One of the most effective ways to keep the sound from the record free of noise and unwanted pops and clicks is to keep the groove and the stylus clean. The causes for dirty records are obvious; accumulation of airborne dust, finger grease, cigarette smoke, and anything that can be attracted by the static charges that exist on the surface of the vinyl disc. The dirt around the playback stylus is mainly due to raking the groove. Dust particles, as they settle down on the record surface, are attracted by the stylus, especially if it has a static charge on it.
Better cartridges have their styli electrically grounded to bleed any static potential from the cantilever assembly to ground.
1. Brushes
One method to keep room dust out of the record groove is to have the cartridge work with the dust-collecting brush. In sliding over the surface of the vinyl record, the electrically insulated brush produces a static charge of its own that attracts and holds the dust particles from the surrounding area. The stylus cantilever, which is metallic and electrically neutral because of grounding, stays clean and free to vibrate and track the modulation of the groove.
2. Record-Cleaning Machines
The groove modulations in vinyl LP's are so small, on the order of the wavelength of light, that any compound, be it liquid or solid, will cause distortion in the reproduction of those grooves. The diamond stylus can be equated to a rock, and the vinyl record to Jell-O. Picture a rock running through jell-o at a high velocity. Any thing that changes the way this rock moves through the Jell-O will cause changes in the recorded sound.
In the groove is a conglomerate of fungus, mold, dirt, ash, pollution, mold release compounds, various cleaning fluids and preservatives, etc. All these substances affect the way the stylus reads the groove and will affect the sound. A good vacuum cleaning machine will allow you to scrub the record with cleaning solution and then vacuum the record surface clean of the fluid carrying the contaminates away with it. A record cleaned on a good vacuum cleaning machine is microscopically clean and will sound it.
One of the great shocks in audio is the first time you hear a record you know very well cleaned by a vacuum cleaning machine. The sound is cleaner, clearer, crisper, with the sound of the hall or acoustic space very easy to hear. A clean record will not wear out. It is not the stylus that ruins the records it's the stylus going through grunge and pressing the grunge into the vinyl grove that kills the sound of records.
Vacuum record cleaning machines all work the same way; a record is placed on a turntable, the turntable turns the record while the machine or the operator scrubs the record, the vacuum nozzle then sucks the contaminated fluid off the disc. A higher price gives you quieter operation or greater sophistication in application of cleaning fluids. In the end the result is pretty much the same. VPI's HW-16.5 (in production for almost 30 years), FIG. 31, is an inexpensive record cleaner. The VPI HW-27 Typhoon Record Cleaning Machine is twice as powerful as other cleaning machines. It includes a 7.9 A 120 Vac vacuum motor and an 18 rpm turntable motor, FIG. 32.
It is strongly advised that before using any cleaning device the instructions be followed precisely and some experimentation be done on a few records before the entire library is cleaned or covered with a preservative coating. A word of caution, if too much record preservative is used, it will do more harm than good. Not only does the excess of material not lower the surface noise, but it contaminates the stylus tip to the extent that it is no longer able to stay in the groove. Accumulation of the cleaning or antistatic substance on the stylus tip also increases its dynamic tip mass, interfering with tracking of high-frequency modulation. Consequently, cleaning the cartridge stylus becomes as important if not more important than cleaning records.
FIG. 31. VPI HW-16.5 basic record cleaner machine. VPI Industries.
FIG. 32. VPI HW-27 Typhoon Record Cleaning Machine. VPI Industries.
3. Record Storage
The worst enemies of records are dust, heat, and mildew. To protect records from contamination they should be kept covered in their sleeves. Sleeves should be static free if possible. Records should be stored either vertically or horizontally (freshly pressed LPs are stacked one on top of each other to prevent warpage). If stacking horizontally, sizes should not be intermixed, and the stacks should be neat and not too high. If stored vertically the records should not be loose and should not be leaning; this will introduce warpage. Record cleaners or preservatives should not be applied prior to storage because there is a good chance of mildew forming on the records if they are stored damp.
4. Cleaning Records
Warning: Old 78 rpm records should never be washed with solutions containing alcohol or other chemicals that dissolve shellac, the major binding ingredient in the record material. Vinyl LP records are much more for giving and can be cleaned with alcohol solvents. The safest and most effective cleaning solvents are simple household liquid soaps that can do the job well if certain precautions are followed.
Records should not be washed unless necessary. Dry clean them first with a soft brush or lint free velvet cloth. If the record must be washed, use distilled water; never use hot water or water containing dissolved minerals. Record labels should be protected by placing a piece of thin plastic over the labels. Use a soft camel hair brush or piece of moistened velvet with a couple of drops of liquid detergent or shampoo applied to clean the grooves in a circular motion. Rinse thoroughly with distilled water, and then wipe with a clean lint free cloth. The record can be blow dried with a hand dryer set to the cool position (never hot). Most of the dirt in the groove is dust attracted by the static charges that exist on the record surface. Washing or rinsing the record surface dissipates these electrical charges, allowing the dust to float away.
Turntable mats are the greatest contributors of dust contamination because turntables are left to stand open for prolonged periods of time, accumulating dust on the mat. When clean records are placed on the mat, the underside of the disc picks up most of the dust off the mat. It is important for the mat to be cleaned, even washed.
Vinyl records (and CDs) are sensitive to heat. When the record is pressed under very high pressure, vinyl is flattened into a thin plastic disc that is forced to cool down under pressure until the vinyl is no longer pliable.
Then the disc is cooled down further to room tempera ture. The forces applied to the plastic during stamping remain in the record. If the record is exposed to elevated temperatures again, the forces retained within the material will be released and the disc will warp. Once this happens, the disc is destroyed. Leaving the disc in a closed car or on a window sill on a sunny day will accomplish this.
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