rough debris removal. Remove the record and discard the sleeve. Blast the record with a
high pressure spray faucet in the sink being careful to protect the label.

Step 2. Enzymatic treatment. Dilute the Enzyme mixture in water and apply evenly to record surface
with a pad or Spinclean. Let the enzyme work on the surface for 5-10 minutes at room temperature.
Rinse with high pressure water.

Step 3. Detergent wash. Apply Homemade Cleaner using a soft pad, working the fluid in the direction
of the grooves. Rinse with high pressure water.

Step 4. Final Rinse. Perform at least two rinses with pure distilled water. Use of a vacuum cleaning
machine is highly recommended here.
Let record completely air dry before playing or placing in new sleeve.

Discussion:

To understand how to best clean something, it is useful to understand what it is made of and what
sticks to it. Most LP music record discs are made of polyvinyl chloride polymer, better known as PVC,
a common plastic (Very early records, mostly 78’s were made of shellac resin and this method does not
apply to their care and cleaning). PVC itself is brittle, so softening agents or “plasticizers” (typically
phthalates) are typically incorporated into the unmodified PVC polymer. Other chemical agents (UV
stabilizers, impact modifiers, etc) can also be added. The modified PVC is heated and hydraulically
pressed between hot master plates that form the audio grooves in the surface. After cooling, the PVC
record is trimmed, inspected, and packaged for sale. While even new records can contain dust and
debris from the manufacturing process, the more the records are played and handled, the more dirty
they get. Phono styli wear vinyl down and essentially scrape particles of PVC about the surface. Dust
from the air deposits on the surface and binds to the PVC via electrostatic interactions. Oils, protein,
and sugars from human fingers and from the air also deposit on the surface and not only contribute to
helping dust and dirt accumulate, but also serve as food sources for colony formations by
microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. The microorganisms can be especially troublesome as their
secretions further attract debris and some have even been shown to physically degrade plasticized
PVC, causing permanent damage to the record. Even as a vinyl record is stored away it can accumulate
molds and debris from the paper sleeve or cover. Needless to say, with all these ills upon them,
contaminated records need to be cleaned, so what is the best method?

The first step is to remove any surface debris so that it doesn’t scratch or get ground into the record in
subsequent steps. This is an important first step and is most easily performed by simply blasting with a
spray faucet over the sink. Unless your water is extremely hard, tap water is fine at this stage, just
make sure it is cold to prevent warpage. Care must be taken to blast the grooved portion of the record
only and protect the label from getting soaked as it can get damaged (some labels and inks are more
sensitive than others). There are suction cups available to protect the label, but these are unnessesary if
you are careful and rotate the record in the stream at the proper angle. You can also accomplish this
task in a trough of standing water using a jerking up and down motion if you are having problems with
labels or need to use treated water. The ultimate method is to employ an ultrasonic washer to shake
loose debris, but these devices are rather costly.

The second and third steps are to remove adhered material. Clearly any cleaning method must be
effective at removing the primary contaminants: PVC particles, dust, dirt, organic compounds (oils,
protein, sugars), and microorganisms. Many of these contaminants can be solubilized with a detergent
and washed away with water, which is the basis for most commercial record cleaning solutions.
However, simple detergent washing is not enough to remove these items when tightly integrated into
the record. The deep grooves in vinyl records are perfect holding areas for contaminates so a physical
method must be employed to get in there. Even with scrubbing, some contaminates are not easy to
dislodge. Substantial help comes from the use of enzymes, particularly lipases, proteases, and amylase
that break down macromolecules like lipids (oils), proteins, and carbohydrates (sugars/starch),
respectively into smaller molecules that are more easily solubilized. Combinations of these
macromolecules are used by microorganisms for attachment so the enzyme treatment also helps
remove these contaminants. Hence, in Step 2 of my method, I treat the record with an enzyme mixture
made from an enzyme dietary supplement. You can use any enzyme supplement, just make sure it is in
capsulated form so you can empty it and that it contains at least a protease, a lipase, and a cellulase
(amylase). I use the Nexazyme brand (Bioprosper Labs) as it has these and many other enzymes that
are beneficial to removing contaminants as well as being relatively inexpensive (about $0.17/capsule
as of this writing). Whatever enzyme product you choose, it is preferred in dry form as the enzymes
retain their activity and you only need to use a small amount at a time. The contents of one Nexazyme
capsule is enough to make 1 Liter of enzyme fluid, just mix it in water. I do not recommend liquid
enzyme detergent mixtures like Sporacidin as they loose their activity on the shelf and they contain
chemical additives that we do not need to put on our records. Do not worry about enzymes harming the
vinyl. Their beauty is that they are specific and only attack their substrates: proteins, starch an oils.

