New DIY record cleaning fluid...

I read up on the wood glue thread yesterday evening.... that's one I'm going to have to try sometime. There are sample before and after files attached in that thread proving it does what the regular cleaning agents can't.

It works, and incredibly well. Prob is it's a pain and you have to wait a couple days to play your record while the glue dries. Best left to 'basket cases'.
 
My basic formula (it is no trade secret) is 1 gal distilled water, 1 qt (32 oz) 91% IPA, and 1 oz pure Triton X-100--so all you need to make it is a gal jug of distilled water, a quart of IPA, a shot glass to measure the Triton, and a clean bucket to mix it up in.

Triton X-100 (and other Tritons) is a common non-ionic surfactant used in a zillion household products (dish soap, laundry soap, hand/body soaps/shampoos, etc), so it is "safe" and readily available in pure/technical grade on Ebay or Amazon. Other similar surfactants are the Tergitols and Tweens--different brands/manufacturers, similar chemistry and uses. All a surfactant does is "make water wetter"--water is a universal highly-polar solvent, so all the surfactant does is reduce the surface tension of the water to make it more effective.

I make other solutions for different applications, containing "flocculants" to remove heavy grime, and Sporicidin to disinfect/kill mold and protect from re-infection.

I try to speak the truth--ask me any questions regarding the chemistry--keeps me on my toes.

savatage1973--BS, MS, PhD, DABT--my main "mentor" professor (with two PhD's and an MD) used to refer to them as bull-shit, more-shit and piled-higher-and-deeper--so that's what that's worth. I never figured out what to do with DABT. Spent too many years in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, and now own a construction company--go figure :crazy:
Thanks for sharing this with us.
 
Not sure why one seeks the 99% isopropyl. The extra water in the 70% isopropyl is nothing compared to the final dilution in this recipe.



100ml Filtered Water
0.4ml Prestone (optional?)
0.5ml Isopropyl 70%
0.6ml Dishwasher Liquid
 
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I prefer I part vinegar and 2 parts olive oil for a simple and healthy salad dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.
 
I’ve read of others using white vinegar in their cleaning solutions, some mixed with isopropyl alcohol and a surficant/detergent like Triton. Thing is, I haven’t read of positive, absolutely successful results with that combination. I’m actually tempted to try adding distilled vinegar to my cleaning recipe, ecxept that I don’t know what it may do to my Nitty Gritty.. Is that vinegar going to react with any metal inside the vacuum path? Or the fluid pump? Don’t know.
 
A few years ago I spent some time searching these forums for Diskwasher substitutes. Below I have reproduced of the formulas (Prestone = ethylene glycol):
A good search on the topic, for me, resulted in more than I wanted to know....

Discwasher Formula (not confirmed--from the internet)
Sodium Azide: 0.004%
Propylene Glycol: 0.005%
Surfactant: 0.075%
Distilled Water: 99.916%
 
Is that vinegar going to react with any metal inside the vacuum path? Or the fluid pump?

The primary "ingredient" in vinegar, that make vinegar taste "tart" or "bitter" is acetic acid--generally somewhere in the range of 3.5-10%. This will cause corrosion of metal parts--especially aluminum. I would not recommend it for use with bare metal surfaces.
 
I just got a bottle of the much vaunted "Groovinator".

Results so far are impressive.

Everyone, please take a look at the link in my sig if you have something to add, please do. WaynerN, I'd appreciate it if you could drop in and put this suggestion in there.

Onwardjames - Done!
 
I use Propylene Glycol for the humidor to allow moisture to NOT evaporate so quickly. Not sure that’s what LP cleaning needs.
 
@WaynerN thank you, sir! I have tried to compile every little trick I know for that darned old vinyl, lol.

Sorta off topic, but if you're a gearhead like me, plain old vinegar is excellent to remove rust from tools, and old machinery. However, it'll take off paint and chrome as well, so use wisely. Soak it for a week, and the rust comes right off.
 
I've heard Coca-cola can dissolve nails. Maybe we should try Coke instead of vinegar....it might clean the records to sing in perfect harmony. :biggrin:
 
Well, the vinegar is diluted even further from the bottle (which is also a plastic) with my 3 to 1 ratio. I'm going to keep using it. I've been cleaning all kinds of plastic/vinyl stuff in the house for decades, so I have no fear of it damaging the records.

If you don't think its a good idea, do what you want.

You rinse the records after cleaning with vinegar, I assume? Savatage made a lot of good points, to which I can attest as a trained biologist. Vinegar is essentially not much different from wine or beer, in other words, a concoction produced by microbes through biological processes, and biological processes are inherently messy.

That said, I find your idea intriguing, and as long as the records are rinsed in distilled water thoroughly after cleaning, I could see how this could work well. Although, I'm not sure about the properties of vinegar as a detergent. Alcohol does act as a (mild) detergent, which allows water to pick up hydrophobic contaminants, which is not possible without detergent (oil and water don't mix).

At this point, though, I have not found a reason to abandon my practice of using the Spinclean fluid. At my rate, it lasts me a very long time and costs a minimal fraction of the amount I spent on records.
 
@WaynerN thank you, sir! I have tried to compile every little trick I know for that darned old vinyl, lol.

Sorta off topic, but if you're a gearhead like me, plain old vinegar is excellent to remove rust from tools, and old machinery. However, it'll take off paint and chrome as well, so use wisely. Soak it for a week, and the rust comes right off.

Cleans coffee pots too. All kinds of mildew and mold off of shower curtains.
 
You rinse the records after cleaning with vinegar, I assume? Savatage made a lot of good points, to which I can attest as a trained biologist. Vinegar is essentially not much different from wine or beer, in other words, a concoction produced by microbes through biological processes, and biological processes are inherently messy.

That said, I find your idea intriguing, and as long as the records are rinsed in distilled water thoroughly after cleaning, I could see how this could work well. Although, I'm not sure about the properties of vinegar as a detergent. Alcohol does act as a (mild) detergent, which allows water to pick up hydrophobic contaminants, which is not possible without detergent (oil and water don't mix).

At this point, though, I have not found a reason to abandon my practice of using the Spinclean fluid. At my rate, it lasts me a very long time and costs a minimal fraction of the amount I spent on records.

No, there is no rinsing. This is a very mild solution, sprayed on an old Discwasher D4 brush (just to dampen) as a final clean in a 3 step process that has about 50 years of mileage on it. My record collection is noise free and many are "master tape" like quiet. I have lots of money stuck into this stuff.
 
Well, yesterday I ran into an awful sounding record (FM-City of Fear), which had lots of noise in it. I tried washing it to no avail. So I decided to go full strength with the vinegar. Pored some on and swirled it around the grooves with my paint brush. Let it soak for about 10 minutes. Rinsed the vinegar off of the LP, dried it off with an old cotton bath towel and set it aside to completely dry.

Some of you aren't going to like this part, but the record is basically noise free and micro details have emerged! Late last night I washed another one in vinegar (America - View from the Ground). Again, totally quiet and micro details.

Try it, you will be amazed.
 
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