There are those who want you to believe that collecting and enjoying vinyl records is an expensive hobby and is not worth pursuing unless you're willing to dump hundreds if not thousands of dollars into hi-fi equipment, audiophile sleeves, high end cartridges, and so on. There's plenty to occupy those gatekeepers, but the truth is enjoying your vinyl records does not have to be an expensive hobby.
I won't spend time here going into turntables, cartridges, and hi-fi equipment because that's a deep rabbit hole that could spawn multiple blogs in its own right, so today we're just going to focus on some simple, inexpensive things you can do to take care of your records. And make no mistake, taking care of your records isn't just about prolonging their life, it's about getting more enjoyment out of them right now.
Cleaning & Maintaining Your Albums
There are a lot of simple things you can do to improve your vinyl listening experience, but the one thing that I find many casual collectors never do is clean their albums. This does not mean you need to purchase a multi-hundred dollar ultrasonic or vacuum record cleaner (though, for transparency, they do an incredible job). Let's talk about a few inexpensive methods for cleaning and maintaining your records.
+ Dusting and Maintaining New Albums or Albums Already Cleaned
If you buy mostly new albums or you're looking for tips to maintain your albums that you (or someone else) has already cleaned, I highly recommend investing in a dual action record brush, meaning a record brush that has carbon fiber, anti-static brush fibers on the outside (two rows total, one per side) and, in-between, a velvet or felt pad. These brushes will typically cost you $25-35 but are well worth the price -- what is equivalent these days to price of just one new album. If I am pulling an album from my shelf that I know has already been deep cleaned, I use one of these brushes on every record I spin, each side. I use this method:
Once placing the record on the platter, I let it begin spinning and hold the first row of carbon fiber brushes to the album. I hold this to the record for two full turns and then I angle the brush so that the center felt or velvet pad is making full contact with the record, which I hold against the LP for three full turns. Finally, I pivot to the back row of carbon fiber brushes, hold that to the LP for two more full turns, and then sweep that row of fibers to the outer edge of the record and off the edge. This prevents leaving behind a fine line of dust if you were to just lift it off the record. I repeat this process on side B once I have finished listening to the first side.
It is inevitable that every LP is going to accumulate some dust between plays or even from just making contact with your slip mat or platter, and you'll be pleasantly surprised how much such a simple ritual can improve the sound quality of your albums for every spin.
And of course it should go without saying, each time you finish listening to an album, place it back in its inner sleeve to prevent the accumulation of dust, animal hair, etc. from settling on the surface of your LP.
Even brand new albums from which you've just removed the cellophane need this dusting treatment, and I would argue that new LPs should even be wet cleaned before playing -- especially color vinyl which seems to always have more material remaining on it from the pressing process -- but at the very least I suggest this dual action record brush treatment before giving it its first spin. The result will be much more appealing to the ear.
Audio-Technica makes a great dual action brush we used to carry at the store: AT6013A is the model number.
Every album should always be handled without putting your fingers on the actual playing surface of the record. You may think that your hands are clean and it's not that big a deal, but your fingers naturally have oil at all times, and that oil transfers to the album the moment you touch it. This oil collects and traps dust and will undoubtedly degrade your listening experience. And while these fingerprint smudges are certainly removable, a dual action brush like the one mentioned above is not going to do the trick; a wet application will be required, which leads us to our next topic...
+ Wet Cleaning Your Albums
If you purchase used albums or you find that some or all of your new albums are playing with more noise than you would anticipate, then you need to wet clean your albums before playing them. Typically, if effectively cleaned, an album really only needs one good wet cleaning, and the positive result of that could last for a very long time.
If you're willing to invest in an apparatus, I recommend the SpinClean. There are similar designs on the market for cheaper but I have tried a few of those and I find that the SpinClean, for whatever reason, just does a really smashing job of cleaning your albums deep down into the grooves. The SpinClean does have its negatives, the chief amongst them that using it is the equivalent of giving your album a bath. And while this is great, no matter how fast you look to remove your cleaned album from the SpinClean reservoir once you've finished rotating it, water will sometimes trail over the label simply by gravity. A quick dab with a microfiber cloth will usually remove this water with no ill effect, certain types of paper labels are more susceptible to leaving behind some sign that it has gotten wet, whether it's ink streaking or a minor bubbling of the paper on the label. But if you can find a way to prevent this, or to quickly dry your labels with no ill effects when t does happen, my experience is that the SpinClean is absolutely the best wet clean solution on the market for less than $100 (they typically retail for $79.99).
But the truth is you can wet clean your albums with something as simple as a small spray bottle and a microfiber cloth or even a paper towel. Continue reading for more on this cost effective method.
Record Cleaning Solution: There are countless record cleaning fluids on the market and I doubt you can really go wrong with any of them. I am not going to champion any brand over another. The classic choice is Dishwasher D4+ cleaning solution but VinylStyl makes a comparable solution for slightly cheaper as does Big Fudge, Groovy, Audio-Technica, and countless other companies.
I have made my own solution for years now and the formula has remained the same for nearly as long. It is 1 part Finish Dishwasher Rinse Aid, 1 part 91% isopropyl alcohol, and 8 parts distilled water. I am not going to claim it is the perfect solution and cannot be improved upon, but it has been a very effective and simple mix for me for many years with great results.
