www.shoplocal.com

I like this one...

The cleaning felt is kind of slim and curved.

I used to use Gruv Glide, but it sort of "coats" your records with a fine layer lubricant, and it builds up on your needles.

It's fine if you're listening to records, since it does all sorts of great things to help with their longevity, but stinks for DJ's due to the needle buildup issue. I kept having hellacious tracking problems until I switched to the stanton stuff, which seems to get the job done fine.

Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried about cleaner damaging serato records...obviously. I mean, they're kind of a consumable item, no?

They are consumable, but there's no need to put plastic waste in the environment when not needed. Also when you find that perfectly flat control record, you try to keep that as long as you can.

Gruv glide does build up, you can also wash you records with mild soap water and non detergent liquid soap. Use a soft cotton cloth and tap dry with a towel. This cleans it better than anything I've tried.

Niros

Thanx Niros...I didn't consider plain 'ole soup and water.

Would dishwashing liquid work?

I totally agree, but I'm just saying...I don't baby them the way I'd baby my original pressing of Electric Ladyland or anything. ;)

I use gruv glide and swear by it.

I never had any needle build up since I clean my needles before every gig.

stuff cleans the records like they are new.

I clean my needles too but Gruv Glide does cause dust buildup.

I bought 50 pairs and through the old ones away. That the best technique I know of..

that's pretty weird. I've used gruv glide for about 2 years now just about every weekend and haven't noticed any build up at all. I do wipe my finger across the needle before pretty much every song so that might be why I never noticed.

water and kleenex? Are you serious? LOL
Dude, you're a DJ, be professional...

I use Discwasher...$19.99 for the kit and $4.95 for a refill...im sure you can afford 20 bucks

www.planetdj.com

Here is a link to purchase the kit

www.planetdj.com

@ Strike It Up : What is so wrong about cleaning with water ?

Like i said...be professional...

Paying 20$ for a cleaning product is "being professional" for you ?

washing vinyl records with water and kleenex is professional to you?

I could continue this contest of wits...but i see you are not armed. Carry on with your water works....

What a whacky answer... It's not even worth replying this.

LOL
wacky? Im not the one asking about cleaning records with water and kleenex....now thats whacky!

I don't see why... it's only dust

I usually use my sleeve.....

Remember: "Do as I say, not as I do" ;)

in that case, whats your address, i'll send ya a bottle of windex for your to fill up with water!

Nick...im guilty...sometimes i forget my discwasher brush at home....so im forced to resort to less conventional means....my sleeve or i just request females to donate their bras for a good cause LOL

I've always used good ol' Endust on all my records. Sounds crazy but works like a charm. Lifts all the grit and dirt and leaves them lemony fresh. Brightens the audio up too.

try it--I think you'll be sold.

man..
its simple.

what you need..

1. Small Spray Bottle
2. Water
3. Rubbing Alcohol
4. Pot (not the smoking kind) well if you want smoke some while your doing this..haha
5. Stove
6. Piece Of Velvet or soft cloth

Directions:
Put water in pot> place pot on stove> Boil Water For Aprox 4 to 5 min. (This is to distille the water)> Let Water Cool> Add Rubbing Alcohol To Water (1 to 2 tsp alcohol to 1 cup water)> pour water/alcohol mixture into spreay bottle> put top on> shake> spray away> Clean record with Velvet piece/ or Soft Cloth..

ta da!!! :)

Stove ?! Like oil ? wtf lol ?

^what you cook you food with!!! lol

HAHAHAHAHHA - good one buddylove!

Im gonna laugh if he actually trys to do this!

What other types of stoves are there in the world? LOL

why i was dead serious with everything i said..including the stove you cook your food on.

^^ohh wait just checked his profile.

he's canadian. :P
j/k nightlife

funny thing is i typed out all the directions (including putting the top on the spray bottle) and i thought my dirctions was idiot proof..i missed


(put water in pot> place pot on stove(the kind you cook your food with)>

lol

Clean records?? really?



i say buy new ones!

Why throw toxic chemicals into the environment when you don't have too. Llike I said, perfectly flat records are kinda hard to come by and I like to keep them as long as I can. We live in America and our trash is hidden away from us, but when you go to places aren't like that, you realize the impact each person has. Just the other week, I was in Seattle and the garbage trucks weren't picking up garbage because of the snow and it was starting to look third world.

Keep them records til the end.

