Hi again Vince. This tread has some valuable information, thank you. I purchased some 99.5% titration grade Isopropyl. Don't know what they are checking it against to call it titration, but they do list the ppm of the impurities. My question has to do with the expiration date. Do I need to use it up before the date for record cleaning purposes? Also,any concern for Triton X-100 or Tergitol expiring?
No. The isopropanol will not go bad, just keep the lid tightly closed so it doesn't absorb water from the air or evaporate. You can keep it for years. The detergents can oxidize with time, but nothing to worry about for our uses. You can keep them for years as well, tightly closed and out of sunlight. You got some high grade stuff there! The "titration" label is just a grade, certified for use in titration experiments (its used to titrate fats). You'll also find IPA grade (for immunoprecipitation experiments), Molecular grade (for things like DNA precipitation) and others. These high grades are important in scientific experiments but not at all necessary for record cleaning. Just get the highest percent alcohol you can find at the best price.
Avfan: Great tip on using a toothpick. I've actually fixed a skip in a record before with a pin, but it wasn't pretty.
bhebble: I don't know what the original Dishwasher formula was, but remember they had a few D solutions. One was just water, and one was water with isopropanol. Another, D3 I think, had a surfactant, ethylene glycol, and sodium azide (preservative). We could dig around and probably find out, but I bet
Steve Chase knows and can chime in since his venture is to improve on their technologies. I know the new copies by RCA and the like simply provide distilled water. Remember that the original device was really only useful to spruce up clean records. It was never useful to clean the oldy moldy. Biggest problem is that there is no where for the grime to go except onto the brush, which is subsequently used to grind it into the next record. Yeah, you could remove large particles by reversing the pad bristle direction, but what about the oils, etc.? Solubilized contaminants need to be rinsed away. There's no getting around this. The Dishwasher is akin to using the same rag to wash tables in a restaurant. Eventually, your rag is dirtier than the table.
There is a role for DRY brushes (like the carbon fiber ones), as they can remove large dust and particles from previously cleaned records prior to playing. Once you go liquid, you need to remove what has been solubilized.
