Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner for cleaning vinyl with amazing results.

Elitemav said:
I was thinking this foam soap scum and mold cleaner would probably work awesome on vinyl but I didn't want to try it on a good record. I got a record that I couldn't even listen to it had so many loud pops and clicks and I cleaned the hell out of it with everything including my spin clean several times and it didn't work so I tried my buddys RCM and it still sounded horrible but the record is out of print and hard to find so I decided to try this last thing and spray it with scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner foam and then rinse and dry. I propped the record kind of sideways resting on a towel and sprayed one side with foam and let the bubbles clean through the grooves for 5 mins then rinsed and flipped over and did the other side then rinsed and dried. I was amazed the record was super clean and was dead quiet with no clicks or pops and sounded really good when before I couldn't even hear the music. it did however kind of fade the labels slightly so I would use a label protector next time. now I wouldn't use this as a dedicated cleaner because it may cause problems for the record over time if you keep using it but it may not also. I figure if you have a stubborn record that seems like it just cant be cleaned to clean it with this and then continue to use your normal cleaning methods afterwards. anyways I got amazing results with this and am happy I can finally listen to my record and I recorded it to flac files as a back up :music:

scrubbingbubblesbathroo.jpg
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Which one is which?
I'm on my way to nearest target or walmart now.
Can't wait to clean some old noisy records.
full_foaming_bathroom.jpg


I love playing with chemicals, especially the dangerous ones!
:banana::banana::banana:
 
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OK, so just spent half an hour trying to get details on what's in the product I have including a search on their website that DOES NOT SHOW THIS PRODUCT:

picture.php


Nothing on the bottle except Lactic Acid.....1.77%, Inert Ingredients: 98.23% so I called SCJohnson who were highly unhelpful and told me "we do not have that information" after I told them I was going to use it on records. She said "we do NOT recommend using the product in any manner that is not specified on the bottle." When I pointed out to her that "vinyl" is on the bottle, she seemed a little miffed and quipped back with "that is not the vinyl the bottle is referring to...." In any case, still don't have the ingredients list so if anyone does, or has found it, does it indeed have DGBE in it? Would like to know....thanks.
 
The "vinyl" they are talking about in the list is not PVC with plasticizers and cut data grooves. There are other chemicals and combinations of said chemicals in there that could eventually do harm to records.
 
Nat said:
There is a middle ground here -- there are garden variety records that are unplayable because of crud in the grooves (bong water soaked copies of Surrealistic Pillow come to mind), and Discwashers and the like don't accomplish much. In such cases, what do you have to lose?
But a rare record, or one that is only slightly gummed up, maybe justifies a different approach than Scrubbing Bubbles, just in case.
But let's be serious -- future generations probably aren't going to bemoan the loss of even the most pristine copy of Parallel Lines, or even the Sundazed pressing of Surrealistic Pillow. As devoted as I am to record players, I doubt if my collection of vinyl will be worshiped by my descendents. So if I mar the archival properties of my records, probably no one will care other than me, and I want to listen to my records now, and without too much grunge.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I bought a bottle of SB, the green pump with citrus scent picture posted earlier, and tried it on some two dozen thrift finds. Works wonderfully. Quiet record surface, clean looking and lemon fresh too. :yes:

I can't say I really care if these albums turn to mush next month or next century because of my using it. I just want to listen to good music reproduced well as quickly as I can and without fuss. :smoke:

Gerard
 
F4%@ Yeah! This is the beez kneez! I have acquired so many free/cheap albums, but have been unable to enjoy them because of the "uncleanable" crap deep in the grooves. This indeed does the job, quite well. This has made my day. And my yesterday.
 
OK. Reporting back.

I didn't clean "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" and "Vivaldi: The Four Seasons" I instead tried these two albums:

I used this on a used "Bob Dylan CBS John Wesley Harding" English import AND "THE BEATLES White Album" Japanese import.

RESULT: GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Clean, quiet background so far. No complaints. Very clean and shiny finish.

I'm sold. This is only my opinion.
 
happy for ya, jmchrislip!

Some will no doubt complain, as if those are the cup of Christ, but I say make 'em clean and enjoy them.
 
I got 3 classical records at a thrift a month or so ago, dollar a piece, that nothing worked on, they were just noisy. So I figured why not try Scrubbing Bubbles. Bought a can of the green top foaming can and went to work. I covered the side one good and worked it very lightly with a paint pad and then vacuumed it off. Same with the other side and then rinsed the record off well with the reverse osmosis tap. Nice quiet records except for a few places with groove damage. I am going to run them through the Spin Clean with distilled water today just to make sure all the residue, if any, is gone.
 
