Can You Over-Clean a Record?

I was surprised when I first heard someone warn, “Clean your record too much and you’ll ruin it.”

It was years ago and the warning stuck with me. Enough so that I still think about it. What exactly was the fear? So I did what I typically do. I began making a list. Over time I debunked some of the worries, but was also surprised at some that had a bit of truth to them. So I turned that list into an article.

What is a record made of?

This is a good place to start. To claim that a process is damaging, it makes sense to first understand what is being damaged.

A record is made of polyvinyl chloride, otherwise known as PVC. When a record is made there are a few other things added to the mix. There are stabilizers to keep the plastic from thermal degradation while being pressed, some lubricants so it releases from the stamper, and carbon black (or other pigments) for color.

I can hear someone saying, “You forgot about plasticizers.”

I didn’t. There are plasticizers, but the amount isn’t as abundant as some think. Some record formulations use a small amount of plasticizers to soften PVC, but records aren’t as heavily plasticized as garden hoses or shower curtains.

This is a big deal actually. One of the more common claims is that over-cleaning, or using certain cleaning agents, will remove some of those plasticizers and make the record brittle. I’ve never seen or read scientific evidence that normal record cleaning, or even cleaning multiple times, extracts enough plasticizers to make it brittle. If someone out there is hiding such a report in their sock drawer, please send it my way.

On to my list…

The list of claims

Formula damage. This one is near and dear to my heart because I mix my own cleaning formulas and have researched the chemicals I use. Water doesn’t hurt vinyl. It may leave deposits if left to air dry, but the underlying PVC isn’t damaged in any way. Nonionic surfactants are harmless as well. The real debate lies in the use of isopropyl alcohol. I no longer use it because I don’t have a need for it, but it was a part of my cleaning formula for years. I used a mix that once included 99% isopropyl. I’ve never encountered damage. Out of curiosity, I once left a record in a bath of 99% alcohol for 30 days to see what would happen. I fully expected to see a thin black mist floating around the record. I didn’t. There was nothing. The record played fine afterwards. And no, I am not advocating for cleaning records with pure alcohol. If you use it, dilute it.

What I would stay away from is aggressive solvents like acetone or any household cleaners that weren’t formulated with record cleaning in mind.

Ultrasonic erosion. This one makes sense at first glance. Cavitation can erode surfaces. I’ve watched a strip of aluminum foil torn to shreds by 40 kHz cavitation. But that’s aluminum foil. It’s not a record. I have yet to find a single article or study that shows groove damage from cavitation. The bigger concern, and a legitimate one, is the heat that builds up during cavitation. That can warp a record if it’s allowed to sit in an ultrasonic bath for too long. I haven’t found evidence that multiple cleaning cycles cause damage, and I’ve used ultrasonic cleaners for a few years now. So yes, I’ll allow for a bit of caution here. Not every ultrasonic cleaner is safe. Stick with well-known brands, especially those made specifically to clean records. With the ones I’ve been using, short cycle times to control the temperature of the bath have given me no reason to believe there’s anything to worry about.

Brushes. This concern is real. Not because of “over-cleaning,” but because of using the wrong type of brush or pad. Records can be scratched, so using any old scrubbing brush could do real damage. Even a decades-old Discwasher brush that has collected dirt and never been cleaned itself can damage a record. There are real benefits to dry-brushing a record before play to remove lint and dust, but use a brush you can trust.

Residue. This one I have to acknowledge as being an example where frequent cleaning can make things worse. It’s not the actual cleaning, or even the cleaning solution, that’s the problem here. The mistake many folks make who blame it on the cleaning is not rinsing the cleaning fluid off. I don’t mean wiping it off; that will leave trace amounts of fluid that can dry and leave residue behind. Air drying is even worse. A distilled water rinse after cleaning is an essential step and one that is often neglected. In this instance, frequently cleaning and not rinsing most definitely is a problem because you’re repeatedly leaving something behind.

Is there any evidence? There are no controlled studies on this that I have been able to find. I’m skeptical of someone who says that cleaning a record five, ten, or twenty times will ruin it. I’m equally skeptical of someone who claims no amount of cleaning will ever hurt it. The real dangers are mishandling, improper tracking force, scratches, and groove damage. All of these have nothing to do with cleaning.

  I have to admit, cleaning records is an obsession of mine. I don’t know why it is; years ago I didn’t give it too much thought. I’m sure the obsession began when I first heard what a properly cleaned record actually sounds like. The process I use is intense for some, but I enjoy it. The habit I’m personally trying to break is re-cleaning a record just because I’ve tweaked my process and heard an improvement. Sometimes the best advice is to simply clean it once, relax, and enjoy that wonderful analog sound.