Will Alcohol Ruin Your Vinyl Records? 

Alcohol can definitely damage your records. After a couple of glasses of bourbon, I accidentally tripped over my record rack and stepped on a copy of Led Zeppelin IV. It will never be the same. 😁

I've used it on records for years with no discernable ill effect so I imagine I'll continue to. I'm 53 now and still have records I got when I was 7. I'm not getting any younger and I won't be taking them with me when it's my time and when I'm gone I won't be giving a fig if the isopropyl from years ago is breaking down what I can no longer hear, lol.

The only other thing (and maybe a follow up to this video) would be a side by side waveform comparison. Another more extreme test would be to soak the record in alcohol for an unreasonable amount of time (1 hr or something like 6 hrs). Again, do a side by side comparison. "The only way to test the strength of something is to break it." Great work, and thank you!

Theres clearly no immediate affects to the vinyl that damage the sound. The issue is knowing the long term effects of it but so far Ive not seen any tests indicating alcohol as harmful, only chemical hypothesis.

I remember an old record store owner telling me using ammonia, distilled water and dish soap was a good solution. I stopped using that solution once I ran out and instead use vinyl styl cleaning fluid which I believe contains isopropyl alcohol. I think what's good is that in small quantities it helps to dry quicker.

I use IPA, i put the drinkable stuff in myself and the stuff you're probably not supposed to drink on the records

Great video! I have tried a variety of homebrew solutions I found online in my (also) homebrew ultrasonic cleaner. Solutions using alcohol produced an undeniably clean record. However, even the small amount of alcohol produced a very strong smell when combined with the cavitation and heat. I couldn’t help but think this wasn’t a great idea. I’m now using just the Tergikleen and distilled water. It’s hard to say if the records are as clean as they would be with alcohol, but there is still a significant improvement and I’m fairly confident I’m doing no harm.

New subscriber - 51 years old and have been getting into vinyl. Thanks for the video, i had been using a bit of iso alcohol with distilled water first, then straight distilled water afterwards. i'll have to rethink it

My preferred way is to take any rag, microfiber cloth too if you like that kind of thing but that's just for drying, a bit of soap, a paintbrush, and some water. You might have to repeat it once or twice, but it's definitely improved. You'll notice a lot of stuff coming off the record and it'll sound way better.

I think isopropyl helps with the evaporation of moisture...definitely don't want to trap water under protective plastic outer sleeves

Brave effort into cleaning up records. I use a factory made 0,5 liter of 'Audio Tonar' which is a vinyl cleaner bought for 12 euro. Used it for 5 years and there is still 1/3 of the liquid in the bottle. It is produced in the Netherlands, where I live. I suspect some alcohol in the content because there is a sign that it is flammable. I don't know the long term effects (>5 years). The very best procedure I have chosen is to use the Audio Tonar once. Then convert the vinyl into a digital recording and clean up clicks etc. in the software of Adobe (Audition or Studio). The advantage is that you can use it in compressed MP3-format in your Walkman as well, for recordings that were never digitalized. Of course, no issue for common Michael Jackson recordings. But for more specialized recordings with a small audience which are commercially not interesting for record companies it is a good solution.

I usually use 'revolv' or audio intelligence. neither of which contains alcohol. I once heard Michael Freemer advise white vinegar as an alternative to Alcohol I enjoyed your video have a nice weekend.

I have been useing a squirt bottle with distilled water and a few table spoon of 91% isopropyl alcohol. Its seem too work find for cleaning. Good video too

I get drunk when I listen to vinyl all the time and I enjoy the music just as much as when I’m sober

I make my own Turgikleen using Tergitol. That way I know what I am putting on my, quality control! And be sure to rinse extremely well.Rinse, rinse and repeat.

Roughly 70/80 % 99%isapropal 20/30% de ironised water , been using for 30odd years , the reason you mix with distilled/de ironised water.,is so it doesn't dry quickly, I've been collecting for 40years I've only had 1problem with a sixties compilation lo which sounded hissy after ,so down to vinyl mixture.Any anti static solutions make the record surface greasy ,but stop crackle 🇬🇧🍀👍🏼

Thank you Rick! I am in Boston this weekend for FanExpo. Question does the white vinegar smell bad? I use 50 or 60% isopropyl alcohol

I've been watching a LOT of vinyl cleaning videos lately. I've been using a VPI 16.5 for years but I'm considering making the jump to ultrasonic soon.

Vinyl Shelter made in UK is the best cleaning fluid, any kind of water alone is too dense to reach the bottom of the grooves, it needs a small amount of alchohol to lower the surface tension of the water.

How can it be grease on your vinyl if you only touch the vinyl on the edges? I think that what is on your vinyl is dust and how do you get rid of dust? One way is using a vacuum cleaner another way is using compressed air.