Niros

"who said somethin about oil bitch u cookin?"

haha.. For real though I don't go the boiling solution together however what has worked for me is a poland spring bottle filled 3/4 the way with warm water.. and the rest i fill with isopropyl rubbing alcohol. The water dilutes it enough. I use it on everything and makes my records shiny as hell again.. use a rag and damp it with the solution and rub your records in a circular motion (no homo) along the tracks.. I have the equivalent in a small spray bottle that I keep in my record bag.. It also double as a great way to clean your mouse keyboard and plastics.. DO NOT use it on an lcd monitor may damage it even though i do.. just a disclaimer

boiling the water is needed to distille the water.
otherwise you have abrasive microscopic crap in the water not to mention all the f*cked up chemicals they put in the water "that i know is not too friendly with your vinyl"

Where were you at school,friends? Cooking water does not mean distilling it. At best it sterilizes the water. So your records cannot get infected with flu - that's all! Go and buy destilled water at your local drugstore(It is cheap)mix it one to three or four with Isopropyl (Even cheap)and use it with a microfibre cloth. This works perfect for me. You can add a few drops of PURE tensid.

Rev

murphy's oil soap really gives them a nice shine.

I have the same tiny bottle of Stanton Vinyl Cleaner from over a decade ago and a few drops does the trick...not that I've ever actually cleaned my Serato control vinyl as my show vinyl only gets used on shows and my practice vinyl is uncleanable (at least not worth it).

Otherwise soap and water is fine, professionals do it too. Just remember to rinse properly for crying out loud

<remembers a buddy spinning and having a soap scum snake grow from where the needle ran the groove>

To distill water, you need to catch the water vapour that rises, thats the whole point of boiling the water. A distillation setup usually has a beaker thats connected to a long, thin coiled tube that cools down the water vapour turning it back into liquid as the vapour travels through it and drips into another container as the finished product.

Why not just buy distilled water?

Ronsonol Lighter Fluid and a Microfiber Cloth... lets not over think something thats pretty simple.

I use pledge.

Yup.... you can use that too Gain Master Flash...

www.instawares.com

My gains go to 11, urs dont.

Why not just make one that's louder overall? I mean it would still sound like it was at 11 but would only go to 10.

Since I started collecting records (the 70's) I've always used alcohol to clean records. A few months ago at the DJ Times show, Grand Master Flash told everyone that alcohol will ruin records.

I used Gruv Glide for a while and quickly starting noticing dust buildup which led to tracking issues at times- it leaves a slick coat on the vinyl so I am guessing this leads to the tracking issue.

warm distilled water and a soft, microfiber cloth will actually work fine. You people spending money on harsh chemicals are getting roped in with the marketing.

I do use gruv glide for my records I'm ripping tho...

i am an avid gruv glide user. i also clean my needles before every gig so its not really a big deal.

i used to use this product called pfan stat. I can't find it locally anymore.

www.turntablebelts.com

For Years I've Been Using Distilled Water & Alcohol. I Mix It 60 Water/ 40 Alcohol. A Very Fine Brush To Scrub, A Lent Free Towel. Never A Problem After That. Now What I Did Do Was Buy A Cleaning Machine For Records. It The Best Thing That I Ever Did.

Some people, while wearing a T-shirt, wipe the record across their belly and then play it.

This Is Soooooooooo True.lol.

put 'em in the washer and set it to 'spin' cycle...

no?
not funny?


alright never mind

hardy har har.lol.

just break the old dirty ones over your knee like a rockstar, hand out fragments to all of your fans...

nono, you're supposed to pull a swamp and cut yourself with the shards and then start scratching with what's left...

does any have a problem with when you buy new serato records they have a lot of static on them. I try to clean them and once I play or stop the turntable the record lags only on one side..but the other side moves fine. this is a real problem when since I scratch alot.

if one side grips and the other doesn't, the prob is that its warped.

the middle is raised up. my colored vinyl was that way.

yeah it was on bought of the pairs of colored vinyl I last bought. is there a way I can fix that. I bought them from gutiar center.

@ gor & revrenlove..

i guess your both right in a sense..
and i could just go out & buy distelled water but im broke "no $$$$"
and this way tought to me along time ago by a vinyl collector so ive always used this method..

en.wikipedia.org

Well any kind of cleaner you buy is going to have some sort of alcohol (or similar substance in it), since it ensures the water or whatever else is in there evaporates quickly and doesn't leave residue.

if you have static problems, just bring a dryer sheet with you and wipe the vinyl once around quickly. should remove all static. keeps your gear bag smelling nice too, not like moldy record sleeves.

has anyone used lighter fluid..
ive heard that it works.

im just to scared to try it!!!

word up on this.

