Please note, You have ordered a product that is out of stock. We are doing our utmost to reduce the restocking time. Our teams are at your disposal if you have any questions. Thank you for your understanding.
Every vinyl lover should know that, beyond looking after their turntable, keeping their LPs in good condition is just as important for maintaining good sound quality. Caring for them is therefore essential, and may even help you rediscover your records.
maPlatine.com has put together a buying guide to help you understand the most effective ways to clean your vinyl records.
1. Store your records in anti-static inner sleeves
Anti-static sleeves are the first thing to buy to take care of your vinyl records. The paper inner sleeves supplied with LPs deteriorate over time, leaving cellulose fibre residues that settle and become embedded in the vinyl. Anti-static sleeves are designed to prevent dust and static charge from building up on your records.
Nagaoka N-102 anti-static sleeves are the best-known and best-selling anti-static sleeves, and certainly the most popular with collectors. They minimise the build-up of dust in the grooves while records are stored in their sleeves. They are the thinnest on the market, and their rounded edges make it easy to slide records in.
2. Use cleaning cloths
A cloth is the most basic tool when it comes to cleaning your vinyl records. It is of course essential for the day-to-day care of your LPs, but used on its own it falls short if you are after a spotless result and a deep clean.
Our classic cleaning cloths, made of micro-woven cotton, are designed to dust and clean vinyl records.
The soft-fabric Spin Clean Drying Cloths are specially designed to wipe and dry LPs after cleaning.
3. Use a brush
There are many brushes for cleaning not only records and turntables, but also styli and cartridges. The simplest ones just remove the dust that naturally settles on LPs, others are used with a cleaning fluid, and others also have an anti-static effect, getting rid of static charge for even more precise listening.
The Analogis washable silicone cleaning roller is a simple, quick and effective way to rid your records of dust and dirt. It can be rinsed with water, so you can reuse it for years.
The simplest brushes, such as the Analogis 3 velvet brush, can be used dry or with a record cleaning fluid. The Apollo velvet brush and the Clearaudio Pure Groove cleaning brush are soft brushes mainly used to spread liquid cleaning fluids.
Anti-static brushes such as the Milty Super Exstatic anti-static brush are very soft carbon-fibre brushes used to remove dust and the impurities that soil records, and to discharge their static electricity.
The Furutech SK-III brush, our favourite, has the softest and finest bristles in the world, with a natural anti-static effect enhanced by corona-treated acrylic fibres. It can deep-clean the grooves of your LPs: simply hold the Furutech SK-III by its sleeve and run it over the record while the turntable is spinning. The effect is immediate: the record is rid of dust and of static charge too! Listening becomes more precise, more detailed and less harsh. A must-have!
4. Choose the right cleaning products
4.1. The different cleaning products
Cleaning products are essential for a thorough clean of your records. Their properties vary from brand to brand, but they are all fairly easy to apply and are usually used with a cloth or a brush for a deep clean. Depending on the type of product, they can be used on your records, or to clean your styli.
Cleaning fluids such as AMD Record Cleaner, also available as sprays such as the GPX22 Spray, are effective and inexpensive. Very easy to apply and to wipe off with the supplied cloth or the brand's brush, they remove grease and static charge, giving very good results when listening.
Cleaning kits are very handy and give you a whole range of care products from the same brand. They are very comprehensive and include everything you need for a high-quality manual clean.
maPlatine.com offers cleaning kits such as the Simply Analog complete kit, the most basic yet still essential kit, which lets you look after your turntable and your records.
The Thorens cleaning kit contains everything you need to care for your LPs and your stylus. It's the most complete and practical kit on the market!
In addition to care products for records and styli, the Clearaudio Pro care kit includes an anti-static carbon brush, a brush for applying cleaning fluid, a stylus brush, polishing paste, cleaning fluid, a screwdriver for mounting cartridges and a microfibre cloth. Highly recommended!
5. Invest in a record cleaning machine
There are two types of record cleaning machines. The first is the Spin Clean, a manual cleaning kit that will breathe new life into all your vintage records. The kit includes a pair of brushes and a pair of rollers that fit into the machine, two drying cloths and a bottle of cleaning fluid. What makes this machine special is that you do everything yourself! Simply fill it with distilled water and a little cleaning fluid, then turn the record in the machine. You control the amount of fluid and the speed at which the record turns, and you can keep going for as long as you like. Simple and effective!
Lastly, automatic record cleaning machines are the ultimate in record cleaning. They deep-clean the entire surface of your LPs thanks to the continuous automatic rotation of the record, and powerful vacuum suction removes every trace of fluid and any remaining impurities at the end of the cycle. They are used with a fluid you apply by hand (or, on the most advanced machines, injected directly onto one side of the record, or even both!), and with a brush that spreads the fluid over the whole surface while the record turns. Some of the machines we offer clean both sides of your record in 60 seconds! Records come out spotless and shiny, as good as new. No more crackles or surface noise to disturb your listening.
Take the Clearaudio SMART MATRIX PRO record cleaning machine, for example. It is an affordable product that makes no compromise on build quality or performance. It is very easy to use and the results speak for themselves. It works wonders even on a record in a sorry state like the one below.
The record is dirty and even shows traces of mould. We placed it on the record cleaning machine to show the spotless result delivered by the Clearaudio SMART MATRIX PRO.
The fluid is applied by hand while the record turns. The brush deep-cleans the grooves thanks to the machine's constant rotation.
Finally, vacuum-pump suction removes the remaining fluid along with the last impurities left in the grooves. Watch the video demonstration:
The result is stunning. No more dirt and no trace of mould left on the record. Even under a microscope, the grooves look pristine and intact. It comes out as good as new, and remarkably quickly!
*****
We hope this guide will help you carefully choose the record cleaning products that suit you best. We are of course at your disposal if you would like more information or details on how to care for your LPs. Happy listening!
Disconnect
By disconnecting please be aware that your shopping basket will be hidden
You will get your shopping basket selection back again by connecting to your account