Once broken down, the debris and enzymes must be removed. After rinsing most of the enzyme mix
away with water, I employ detergent along with physical disruption to make sure contaminants are
removed. Care must be taken to be gentle so as not to damage the vinyl. I recommend soft pads, non-
ionic detergent, and balanced pH. Brushes are useful for this, but they must be softer than the vinyl so
as not to produce scratches (e.g. Do not use a common scrubbing brush with strong plastic bristles).
Soft paint pads, microfiber velvet pads, or commercial record cleaning pads will accomplish the task,
just use separate ones for enzyme and for detergent.. For detergent, the most commonly available is
Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate, a.k.a. SDS or Sodium Lauryl sulfate (or coco-sulfate as it comes from
coconut and palm oils). You may recognize this as the first ingredient listed on your shampoo bottle,
but I do not recommend using shampoo or dish soap as they contain many other ingredients, including
perfumes and oils, that are not compatible with record cleaning. Though pure SDS is available and will
work, I prefer a non-ionic synthetic detergent like Triton X-100 (or the related Nonidet NP-40). Triton
X-100 is available on line and is the primary detergent used in many commercially sold record
cleaning solutions. Note: 100% Triton is very viscous and difficult to work with. I recommend starting
with a 10% stock solution for making your cleaner (this stock will be further diluted 1:50 in the
cleaner). To balance the pH, a buffer is used, though it is not entirely necessary. The most common
biological buffers are based on TRIS (tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane) as they are relatively
inexpensive and non toxic. Some of the interactions between contaminants are stabilized by mineral
ions like magnesium and calcium that are also present in tap water. To aid in their removal, an ion
chelating agent known as EDTA is useful. Hence, in Step 3 of the procedure, I use the detergent Triton
X-100 (at 0.2%) in TBE buffer (TRIS-Borate and EDTA at pH 8.0). A 10X stock solution of TBE can
be purchased inexpensively on-line and I dilute this 20-fold in the cleaner. This Homemade cleaning
solution is equivalent to many of the commercial record cleaning solutions that are popular and it can
be used for routine cleaning of no-so-dirty records where the enzymatic treatment step is skipped.
Commercial record cleaning agents are expensive and as a result, many people use them sparingly or
re-use solutions for multiple records. The Homemade cleaner is inexpensive enough to be used in
copious amounts so flood the record surface and use fresh for each record. The cleaner is best removed
with high pressure water.

A final rinse is needed to remove all traces of detergent and contaminants. Distilled water is best for
this purpose and it should be applied at least twice to take advantage of dilution. The best way to
perform this task is with a vacuum cleaning device. If you do not have a vacuum cleaner, you can
make a padded wand device attached to a Shop-Vac (many described on-line) or simply wipe the
record down with a microfiber cloth, but a good vacuum record cleaning machine is a great
investment. Do not use tap water for final rinsing as it contains dissolved ions (mineral salts) that can
leave damaging deposits on the record. Some people insist on adding a small amount of alcohol (5-
10% Ethanol or Isopropanol) to the rinse for a variety of reasons (claim it helps aid fluid dispersal,
debris removal, sterilization, and drying). Research has found that alcohol can leach out some of the
previously mentioned chemical agents that are incorporated into the PVC during the manufacturing
process. Whether this occurs at the prescribed low concentrations and brief exposures, or has any long-
term effects on the vinyl integrity is up for discussion. In any case, I highly recommend a pure
distilled water final rinse.

After complete drying, place the clean record into a new sleeve for protection. The old sleeve should
be considered contaminated and it belongs in the trash, unless it is of historical significance, in which
case it needs to be cleaned by a document preservation specialist. I recommend anti-static HDPE type
sleeves (e.g. Mobile Fidelity Original Master Sleeves). Do not use PVC as it can bind to the PVC
record over time. Paper is not recommended either as it holds moisture, hence, is conducive to
microorganism growth.

Finally, what about the album cover? It is dirty and likely smells of mildew, tobacco, or funky
Grandma’s house and must also be treated so as not to cause cross-contamination to records as they are
routinely handled simultaneously. Surface treatment is the first line of defense, and typically a diluted
soap or household cleaner is useful (Note: this will likely remove or smudge a bit of ink so do not use
this method on historically significant or valuable covers). The Sporacidin product, or a bit of your left
over enzyme mix diluted in detergent also works well on the covers. However, the best method to
remove smells and kill microbes is through the use of an ozone generator. Ozone (a.k.a. trioxygen), is
a powerful oxidant that is toxic to microorganisms and neutralizes odors. The album cover is placed in
a plastic tub and ozone from a generator (at least 3500mg/hr) is piped in for a 1 hour period. You can
easily find ozone generators on Amazon and elsewhere as they are routinely used in the flood
remediation and auto detailing industries. Make sure you gas the covers only, as high ozone can break
down PVC.

In practice, when I get home from a day of record buying, I will take a batch of 20 or so old LPs out of
their covers. The covers will go in a dish rack inside a plastic tub and I’ll start the ozone generator.
Then I’ll start removing records from their sleeves and start the wash protocol. By the time the records
are dry and in their new sleeves, the treated covers will be ready to receive them. Cheers!