After reading this thread I decided to try SB. Four years ago I purchased the UK Bronze reissue of the first Uriah Heep album. It is visually EX. I never got around to cleaning or playing it until last week. Well, after my usual hand cleaning method I was dismayed to hear a VG/VG+ player. After cleaning with SB first I was able to actually see some groove damage at the beginnings of both sides. I hadn't seen this previously. Those VG playing areas now play better, VG+. The rest of the album that play graded VG+ now play grades EX. Also, I decided to try something else. I made no effort to protect the label. I sprayed the SB all around the grooves then placed the album on a towel. I let the SB soak for a few minutes then went over the surface of the record with a wet sponge. This got some SB on the label. Then I took the LP over to the sink and ran water over the entire record including the label. The label dried perfectly in 15 minutes with absolutely no evidence whatsoever of it ever being wet.
 
I use SB also and my results have been excellent and I just spray it on and hose it off, chase it with distilled water & dry. Been on a new record buying binge lately so I haven't used SB for a while. Yesterday my youngest son took me to a used record store where the vinyl is filthy. Bought 5 3 dollar record's that showed promise. Cleaned them this morning. So far, as usual, fantastic. To me, it's amazing how so many complain about clicks & pops. I have none and have cleaned over 400 lp's with SB. Makes it real hard to spend $600 on a RCM. YMMV.
 
Mr.White said:
After reading this thread I decided to try SB. Four years ago I purchased the UK Bronze reissue of the first Uriah Heep album. It is visually EX. I never got around to cleaning or playing it until last week. Well, after my usual hand cleaning method I was dismayed to hear a VG/VG+ player. After cleaning with SB first I was able to actually see some groove damage at the beginnings of both sides. I hadn't seen this previously. Those VG playing areas now play better, VG+. The rest of the album that play graded VG+ now play grades EX. Also, I decided to try something else. I made no effort to protect the label. I sprayed the SB all around the grooves then placed the album on a towel. I let the SB soak for a few minutes then went over the surface of the record with a wet sponge. This got some SB on the label. Then I took the LP over to the sink and ran water over the entire record including the label. The label dried perfectly in 15 minutes with absolutely no evidence whatsoever of it ever being wet.
Click to expand...

Pick up a couple 4" dent pullers from harbor freight for a couple bucks each. Clamp em on each side and...presto...your labels are protected. Also you have a way to hold the records too. Or, go nuts and use a suction cup clamp/vice and then you're hands free - been doing this for years and its awesome.
 
holyman772 said:
Pick up a couple 4" dent pullers from harbor freight for a couple bucks each. Clamp em on each side and...presto...your labels are protected. Also you have a way to hold the records too. Or, go nuts and use a suction cup clamp/vice and then you're hands free - been doing this for years and its awesome.
Click to expand...

I decided on the Groovmaster label protector. Great device!
 
rothwellaudio said:
There seems to be quite a range of products under the Scrubbing Bubbles name
http://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/en-us/products-by-brand/scrubbing-bubbles.aspx
which one is the one to try?

And is there an equivalent available in the UK? Sorry if this question has been asked already but I couldn't face reading all 19 pages of the thread.
Click to expand...
I use CIF bathroom cleaner spray (blue label, £1 in Iceland, usual disclaimer applies ) .
I've cleaned many records this way over the last few years with no adverse effect. I had a stack of 7" 45s that were simply unbearable to listen to..around 50 in total, they all cleaned up perfectly in some cases with a 80% reduction in surface noise with just a little groove wear left from whatever they were played on many years ago..(probably some record changer.
For records that respond to nothing else, it's well worth a try.
The best result I got was from a double Street Sound Electro Album that had probably been cleaned with Johnson furniture wax by some aspiring DJ back in the early 80s. All four sides were terrible... with visible gunk being left on the stylus after just a few seconds play..
CIF bathroom cleaner spray shifted everything...leaving the surface with that 'new' vinyl sheen.
No damage that I can 'hear' after a few years and it plays as if it was new.
As a precaution , I think this is a once only treatment for the records that respond to nothing else. A good rinse is recommended to shift any chemical residue. Beyond that , just keep them clean with a good carbon fibre brush like the Hunt EDA mkII
 
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