I have read on numerous occasions that isopropyl alcohol is safe to use for cleaning LPs because it doesn't attack the plasticisers contained in vinyl (which apparently methyl and ethyl alcohol do).
However I remember reading a post from SY which contradicted this assertion (ie isopropyl is unsuitable for record cleaning). Not being a materials scientist I am now at a loss as to how to best clean my LPs, and what to do with the 4L of isopropyl I now have in my possession.
However I remember reading a post from SY which contradicted this assertion (ie isopropyl is unsuitable for record cleaning). Not being a materials scientist I am now at a loss as to how to best clean my LPs, and what to do with the 4L of isopropyl I now have in my possession.
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You could clean a sink with it.
Really, most dirt on LP's is dust from the air when they were left on the player too long. Skin flakes from humans & animals, tobacco refuse, particles from the wall board. I find pop and gravel noise decreases considerably on used records when I just rinse them with tap water. Premium brands like dynagroove masterworks telearc etc I will give a DI water rinse. Cheapos like Pickwick Specialty Atco or Capitol, they had gravel on them from the factory. I don't bother with the DI water.
Some valuable records have been left under a wastewater leak or perhaps went through a flood. I use dish detergent with the water on these, a couple of drops per side. The kind of dish detergeant without the bleach or lye. In my market this is Palmolive original, not the variety labeled oxy and not the kind that "cuts grease". The original dish detergeant containing lye is Dawn, which I don't use on records.
I don't know isoprophyl alcohol will damage PVC, but I'm not going to try it. Some early fifties bargain brand LP's were shellac on cardboard or something, those are even more fragile. I don't wash those.
Really, most dirt on LP's is dust from the air when they were left on the player too long. Skin flakes from humans & animals, tobacco refuse, particles from the wall board. I find pop and gravel noise decreases considerably on used records when I just rinse them with tap water. Premium brands like dynagroove masterworks telearc etc I will give a DI water rinse. Cheapos like Pickwick Specialty Atco or Capitol, they had gravel on them from the factory. I don't bother with the DI water.
Some valuable records have been left under a wastewater leak or perhaps went through a flood. I use dish detergent with the water on these, a couple of drops per side. The kind of dish detergeant without the bleach or lye. In my market this is Palmolive original, not the variety labeled oxy and not the kind that "cuts grease". The original dish detergeant containing lye is Dawn, which I don't use on records.
I don't know isoprophyl alcohol will damage PVC, but I'm not going to try it. Some early fifties bargain brand LP's were shellac on cardboard or something, those are even more fragile. I don't wash those.
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I have very bad experience with undiluted isopropyl alcohol. It "dries out" the surface of LP (it becomes statically charged). Scratch noise increases. This is irreversible. Never experienced the same with ethyl alcohol. Diluted isopropyl alcohol might be less agressive, but I will never experiment with it on any of my valuable LPs. Distilled water and a drop of detergent is the safe method.
It can be used as refill for window cleaner spray gun (1:5 mix) or winter windscreen washer.
IPA is fine for cleaning records, I have been doing it for year. Yes, I am chemist. Ethanol and isopropyl alcohol are similar in properties. I would never use methanol, since its toxic.
Isopropanol actually has advantage over ethanol, it does not evaporate so fast, and is slightly higher density.
I use 40% alcohol with just a drop on nonidet NP40 non-ionic detergent.
Isopropanol actually has advantage over ethanol, it does not evaporate so fast, and is slightly higher density.
I use 40% alcohol with just a drop on nonidet NP40 non-ionic detergent.
I'm not a chemist, but I've been using the solution I've recommended above over decades.
Best regards!
Great, then you can explain how the plasticisers used, which on a quick check appear to soluble in nearly all organic solvents are not leached out when you clean with a mixture containing IPA. PVC itself I accept is happily inert to IPA, but that is not the issue of concern, its the embrittlement from plasticiser leaching.