If you are applying this solution (or any solution) to an album with a spray bottle, I like to spray each quarter of the album -- top, right, bottom, left. If you're using a bottle that applies in more of a stream or drizzle, I like to go all the way around the record a couple times with a thin stream. One circle nearer the outer edge, then a second circle toward the inner portion of the record. Then to actually spread and apply the solution, you can use either a microfiber cloth (you can find packs of 3 microfiber cloths at your local Dollar Tree for $1.25, so very inexpensive), or you can even just use a folded paper towel. I will be creating an article on this page to tell you how Underdog Records cleans all its albums it sells -- which is a multi-part process -- but I still use paper towels at one stage of the cleaning process myself. I currently use Bounty brand but I have also used just generic brands from the grocery store to no ill effect. Do not use toilet paper or Kleenex. They may seem softer but they leave behind a fine dust and Kleenex could even potentially leave behind an invisible layer of aloe or other treatment unintended.
Just go around the surface of the album several times until you can tell that the fluid has reached all playing surfaces of the album, and I recommend making sure to give a little extra attention to the very outer edge of the LP, as this is often the dirtiest part of the record, and the noisiest as well. Let the side of the LP you've cleaned fully dry before you flip it to do the same to the other side. I recommend laying out a microfiber cloth to clean on top of, a soft towel, or even just a couple paper towels. Do not clean on top of your album cover or inner sleeve a) because you don't want to accidentally transfer moisture to those things, but more importantly, b) you will inevitably transfer dust right back onto your just cleaned record when you flip it to clean the other side.
Finally, any time you wet clean an album, once it is done and has fully dried -- whether you're immediately playing it or not -- I do recommend placing it in a brand new inner sleeve, especially if it's a used record. Plain white paper sleeves are fine and you can buy packs of them pretty inexpensively, or you can check with your local record store and see if they'll sell you a handful for a quarter each or less -- many will and we certainly used to at Underdog. If you don't mind investing a bit more, you can find a lot of audiophile, anti-static inner sleeves on the market. Mobile Fidelity (aka MoFi) makes the most popular one but -- to be honest with you -- I find them to be over-priced and subpar to some others on the market. My favorite brand for these sleeves are the Vinyl Styl archival inner sleeves, but Square Deal also makes some good ones that I have used extensively.
One more quick word on inner sleeves. A lot of brand new albums come with printed, slick inner sleeves. By slick, I mean the actual texture of the printed inner sleeves are glossy. If your new album has come with inner sleeves that are glossy and slick on the inside -- the part of the sleeve that physically touches your album -- I highly, highly recommend replacing them. You can obviously keep the original inner sleeves -- just tuck them inside the cover -- but I have experienced over and over that these are horrible for your albums, create many micro-scratches, and definitely cause surface noise that no amount of cleaning will remove.
+ Cleaning Your Stylus
The tip of your needle also acts as a bit of a dust collector, and while it's traveling through the deep recesses of the grooves of your album, it's coming in contact with all that dust, dirt, and grime that has settled into those deepest ravines. Inevitably, dust is going to build on the tip of your stylus and you're going to need to clean it off. There are a lot of solutions for this on the market and I tend to recommend the gel style cleaners over the stylus cleaning brushes.
These work as an upward facing gel that you simply let your needle drop into, typically repeating the process two or three times to fully clean any grime off your needle. If you are experiencing distortion, or just if you haven't been cleaning your needle with regularity (or at all), then this is a process you definitely need to add to your ritual. These stylus cleaners are inexpensive, typically something like $15-25 depending on the brand, and they'll not only extend the life of your stylus but also improve the quality of your listening experience.
+ When to Replace Your Stylus
A very common question I received in the store from customers is: when do I need to replace my stylus? My answer has always been that your stylus will usually let you know. If your records still sound strong and clear, I would not worry about replacing your stylus, even if you feel like you've had the same one for a long time. There are a couple things you may begin to notice when it is time to replace your stylus.
One is that the high ends may stop sounding as sharp. An example may be that the 's's in lyrics, or the cymbal crashes of the drums. If these start to sound a little distorted instead of so sharp, then it's possible it's time to replace your stylus (or your stylus may just need a good cleaning, so see above about cleaning your stylus). Another common sign that your stylus is ready to be replaced is what they call Inner Groove Distortion, or IGD. This means that the final portion of your album -- the last track or so -- begins to sound distorted. This will typically be pretty obvious, so if you're not sure, it's probably placebo effect and not actually happening. Finally, if your tonearm begins to stop tracking properly and just wants to skate across the record -- assuming nothing has happened to your counterweight / tracking force -- it is definitely time to replace your stylus.
These very simple steps, none of which cost very much money with the exception of maybe investing in a SpinClean for around $79.99, can graduate a mildly fulfilling hobby into an incredibly rewarding one.
But if you take only one thing away from this article, it is: Clean Your Records, Clean Your Records, Clean Your Records. We used to host a Bring Your Own Vinyl night at a couple local bars and I cannot express how many times folks showed up with albums that had either never been cleaned, or not cleaned in ages, and it doesn't have to be an expensive or incredibly tedious process to greatly improve your listening experience.
Thank you for reading. Collecting is great but your records are meant to be listened to and enjoyed. Do so.