Ive seen it done before...turns into a REALLY cool dj trick when your cigarette ashes hit it.

From your wiwpedia link:

"Distillation

Distilled water is often defined as bottled water that has been produced by a process of distillation and has an electrical conductivity of not more than 10 µS/cm and total dissolved solids of less that 10 mg/L[1]. Distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container, leaving most solid contaminants behind. Distillation produces very pure water but also leaves behind a leftover white or yellowish mineral scale on the distillation apparatus, which requires that the apparatus be frequently cleaned. Distillation does not guarantee the absence of bacteria in drinking water; unless the reservoir and/or bottle are sterilized before being filled, and once the bottle has been opened, there is a risk of presence of bacteria."

LOL - all these crazy methods...but the cool thing is that they really work, but wouldn't it jsut be easier to buy a Discwasher bottle for 5 bucks...i mean it only 5 bucks people!

okay sound good I'll start using dryer sheets for the static. but what about records being warped...can that be fixed????

hahaha!!
ive always wanted to do that..
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com
Watchwww.youtube.com

Watchwww.youtube.com

How come then that almost every product contains alcohol and that almost everyone here recommand to use alcohol + water + microfiber clothe ?

^^grandmaster flash is a legend, pioneer & a awsome dj..

but hes loosing it??
remember he uses traktor...

I've always dreamed of owning this for my vinyl collection -

www.needledoctor.com

you gotta have serious ends to afford this one.

one of these works well but is overkill for cleaning CVs. kabusa.com

Got a great way to clean your control records, throw it in the garbage. Go to your local DJ store (Sam ash, guitar center etc) purchase 2 new ones and stop being a peasant.

^ what he said! LOL

I think the best way to clean your CV's is to become a superstar DJ. That way when they get dirty Serato will send you some colorful new ones and you can sell your old dirty ones on Ebay and let dirty records become someone elses problem

Yeah, but that wouldn't be in compliance with the "Greener Tomorrow" crowd. That shit's such a farce, and really quite amusing as well.

Just use an RCA Discwasher kit......I've been using it for years. That fluid goes a long way.

I use Costco baby wipes

"greener tomorrow" Rane doesn't make them for YOU. They are already made the damage is done. Plus think about all the n00bs who never ever bought a real vinyl in thier entires lives! Serato prevented new vinyls from ever being made! lol. I have to bounce I have some baby seals to run over in my hummer.

PEAce.

The absolutely best product that I have found on the market is B Side. I had a friend of mine tell me about it. I tried it, and haven't looked back since. It is water based so it does not contain alcohol, silicones, and solvents that will dick up your vinyl.

You can get it online at www.bsiderecordcleaner.com.

Bowed CVs , my freakin bane. Seems near impossible to not have one record in a set with a 2-4mm bow on one of the sides.

I know people hate '7 year old thread revives' but I really don't get it /care, like in 200 years the internet will worry that a discussion took 7 years to complete instead of 2.. anyway..

www.needledoctor.com <- I have nothing to clean my records with currently other than some ancient AT fluid, a more recent fluid, an old felt brush and a newer anti static brush. I find the hairs on the anti static brush (if pushed too hard down while rotating) can flick off and cause minor surface scratches.. so I mainly stick to the felt. I use one side of felt with fluid and the other to 'dry', however any fluid seems to leave some residue.. Need to leave it to dry for up to 30-60 minutes it seems like..

That Spin Clean is probably the cheapest option for manual cleaning -you can pay 3 times as much for a basic vacuum cleaner or go all out on some multi thousand dollar vacuum and anti static automatic thing.. there is a cheaper Crosley version of the Spin Clean that I hear is best to avoid - original / proprietary Spin Clean is the best/cheapest cleaning option I have heard. Still need to get one.

Wow one person thinks a couple of days to dry: "Great for cleaning. However, I've noticed you need to let the records dry for a couple days before playing them. Also, the washer takes a while to setup so I don't use it as often as I should. Plus cleaning records isn't exactly a quick process. Yes, this is a list of my gripes, but it's a good product and if you don't have $500 to spend on a crazy manual audiophile nutcase record washer it should suit you just fine." (from the spin clean reviews page)

Just did this today. CV looks, feels and plays like brand new!