You should want to give your platters the love they deserve after all vinyl is pretty fragile and can easily deteriorate when mishandled. I will help you find the best record cleaner. Here you have three proven ways to give your gramophone records some well deserved TLC.

The Old School Way

Wash Your LP

As a true die-hard vinyl fan you probably know how to clean records with some dishwasher liquid, water, and a terry cloth. I suggest that you get some special vinyl cleaning solution. The mild cleaning liquids will cost you around $20-30.

After the washing makes sure to leave your LP for about 30 mins till it dries out properly. Do not put it back into the folder until it is completely dry. Otherwise, you risk causing the plates to go moldy. You should not run them sooner than half an hour after washing as well.

Get A Brush

These will cost you around $15 to $30. They are great for rushing the dust off the vinyl right before you play them. I suggest you do this every time you want to play an EP. Or once every few weeks if you do not tend to run certain plaits that often.

Although far from perfect it is still an affordable sensible option. Might be useless for deep-rooted dust stuck in the grooves. A vinyl brush is still a good preventive measure though.

The Sensible Way

There is a great way to keep your LPs clean. This one has been invented decades ago and you probably have heard about the manual record washers. You place a record inside, rotate the handle and the platter gets cleaned.

These usually come for $50 to $100 depending on the brand or the offer. The cleaning kits are a great option for when you need to figure out a way how to clean old vinyl records while saving time and money without missing out on the quality.

The Fancy Way

If you are willing to fork out a few hundred dollars to give your EPs the most gentle care think about buying a special vinyl records vacuum cleaner. They come in various designs and price points designed to be extra gentle with the old fragile vinyl.

The cleaning machines are designed to take the dust out of the grooves without leaving any scratches or other traces. It might be the best way to clean vinyl.

Arguably I would say that a regular record cleaner or even soap and water are also pretty good and do not require substantial financial investments. But if you own a huge collection or are an LP dealer than by all means I suggest that you should go for it.

Sleeves

If you really want your records to serve for eternity and forever remain as good as new get yourself some additional protective vinyl sleeves. They are thin enough to be used as an extra layer between the record and the folder. Plus it is additional protection from the dust or humidity.