The question of how to clean vinyl records may have crossed your mind at one point or another. In my experience, people ask this question more often after buying or discovering that a favorite album has been scratched, damaged or even lost all together. While some albums are made to be played, many others are meant to be displayed. So, when it comes to how to clean vinyl records the first thing you need to keep in mind is the type of album you own.
The best compromise between price and not causing harm to your delicate records is to make use of distilled, eco-friendly water with a small amount of cleansing solution (or dish soap) mixed into it. This is covered in your record collection guide section below. But first, let’s discuss how to clean vinyl records.
How to Clean Vinyl Records If you’re looking for a truly organic means of de-stressing from your stressful day at work and yet still want to preserve your favorite albums for posterity, a great de-stressing answer lies in cleaning your records at home. De-stressing at home is as easy as storing your records on a quality record storage unit which is hung on your wall. Your record storage unit doesn’t have to be anything fancy; in fact, some standard record storage units that you can pick up for less than $30 can serve the purpose just fine. These units can store your albums in a dust free environment, yet they are still sturdy and extremely functional.
If you don’t have any sort of proper record storage unit in place, you will also want to consider purchasing a dust-free and air tight album rack to store your vinyl records. Dust-free albums prevent dust from collecting on your records thus preserving your music longer. An air tight album rack lets all dust and debris pass through the record keeping machine with minimal interference thus helping to keep your music pristine. An airtight album rack should be stored in a closet or other space which is out of the way of normal household dust so that the dust doesn’t get trapped on the unit and cause damage. An airtight album rack is the ultimate solution for cleaning your old vinyl records and a great gift idea too!
Step Three: The third step to cleaning your old vinyls is to gently wipe the dirt and dust off of the front cover. To remove the grime, you can use a soft or damp cloth dipped in turpentine or club soda. Be careful not to scrub the surface where the original records were released as this may cause scratches. If you need to leave the records lay for a long time it would be okay to cover them with plastic wrap or a light colored sheet of plastic so that dust won’t get trapped inside.
Step Four: The final step is to rinse the records off with hot, clean water. Never use rubbing alcohol to wash them as this will ruin the lacquer. It’s okay to leave the records lay for a few minutes to let all the water drain out of them. Let them dry with the help of a fan. You should never use the driest because this will cause the residue left behind by the previous cleaning process to come back into play. Once the records are all dried you can then store them in an album and make sure you put the care label on them before storing away.