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With an ultrasonic cleaning machine, you don’t need to vacuum the dirt for every record you clean, because the machine removes all the dirt for you. It collects at the bottom of the sink, so you just need to make sure you get rid of it all when emptying the liquid from the machine between uses. Once your records are submerged in the diluted cleaning solution mixture, place them on a drying rack.
If a record (or, more realistically, a group of records) is particularly dirty, I clean it twice using either method in a progressively cleaner liquid. In my ultrasound machine, I do all my recordings at once, then change the fluid and do them again. Make sure you have it Clean Microfiber Towel ($5) Easy to use until the record is completely dry before putting it back in its packaging.
Some people also prefer to rinse clean records with distilled water at the end of the cleaning cycle to remove any remaining solution. If you do this, dry them in the same way before putting them away.
Scratches or warps?
These cleaning methods cannot effectively repair scratches or repair distorted records. The only way to prevent these things from damaging your collection is to store your records properly: in a straight, clean environment. Logs stacked on top of each other or stored diagonally can warp due to their weight. Do not store your records in a particularly hot or cold place, or anywhere where the temperature varies greatly, as this can affect the longevity of the vinyl.
When purchasing used records from a store, it is important to know the difference between a dirty disc and a scratched or distorted record. I recommend using Bright flashlight Or the light on your smartphone to inspect any used records you want to purchase for scratches. Also look at it from different angles to make sure it’s nice and flat. If a used record is sealed inside a polyvinyl bag with tape, a store employee will always cut the tape so you can inspect the disc.
How often should I clean?
When your records are dirty! For most people, a thorough cleaning of all their registries followed by cleaning every 20 or 30 times is a good start. I clean mine once a year. I build a pile of LPs that have been played a lot, as well as newer records that I’ve never cleaned out. (New records can have oils used to separate them from the press still on the surface, so they thicken faster than previously cleaned records.) From there, Netflix is clean.
I’m not such a cleanliness freak that I wear white gloves when I handle my vinyl, but you should always touch the record’s playing surface as little as possible. Hold the disc by the edges or by the edge and label rather than touching the grooves.
Before playing the record, clean the needle (I like that Gel cleansers like this $16 option), and be sure to clean your record so the needle doesn’t grind dust into the surface (the source of many pops when listening). If your records are properly maintained, they should last for decades.