Vinyl Record Cleaning Machine

I was umming and arrring a fair bit before spending this amount on a record cleaner. I looked and looked and then decided if it actually didn’t work as intended it could always be sent back. I needn’t have worried! So far I have cleaned over 30 records with the spincare and to say I’m impressed would be an understatement! It goes together easily and the components seem to be solid. The record holder stores inside the actual “bath” so it’s really easy to put away when you’re finished cleaning. The records, some over 50 years old have been given a new lease of life. I’d cleaned by hand, washed and scrubbed with varying cleaning methods and thought they were as good as they’d ever be. How wrong I was. Now I’m pretty sure the ultrasonic cleaners are amazing, but £400 plus just isn’t in my price bracket. This little beauty has really surprised me and doing a great job. It’s actually relaxing sitting at the table going through the cleaning process. The microfibre cloths that come with the device are superb quality and the cleaning solution seems to do a great job. One thing to note, if a records in bad shape, it’s in bad shape. There’s nothing any cleaner can do. I have a bad copy of Queens Night at the Opera and hoped the Spincare would revitalise it. No, it’s just in too bad a shape. You just have to move on. All in all I’m over the moon, and for the price of a couple of new vinyl records I have given my whole collection a new life! Brilliant!

Machine is well made and does a good job even if the process is a little tedious. I followed the advice of a previous reviewer and use 150ml of the cleaner or isopropanol alcohol. A little lab grade washing up liquid and top up with distilled or de-ionised water, works very well. I just rescued my father's classical collection which have been in a mouldy, wet garage for the last 12 years and the cleaning has made them like new. I thoroughly recommend this cleaning method. But it's a long slog if you have over 400 lp's to clean, but stay with it the result are worth it.

I've had my SpinCare record bath for about six months now. I often buy used records from record fairs and Discogs, usually in a sizeable batch to save on postage. A record bath made sense to me, as opposed to the manual fluid-and-cloth method I'd used for years. For the purpose of this review, I'm going to assume that, like me, you also buy your records in batches of 10-20 wherever possible. If you buy only the occasional used record here and these, it's not for you. I followed the instructions for a while, but it wasn't working. Records would sound worse AFTER than they did BEFORE - often manifested as a once-per-revolution splodgy sound, particularly around the inner and outer grooves and during the gaps between tracks. I deduced this was dust, dirt and debris accumulated on the brushes that got deposited back on the record as you inserted and removed it from the bath. Since I stopped following the instructions and did my own thing, results have significantly improved. Records were good to play and enjoyable within an hour, even over headphones; they were virtually noise-free and left little-to-no gunk on my stylus. Here's how I got to those results: When you buy the record bath, you will be given 2 x 150ml bottles of SpinCare cleaning fluid which you'll have to mix with either Distilled or De-ionised water. The instructions suggest you use 4 capfuls each time. 4 capfuls equates to about 40ml in a 750ml bath: a ratio of about 1 part fluid to 20 parts water. It's enough to clean off any fingerprints or grease off the surface - making the record *look* clean - or discharge the static from a fresh-out-of-shrinkwrap LP, but does little more. Instead, pour the whole bottle in there FIRST and top up with water - that'll give you a ratio of 1 in 4 comparable to most ready-mixed commercial cleaning fluids. That's enough to clean even records that have been stashed in someone's loft for years. I also found the supplied solution lacks any effective surfactants - this is what allows the solution to break surface tension and penetrate deep into the grooves. A couple of drops of unscented, lab-grade washing up liquid is enough to fulfil this requirement. A 750ml bottle will set you back less than a fiver at current prices, but will last years. You now have an effective cleaning fluid, so you can go ahead and spin your records three times in each direction before placing on the drying rack. It doesn't have to be three times - if you lose count, an extra turn won't hurt. Don't use the supplied cloths to help dry your records, even if you've washed them as per the instructions. In fact - don't use ANY cloth at all. Let the records air dry COMPLETELY. It'll take 45-60 minutes for each rack of 10 records, but you won't be introducing any dust, debris, static or fibres from the cloth. Any airborne dust that falls onto the record while its still wet will simply drip into the tray. The washing-up liquid ensures you won't have any water spots left on your record either. Okay - you've used up both bottles of SpinCare's fluid - where do you go now? When I bought my record bath, a 150ml bottle cost £8 or you could get a 1l bottle for £20. Don't bother. They're basically over-priced branded bottles of Isopropanol. You can get twice as much for roughly half the price elsewhere on Amazon. And finally, look after your velvet pads. They're the parts in contact with your records and most likely to capture any filth that was on them. When you're done cleaning your records, don't rinse them under the tap as instructed - they advise you to use distilled/de-ionised water in the bath, so why rinse your pads under tap water? Let them dry in a cupboard where they won't be exposed to as much airborne dust. When you next need to use them, give them a good rub down with a firm-bristled brush - a toothbrush will do - and they're good to go. It is possible to get great results from this bath - even on musty old records. It may take a little extra investment, but an extra fiver spent on lab-grade washing-up liquid and a toothbrush justifies how much time and effort it will save you.

