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record cleaning, distilled or de-ionised water?

jamie123

jamie123

Active Member
hi guys,
ive rigged up an old turntable to clean my records using a vac tube(see pic).
im using the following recipe, 800m of distilled water,200m of Isopropyl alcohol and 5m of wetting agent.
my question is i picked up de-ionised water by mistake,i asked for distilled and was given it,saying it was the same,ive sinced found out its not the same so would you say its ok to use?
the records come out sounding great,i use a paint pad and then 2 rinses using the de-ionised water.
distilled water is very hard to get in the uk so its got to be ordered on line.
cheers,
j.

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That's all I've been using for a few years now. I buy it in 5 litre bottles at the supermarket.
 
Distilled and de-ionised are not the same, but the de-ionised will be fine for your purposes. In fact, it would be preferred since it will have less mineral content.
 
jamie123 said:
i bought 25 litres for £10 im glad its ok to use :D
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Wow. That should keep you going for a while :thmbsp:

I was buying IPA in 200ml sizes until I found a place where I could buy 100% in a 5 litre. I thought that would last me a lifetime but I'm down to under a litre now.

Glad to hear you've got a decent record cleaning system. I'm still DIY myself but it does the job necessary.
 
yeah i reckon im gonna use a fair bit as when you hear the results it keeps you cleaning more! its funny how some products are as common as muck in 1 country and hard to get in others.
ive used the glue method for a while now but had one record go bad after one session,it had bad distortion through one speaker even after wet cleaning so im playing safe now.
next on the list is static removal.
 
bhundu said:
That's all I've been using for a few years now. I buy it in 5 litre bottles at the supermarket.
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That's the place to get it.:thmbsp:

Just ask where (usually in the cleaning section, people use it in their irons)
Cheap as chips
 
thomo57 said:
That's the place to get it.:thmbsp:

Just ask where (usually in the cleaning section, people use it in their irons)
Cheap as chips
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Exactly Thomo. The isle with the dish detergents, laundry detergents and other household cleaning products. Mine has "Demineralised Water" in big letters and "De-ionised Water" in the product description. The legendary Magic Eraser is in the same isle (disclaimer: tried it and prefer a stylus brush I paid $15 for).
 
DI water is a better solvent and will leave fewer mineral deposits but shouldn't be left in contact with the vinyl for long periods of time. If you have a vacuum system you should be fine. There are a number of methods for making both, pre and post filtering, double distillation, etc. so a straight up comparison is hard to do. Distilled is easier to find and in very nearly as good, and usually cheaper unless you have access to a lab or factory that makes their own. The experts say distilled:
The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) recommends the use of nonionic, ethelyne oxide condensates surfactants to clean sound recordings. The CCI does not foresee long-term problems associated with the use of nonionic surfactants such as Tergitol. Tergitol 15-S-3 is an oil soluble surfactant and 15-S-9 is a water soluble surfactant. Combined they remove a wide range of dirt and greases and can safely be used on sound recordings. Use 0.25 part of Tergitol 15-S-3 and 0.25 parts of Tergitol 15-S-9 per 100 parts of distilled water.
 
Right now, I am cleaning my records with my shop vac with fantastic results. I tried all of the formulas, even Scrubbing Bubbles, and they simply do not work as well as my very powerful shop vac. The quietness of the recordings and the change in the sonic texture are very impressive.
 
im finding that too! although the vac creates static once finished.how do you find it?
the fluid im using seems to work just fine,i have heard good things about using Disc Doctor Miracle Record Cleaner,i might try that.
im also sure using paint pads doesn't get deep into the grooves so a better brush may be another option.
 
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Actually, you're sweating the small stuff with the water selection as regardless of what water you use, including tap water, there will be far, far less debris left in the groove than when you started.

Concentrations of minerals are so minute, that when one calculates the amount in a liter and then adjusts for the amount left behind on a wet record, the total possible deposit uniformly applied to the area of the walls of the groove in minuscule, and certainly much less than the mass of debris that was washed and flushed out.

That being said, distilled and de-ionized waters WILL reduce that amount by orders of magnitude, as will vacuuming to remove as much rinse as possible. But we're splitting hairs and being academic here, as I doubt few could hear the difference between properly rinsed LPs cleaned with tap water vs. distilled. Ditto stylus wear.

Compared to a 40 year old uncleaned LP, a tap water rinsed clean LP is hospital clean. And DI or distilled is even better.
 
What Andy said.

The idea that DI water can't be in contact with vinyl for long periods seems absurd to me. It comes in a vinyl bottle.
 
Lots of mis-information here.

Technically distilled and deionized water are not the same; however, for cleaning/rinsing vinyl there is no difference.

Leaving it on vinyl for a long period is not a problem!

One being a better solvent than the other is nonsense!

Jon
 
I use a Zerostat gun to first neutralize the vinyl's static charge, then I shop-vac about 2 record revolutions. There is no static build-up at all. I don't use any liquid to clean anymore because it's a waste of time to me. I don't think there is a brush made to really get into the grooves, or at least have any power to move anything lodged in the grooves. The shop-vac has left several older LPs completely noise free. It's kind of scarey.......
 
WaynerN said:
I use a Zerostat gun to first neutralize the vinyl's static charge, then I shop-vac about 2 record revolutions. There is no static build-up at all. I don't use any liquid to clean anymore because it's a waste of time to me. I don't think there is a brush made to really get into the grooves, or at least have any power to move anything lodged in the grooves. The shop-vac has left several older LPs completely noise free. It's kind of scarey.......
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So you think you can vacuum finger prints and smoke residue off the surface?

I don't think so! :no:

Jon
 
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