I speak from my personal experience: Isopropyl alcohol does not turn out to be very good at cleaning Lp's, it takes longer to evaporate and if the records aren't completely dried with a solution that had this type of alcohol, you can spoil several of your inner sleeves already that generates a reaction that gives off stains to the LP. The 96% grade alcohol has been much better for me in terms of cleaning and drying time. I have not seen with this type of alcohol a deterioration in both the records and the audio quality.

I’ve been using 1 pt 91-99% iso with 3 parts dist water. Sometimes it leaves surface noise sometimes not. I’m gonna try the dawn thing. How many drops do You use or iApproximately in tablespoons per gallon . And do you rinse with a dist water spray after the solution ?

My take on cleaning records is to keep it simple, effective, minimize the OCD level ...and only ever have to do it once. And by "cleaning" I'm talking *deep* cleaning a record ...not the light cleaning we do after putting the record on the platter. I'd never use Iso alcohol for deep cleaning records ...it's not very good for that kind of cleaning and best left for heads and pinch rollers of tape decks or in a light solution applied to a Discwasher brush. Alcohol in a cleaner is primarily to get it to evaporate faster. My secret deep cleaning elixir, at the moment, is a spray bottle of Fantastik Orange Action all purpose cleaner. Sounds like heresy. But ...what's the purpose of (deep) cleaning records ...what do we want to accomplish? I want to remove as much of the deep down crud in the groove as possible, along with any other dirt accumulation on the record, while not harming the vinyl. Since all my record purchases, these days, are used LP's I wanted a cleaning process that would restore the record as close to new as I could get it ...at least from a cleanliness standpoint. As such, my cleaning regimen might be considered harsh. I want any cleaner I use to have decent surfactant capabilities and be safe to use on plastics. There are any number of household, all surface, spray cleaners that will do this. I figure they're all made using highly-filtered de-mineralized water and, once mixed up, are filtered again before bottling. The orange oil in the Fantastik is minimal but enough to be an effective detergent; wouldn't be much of a surface cleaner if it left a greasy coating behind. I use my tap water to initially rinse the record before applying the Fantastik and to rinse it when done scrubbing the record. My water has a nominal amount of dissolved minerals; I've never worried about these minerals effecting the "cleanliness" of my records. If I had exceptionally hard water, then yeah, I would be concerned and opt for distilled water. I use a disposable 2" paint brush, the bristles evenly cut back to about 1/2", to scrub the records with the Fantastik. In the end it all works quite well and I've taken some incredibly foul-looking records and made them playable and, best of all, surprisingly quiet. And if done right, I'll never have to deep clean a record again ...just a nice sweep with the anti-static brush followed up by a lightly dampened Discwasher.

What are you using for a cloth?

Been using straight isopropyl alcohol for 40 years. Jimi Hendrix has never sounded better.

Liquinox is the bomb. 10% iso in distilled water is perfectly fine. 🎉🎉

A good scotch tends to make them sound smoother.

what are your thoughts on vodka for cleaning records I am serious

The solution that works with the Nitty Gritty Dirt machine is the best.

50/50 mix isopropyl alcohol.distilled water and a shot of jet dry works fine.

sorry,but what about with 50 years old records....which could be (and being) played even with a fork...?

My records became alcoholics so I had to cut them off...... But kidding aside, those records behind you at a 20 degree slant is a warp risk.

3:29 is that a greasy surface ?

Cleaning is the most frustrating subject in this hobby. How do you really compare? I get two injections a month in my eyes for a serious condition. People ask me if it helps slow down the progression of the disease - I don't know. I tell them I need a clone who doesn't get them so I can tell. Give me 6 LP's pressed at the same time with the exact same wear/contamination etc. and it would be a hell of a lot easier. I have some things I think are good. Some I don't care for. I have no answers and am not an absolutist. I am a rinsing freak. I rinse with distilled water and on my best stuff, and most all of my classical, I follow with a pure water, laboratory grade Tye I, rinse. I'm not put off by alcohol, especially good Scotch, but in very small concentrations and immediately thoroughly rinsed. A chemist wrote a paper where he made the point that distilled water is not good enough to rinse alcohol - it still has contaminants. I buy 2 gallons of Type I at a time and use sparingly. My current method is a Degritter with Tergitol, two rinses, last being Type I (also dries faster). Is it the best? I dunno....

Shellack does not résister alcohol!

I don't get how you need more than a couple of decades of your own experience.

Try cheap spray perfume from the dollar store, it has a little alcohol in it and distilled water and it smells good and it cleans good and evaporates cleanly and it's cheap.

I clean my records with spin clean record washer it's very well for me.

Yes ! Alcohol will damage both vinyl and shellac records .. period ! I've done years of testing with different things .. I'm almost 60 and been a vinyl user since I was a kid. If you'd really like to know how to clean filthy records just let me know.

I've seen plenty of drunks scratch albums. I say yes alcohol will hurt vinyl.