IPA, distilled water and a few drops of photoflo. there are loads of recipes on the net.
biggest harm to records is playing wet.
for really dirty records try PVA glue again have a search on the net.
always rinse after cleaning with distilled water and place in a new clean inner sleeve.
if you have the cash get a RCM, your records and stylus will love you for it.
biggest harm to records is playing wet.
for really dirty records try PVA glue again have a search on the net.
always rinse after cleaning with distilled water and place in a new clean inner sleeve.
if you have the cash get a RCM, your records and stylus will love you for it.
You will have to forgive me, but just because a recipe is on the net does not mean that the person who wrote it knows anything about what they are talking about. There is a lot of rubbish posted.
Or to put it another way, if people started posting on the web that punching yourself in the face every morning meant you would live longer would you start doing it?
Or to put it another way, if people started posting on the web that punching yourself in the face every morning meant you would live longer would you start doing it?
well i have been using IPA or records since i started collecting them when i was about 13, i'm now 50 and as yet have not seen or heard anything to say stop. i have always used very small amounts of IPA and never over 10%. i have even done the PVA glue and it works very well.
your record cleaning solutions that were sold before the silver discs took over were all IPA and distilled water.
yes you are correct there is a lot of rubbish posted on the net but your basic IPA, distilled water and few drops of washy or photoflo works as long as you do a rinse with distilled water. if you dont want to rinse then just IPA and distilled water. dont use tap water especially if you live in a hard water area.
your record cleaning solutions that were sold before the silver discs took over were all IPA and distilled water.
yes you are correct there is a lot of rubbish posted on the net but your basic IPA, distilled water and few drops of washy or photoflo works as long as you do a rinse with distilled water. if you dont want to rinse then just IPA and distilled water. dont use tap water especially if you live in a hard water area.
This seems like a good answer:
A (Very Long) Primer on Record Cleaning Fluids | Steve Hoffman Music Forums
The gist: any solvent (including soap and water) that cleans records will leach plasticizer...
Which is worst?
Take a record, cut it into a bunch of pieces, put each piece in a solution for a length of time, then do some sort of spectroscopy on the solution to see which solution removes the most? Seems like a lot of work, maybe just limiting contact is the best advice...
A (Very Long) Primer on Record Cleaning Fluids | Steve Hoffman Music Forums
The gist: any solvent (including soap and water) that cleans records will leach plasticizer...
Which is worst?
Take a record, cut it into a bunch of pieces, put each piece in a solution for a length of time, then do some sort of spectroscopy on the solution to see which solution removes the most? Seems like a lot of work, maybe just limiting contact is the best advice...
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leaching plasticiser.. that bit of urban legend came about because silly people back in the 60-70's tried to clean shellac records with an IPA solution and guess what it turned them brittle.
lets get real here, you dont deep clean records each play thats the job of cloths and brushes. the best is still the damp velvet pad for fluff removal and carbon bristle for freshly cleaned records to remove static, if your posh then a zerostat.
BTW, i recently learnt that those static safe bags that electronics come in are sold in 30x30cm size. i have not had the chance to buy any yet but it sounds like just the ticket as inner sleeves.
lets get real here, you dont deep clean records each play thats the job of cloths and brushes. the best is still the damp velvet pad for fluff removal and carbon bristle for freshly cleaned records to remove static, if your posh then a zerostat.
BTW, i recently learnt that those static safe bags that electronics come in are sold in 30x30cm size. i have not had the chance to buy any yet but it sounds like just the ticket as inner sleeves.
yup. PVC is very hard to get something to stick to it. the PVA digs deep into the groove and sticks to the dirt. when its dry you just peal the PVA layer off and the dirt is stuck to the PVA. sounds mad but it does work.
I can explain it very easily, i do leachableas and extractables for biopharma industry. While all those antioxidants, plasticizers, softeners, and other agents may be perfectly soluble in organic, the extraction process from solid material is slow.
Washing the dirty surface is something completely different than diffusion. Diffusion takes very long time. Diffusion is molecules migrating through solid phase. When we do simulation studies, we do them for months or so, and even at elevated temperatures, to speed up the process.
Not much happens in few minutes or hours. If it did, you would poison yourself everytime you use plastic glass for alcoholic drink.
You are forgiven, please never use ipa for cleaning lp's. It's conspiracy. All bs.
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