So, I rarely write a review, but I felt this product deserved one. We've fairly recently got into the hobby of owning vinyl and we decided to add a few rare records to our collection. We bought a used but sought after record from the early 2000's and when we got it home and played it, well, it was unplayable! There was so much dust, static, debris, noise and even what looked like algae blooms on the surface I was worried about it damaging our costly micro-line stylus. We have a good hi-fi setup including a Technics turntable and know how a good record should sound. Having done lots of research on record cleaners, including ultrasonic cleaners, we decided to keep our spend to a minimum, as it didn't seem to make sense to spend the same amount on a cleaner than we spent on the turntable. I compared this with the Spin-cleaner, and they looked identical, so we opted to save £20 and buy this. The cleaner is well thought out and very nicely packaged. I love the drying rack being stored in the base and the drying cloths supplied are excellent. Having followed the instructions in the booklet and cleaned about 10 records, it was time to try the dirty record again. I wasn't expecting too much, and even said to my wife that it might take a few cleans to get this record playable again. Boy was I wrong! From the second the stylus lowered itself onto the surface there was silence. Not a single snap, crackle or pop! I couldn't believe it. Every record we cleaned sounded brand new, like it was the first time they were being played. The full dynamic range was back in all its glory and we couldn't have been happier. I'm sure there are better cleaners out there, but for us, this was a sensibly priced product that did everything we expected of it and more. We thoroughly recommend it.

This is such an easy record cleaner to use. I’d say the only annoying thing is having to buy the distilled water for it but the outcome of the clean records is great. I’ve spent the weekend just going through my whole collection and cleaning it. From what I’ve seen with the automatic cleaners is they can take a while to clean where as this you spin the record 3 time to the right slowly and then 3 to the left slowly, wipe the excess drops of water with the supplied micro fibre cloth after pulling out of the water bath slowly and then you sit it on the rack to dry for 5 minutes and put away in an anti static sleeve (I use spincare‘s inner sleeves for this, they work great). The drying rack holds 10 records at a time so you can clean 10 records and by the time you’ve cleaned your 10th record your 1st record will probably be dry and ready to store in the sleeve. The results of the wet clean are great for the price of the product. The static is practically gone, especially in the very quiet parts of songs. As all cleaners this doesn’t get rid of scratches so you will still have them pops and clicks from scratches. I’m very happy with this as I always are with spincare’s products and would definitely recommend if you want to clean 7,10 and 12 inch records to a good standard, quickly, easily and cheaply, either brand new or used records. One of the downsides is this isn’t really worth using for cleaning any less than 25 records at a time but for me that’s it really.

Amazing results. I cleaned a box of old n soul singles that were all crackling, some in pretty poor condition, and this made an amazing difference to them. Works on styrene and vinyl equally well. Very easy to use, the drying rack air dries 10 records indoors in about 30 mins. I was worried I'd need an ultrasonic cleaner for them but tried this first and it did the trick.

Was very sceptical to be honest but decided to give it a try and my goodness what a difference it makes to old records. Some that were virtually unlistenable due to pop and crackles suddenly became playable and a joy to hear. Obviously it will not do anything for scuffs and scratches but nothing can. I got hold of the first LP i ever bought once more (Beatles Oldies but Goldies) and gave it a good clean, twice and you would never know this was released in the sixties. A great little thing and easy to get to grips with out of the box as well as getting some deionised water.

