Cleaning Records with a Dyson Airblade

[nathanjh13]

On my way home from a record shop I used a toilet in a theatre and noticed there was a Dyson Airblade on the wall. It's something that crossed my mind ages ago to try as a record cleaner and others I know had pondered it's use in this capacity too.

I had a dusty Van Morrison record on me and it cleaner it right up almost instantly, maybe not quite 100% dust free, but pretty decent. The force of the air bends the record so finger support in the centre is needed.

After a short time the air blade of course pumps fairly warm air so this would facilitate warping but the record needs to be placed in the blade for so short a time that it should be negligible. However, there must be an adjustable thermostat on the airblade itself somewhere and if you were to look at this seriously it could be altered (or the heat source could be disabled entirely).

Like with most cleaning products rotation is the key and a spindle approach to this could be easily fashioned but a quick up down should do the trick.

However, at £700 a go it's not realistic, but the principle of blasting the air off rather than hoovering it up is a sound one.

An yes, you would end up with a room full of dust but what's the solution?

Easy, do it outside.

Best.

PS I never though I'd post something this moronic.

[dogsbark26]

Yes. Come here and I'll wash your face, not gently with a washcloth but with this fire hose.

It is probably not a good idea to blast delicate vinyl with a stream of air containing bits of grit. Even though you do not feel these bit of grit with your hands, you acknowledge they are there when you say:

Originally Posted by nathanjh13

you would end up with a room full of dust

[nathanjh13]

I said do it outside, so try to quote me in context.

However, feel free to not do it at all.

Thanks for posting though. Your contribution was really worthwhile.

[dogsbark26]

If you were able to filter the air somehow, it should work. My point was just that air (indoors or out) is full of micro-particles that would act as sandblasting on LPs.

[454Casull]

What I could recommend as a substitute is this:

1) table
2) soft microfiber cloth suitable for car paint, larger than the record
3) air compressor
4) filter/regulator unit*

The filter must have a cartridge in it that removes both particulate as well as oil. Try something like 2994K11 on mcmaster.com

[Shaun]

Record cleaners that use vacuum to dry the surface also allow blasting of the record surface with air.

I, too, have considered the use of an air blade, but primarily for drying after washing.

[Johnny2Bad]

You know, it's an interesting idea and "thinking outside the box" is encouraged. You have to be wary, however, of taking ownership of the idea (I mean this in terms of your own thinking, not in terms of intellectual property) so that you minimize potential problems and maximize potential benefits while you ponder the idea yourself.

Hey, everybody does it. The ones that do it least get rich; the ones that do it most go broke.

The idea is a good one, but has deal-killer issues (even a clean air stream, to the point of perfection, will either damage the surface you're trying to restore, or if gentle enough not to cause damage, will be inadequate for actual cleaning anything beyond what a feather duster could do).

The goop in record grooves that you want to remove is tenacious and has had perhaps 50 years to get comfortable there. Dust isn't the problem; it comes off easily.

There have been quality Record Cleaning Machines around (eg Keith Monks style) for 40 years; others precede them. Think about why they don't do it the way you propose ... it's a given they explored doing it that way.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad

There have been quality Record Cleaning Machines around (eg Keith Monks style) for 40 years; others precede them. Think about why they don't do it the way you propose ... it's a given they explored doing it that way.

I can't believe you ended your post this way; the preceding paragraphs seemed to encourage out-of-the-box thinking.

I'm not convinced that those manufacturers explored Nathan's idea. It may not be perfect but, as a concept, I believe it has merit. I do agree, though, about the gunk in the grooves. Bottom line: rushing air alone won't do a good enough job.

Air is usually used to suck off cleaning fluid (and dissolved/dislodged groove contaminants). There is no problem, IMO, (for instance) with squeegeeing the fluid off the record using air. Whether by vacuum or pressure, it is still differential air pressure acting on the surface of the record; and the record surface still gets bombarded with air, either way.

For me, the main difference between using a vacuum and blasting air is that the blasted air would have passed through a blower. Often, the channel through which the air passes also accumulates dust (check any air vent in your office) or may charge the air electrically. With a vacuum, the air coming onto the record surface is "pure" (i.e., there is no opportunity for more dust or electrical charge to be added into the air stream).

[jerryo]

If you want to get rid of surface dust then use a "Tack cloth"; used for removing fine particles of dust prior to finish coats of paint. You can buy them at good paint suppliers.

[AnotherSheep]

If the problem is just pure dust, and not other gunk, what about those so-called "Air Duster" sprays you can get? They're basically like an aerosol can, except instead of spraying out a liquid, they just blast out "air" at high speed - very useful for clearing dust from around buttons and switches, speaker grilles etc. where a cloth or duster can't reach. (ok, it's not actually air, but some other gas, but the effect is the same.)