A handy guide to keeping your vinyl clean

Secondly, now that you’re here, there’s something you need to know. A certain amount of responsibility and ongoing maintenance comes with owning records. Right at the top of the list is ensuring that you keep your records clean.

Why on earth do I need to keep my records clean?

Static is the enemy of records, attracting dust and other particles to the spinning vinyl surface like seagulls on chips. Even removing a record from the sleeve generates a lot of static.

The dust lands in the record's grooves, creating that unwelcome popping, hissing, and crackling sound that vinyl lovers dread. It can also wear the stylus unnecessarily, damaging your precious records.

If you take good care of your collection through regular cleaning, you’ll not only extend the life of your records, but also keep the resale value should you choose to trade down the track.

Dust? Eek! What can I do about the dreaded dust monster?

There are many weird and wonderful remedies and devices on the internet that range from the intriguing to the absurd. However, in our experience, there’s nothing like a good old anti-static carbon fibre brush. Always clean before you play the record and directly after.

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You’ll find a heap of conflicting views on how to do this. For us, we gently hold the brush over the spinning record so that the carbon fibres just lightly touch the surface to pick up the dust.

Allow the record to spin for three or four cycles, and then lift the brush directly off the surface – avoid dragging it across the record either to the outside or towards the label. Don’t use your fingers or pants to brush away the dust - the handles on most carbon brushes are designed to clean the fibres. You need to do this on brand-new records, too.

What do you mean I have to clean brand-new records?

Whenever you pull a record out of its sleeve for the first time, it’s advisable to clean it before playing. Why? During the production process, residue can be left on the surface of vinyl. Grab the carbon fibre brush and work the grooves before you drop the needle.

I noticed there are some fingerprints on my records. What should I do here?

You should avoid getting fingerprints on the surface whenever you handle records at all costs. Fingers contain natural fats, oils, amino acids, and unnatural materials like hand creams, sunscreen, etc. Once applied to the surface through handling, these elements affect the playback quality, and the acids can damage the vinyl.

While it’s difficult to master at first, there is a way to avoid putting fingerprints on your vinyl. With a bit of practice, you’ll become an expert at removing a record from its sleeve using just your thumb on the edge and balancing the centre label area with the ring and middle finger. Once retrieved, the vinyl can be clamped between the fingers of both hands and placed on the turntable.

Light fingerprint marks can generally be removed with a dry microfibre cloth in the direction of the grooves. For stubborn fingerprints, reach for the distilled water (not tap water – it contains minerals and lime), dampen the microfibre cloth, and gently wipe the fingerprint off toward the grooves.

There are many vinyl cleaning solutions also explicitly designed for this purpose, but we’ve yet to find a heavy fingerprint we’ve been unable to remove with distilled water. Just ensure that you regularly put the microfibre cloth through the washing machine.

Now, you’ll be surprised at the state that some second-hand records come in. We recently inherited a collection that had been stored in a dirty garage for 30 years. The surfaces of all the records were caked in grime and dirt. For this level of cleaning, you need to wheel out the big guns.

Depending on your budget, and the volume of vinyl that you need to clean, record cleaning machines can vary in price from thousands of dollars for top-end vacuum and ultrasonic cleaning to a $150 for a manual version.

When it comes to budget, we’re firmly in the latter category and the most vinyl we’ve cleaned at once is 30. For that job, the manual washer worked a treat.

The manual washer is basically a bath for your records and can be set to clean both 45rpm and 33rpm. Using a combination of distilled water and cleaning solution, the records are submerged below the middle label (you don’t want to get that part wet).

Once in, the record is rotated in one direction for several revolutions and then in the opposite direction. Brushes in the bath clean all the gunk and grime off through this process. Records are then placed in a handy drying rack that pops out of the bottom part of the unit.

What else can I do to prevent dust and dirt?

Storing your vinyl upright is a must (we’ll get into that in another feature). If you’re using purpose-built storage shelves to store your records - which we recommend – face the opening of the sleeve inwards. This will stop any airborne dust generated by movement in the room, working itself onto the surface of your precious records.

In conclusion

Keeping your records clean can sound like hard work, but simply adding an anti-static carbon fibre brush to your daily playing ritual will keep them in tip-top shape and protect your investment.

While vinyl lacks the convenience of CDs and streams, the sound quality payoff is incomparable. The attraction to vinyl goes beyond audio purity. It’s equally the ritual of selecting a record right through to admiring the 12” x 12” artwork in your hand while the music plays from start to finish.

Collecting records is a rewarding hobby on many levels. See you in the racks!