I also own a spin clean which is more or less an identical product but at double the price. If you are thinking there must be a catch then there isn't one - this machine will do the EXACT same job as the spin clean and it also comes with a nice drying rack and is packaged in a nice box. You don't get these with the spin clean product so 10/10 to Spincare for making an effort instead of trying to rip off the customers with silly prices. The big question is does it work? That depends on your level of expectation. If you are expecting to make an old record SOUND brand new then forget it. We are dealing with vinyl here and dust and static will even play havoc on brand new records. You play a new record once or twice and it has no crackles - play it a third time and you wonder where all the crackle came from? You will NEVER totally beat dust and static but you can control them with good inner sleeves, an anti static gun and just taking a bit more care when handling your records. These spin clean baths are excellent at making your old smudgy records look great [although any scratches will obviously still be present]. They will even improve the audio quality to varying degrees but you have to know how to use it and I feel the instructions are flawed. I have used the spin clean for a few years and wasn't ever satisfied with the results in terms of noticing an improvement in the audio quality - sometimes I even felt a clean in the bath made the record sound even worse than before. So I experimented and this is what I did to get the very best results 1. IMPORTANT - Make sure you clean the record with a good fibre brush or cloth [or both] first to remove as much dust as possible before you even think about putting it in the bath. 2.Bang it in the bath and follow the instructions as described [use distilled/de-ionized water] until you get ready to dry the record - this next step is what made the big difference for me - you need to rinse the record. I also have a second spin clean bath so I use that to rinse which will remove any residue left over from the cleaning fluid. You could buy a cheap container if you don't have a second bath like me? Again I use distilled/de-ionized water. I have read never to use tap water but I am unconvinced about this? You could try it though? 3. Put the records on the drying rack and leave for a couple of hours or so until dry - DONT use the cloths - let the records drip dry. 4. After a few hours there may still be some small droplets left - dab these off with a clean fibre cloth. 5.Clean your needle and put the record on the turntable and play the first 20 seconds or so - you will likely still hear some crackle / static. Lift the needle and repeat another couple of times for 20 seconds [even at 45rpm] - you will notice that the amount of crackle/static reduces with each play. These are the keys to getting the best result from this or similar products. You could spend £2,000 on a super dooper vacuum machine and it will do a better job but will it improve the audio experience by 90% more than this simple product? I doubt it and is it worth it given that most vinyl records are pretty crap pressing wise anyway? I would say that this product does a decent job for the money but you need to follow the additional steps, etc to get the best out of it. And remember vinyl records are like cars - you wash them and they look great but next day they are dirty again. You are always fighting against dust and static with vinyl. Its a real pain and begs the question - why not be gone with all the hassle and expense and stick with CD's !!!!! NB - UPDATE - I have now discovered a way to get even better results (if you can be bothered). Fill 2 tanks with distilled water with the brushes fitted. Don’t put any cleaning fluid on the brushes. Make sure you clean the brushes first with a toothbrush (one u only use for records obviously !!!). Make up a cleaning mix in a spray bottle using 99.9% alcohol, distilled water, drop of ilford developing fluid (70% distilled water, 30% alcohol, tiny drop of ilford). Spray the record, clean with a microfibre cloth, then run it thru the first tank giving it a few rotations. The next stage only works if you live somewhere (Scotland for example) that has soft water. Blast the record under the cold tap. Now give a few rotations in the 2nd tank. Dry as before.

Excelente sistema de limpieza. El silencio absoluto en un vinilo entero es imposible, siempre puede aparecer un cric, pero el resultado, sobretodo en los vinilos viejos, es muy bueno. Pienso que lo ideal es limpiar de 20 en 20.

Voldoet aan de verwachting

Machine à laver les disques de conception simple et ancienne mais robuste et efficace ! Les disques sont bien propres et c'est bien moins pénibles que les nettoyer à la main. Il est facile de faire une grosse session de nettoyage avec ce produit. A l'intérieur de la box, il y a tout ce qu'il faut : la machine contenant l'égouttoir, deux flacons de produits (il ne faut que 4 bouchons pour une session d'une cinquantaine de disques donc c'est plutôt économique bien que je ne fasse pas de session de 50 disques à nettoyer et il faut jeter la solution à chaque fois) et deux chiffons : l'un sur lequel poser le disque venant d'être égoutté et l'autre pour finir de l'essuyer. En ce qui concerne le label central, la conception fait qu'il ne peut pas être mouillé. Un petit livret est également fourni. Enfin, il faut noter qu'en cas de question ou besoin, le service client est disponible et aide volontiers. Il faut leur écrire en anglais néanmoins (marque britannique oblige). Produit à recommander sans hésiter.

Ich bin mehr als positiv überrascht! Für diesen Preis ein absolut tolles und empfehlenswertes Produkt. Ich habe einige wirklich sehr verdreckte Vinylscheiben hiermit gereinigt und der neue Klang ist glasklar! Einfach Handhabung mit super Ergebnis! Klare Empfehlung

This is a dreadful product that should be avoided at all costs. It covered my records in gunk, which led to the stylus blocking up and severe distortion - even on new, relatively clean records. The brush rollers broke within minutes of using it, one leaping out of its housing and snapping in half. Both rubber bands bunched up and made it very difficult to turn the records. Do not buy this product, you're just throwing money away.