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How to Clean a Record Needle + 7 Best Stylus Cleaners

How to clean a record needle or stylus. Before and after.
  • February 13, 2023

It’s a well-known truth that cleaning your stylus on a regular basis extends its lifespan and the life of your vinyl records.

Dust and dirt (including hair and tiny paper shreds from the inner sleeve) end up sticking to your vinyl records and will be picked up by the stylus tip as the record plays.

In spite of its appearance, micro dust and other material deposited on the stylus tip may reduce sound quality and even harm the stylus, which is why it is important to keep the tip clean.

This article explores how and why you should clean your record needle, the different methods, and their pros/cons.

I’ll also take you through the best techniques for cleaning your stylus, and I’ll show you some of the best products for the job.

Preparation and precautions

Be careful!

You should be extremely careful when handling the stylus of your record player. They are incredibly sensitive pieces of equipment and are very easily bent, broken, or blunted, and they can be expensive to replace.

Before diving straight into the cleaning process, you should get everything prepared.

Also, make sure you fully understand the stylus cleaning process before you start.

If you don’t handle the cleaning process properly (and gently!), you risk damaging your stylus or cartridge.

On some turntable models, the cartridge and stylus can be replaced if you break them. Although styluses aren’t cheap and often cost $100+ to replace.

Some turntables don’t have a replaceable stylus or cartridge, meaning you’d have to buy a new turntable if it gets broken.

The 7 Best Stylus Cleaners

This section looks at the best stylus cleaners for your turntable and some of the most popular cleaning techniques.

Fluid + brush stylus cleaners

The fluid and brush method of stylus cleaning is relatively straightforward and affordable.

All you need is a soft brush and cleaning alcohol. Regular ethyl or denatured alcohol does the trick, although you can also find stylus-specific fluids online. If using regular alcohol, I recommend you mix it with distilled water – make a solution with 50-70% alcohol.

Stylus-specific products often include a brush, but you can use any soft hair-based brush.

Although, the quality of the brush makes a big difference (you need a super fine brush).

Any gunk loosened with a solution ends up on the brush – don’t forget to keep the brush itself clean. You can clean the brush by applying the same cleaning solution.

Fluid is applied to the stylus tip to evaporate dust and dirt.

Downsides of stylus fluid cleaners:
Some cleaning solutions leave residue on the stylus, which can create sound interference or make even more dust stick to the needle.

(High-quality stylus cleaning alcohol like AT607a is quick-drying – and won’t leave any residue on the needle or your records.)

The full process for this method is explained further below.

Best Stylus Cleaning Fluids:

Record needle cleaner and brush

Gel-based stylus cleaners

This stylus cleaning method uses gel to remove dirt. This technique is also fairly simple.

Usually, a jello/jelly-like gel is contained in a small box. Essentially you just have to dip the needle into the gel several times. Dirt sticks to the gel and is removed from the needle.

You might need to clean the gel occasionally, but they’re easy to clean. Usually, running tap water easily removes any gunk/dust picked up during cleaning.

The downside of gel-based stylus cleaners: Be careful not to push the needle hard into the gel. It only needs to come into contact with the material gently. Pushing too hard can damage your stylus.

Cleaning my stylus with the Onzow gel-based needle cleaner.
Cleaning my stylus with the Onzow gel-based needle cleaner.

Best stylus cleaning gel

UV stylus cleaner

These futuristic tools use UV or ultrasound to clean your stylus electronically. One of the easiest ways to clean a turntable, UV cleaners make the stylus cleaning process quick and painless.

The device vibrates the needle in three dimensions to remove dust and debris. Specifically, tuned frequencies are used to prevent damage to the needle.

The exact process varies from brand to brand. Usually, the stylus is placed on an alcohol-covered sponge, then the UV is activated.

The Best UV stylus cleaner is the Hudson Hi-Fi UV Stylus Cleaner. This affordable, sturdy option makes the needle super clean within 15 seconds.

Which is the best stylus cleaner?

UV or ultrasound cleaning is the most effective method, although there aren’t many models available. The Hudson HiFi cleaner is the only readily available product. This is the most scientifically advanced technology for cleaning the stylus.

Otherwise, gel cleaners are your second-best choice. Mainly for the fact they are easy to use, portable, and fast. You don’t have to fiddle around mixing rubbing alcohol or finding a good brush.

There are loads of stylus gel cleaners available; the DS Audio ST-50 is one of the best products, albeit expensive. You can pick up decent gel cleaners for around $40 / £33.

First steps: How to clean your turntable.

Before looking at the stylus cleaning techniques, let’s first clean the overall turntable unit. This will help to prevent old dust and dirt from immediately re-dirtying your stylus.

  1. Remove the cartridge from the tonearm and put it somewhere safe for the moment (keep the stylus protector cap on). Not all turntables have a removable headshell, so you might have to clean it whilst it’s still attached.
  2. Remove the slipmat, clean it, and leave it on one side. With the slipmat off, you’ll be able to reach more hidden dusty areas.
  3. Remove any dust from the turntable with a brush and dry cloth. Try to remove any built-up dust in recessed areas. The more dust you remove now, the cleaner your setup will be. Sometimes a can of compressed air can be useful for blasting out trapped dust.
  4. After removing the dust, you can use a slightly damp/wet cloth to remove any other marks. Obviously, be careful not to get water anywhere important!
  5. Use the soft bristle brush to remove any dust from the controls and mechanisms. This includes speed selectors, pitch controls, audio outputs, and buttons.

Cleaning your turntable before you clean the needle.

How to clean a record needle: Fluid/brush method

  1. Once the main turntable housing is clean, it’s time to move on to the needle.
    If you can, remove the cartridge to make it easier to see the tip of the stylus.
  2. Mix a 70% solution of isopropyl alcohol.
  3. Use a dry, soft brush to remove any dust from the tip of the needle. Do this very gently. The direction you brush the needle is very important. You should brush it from back to front, so you scrape the dust off, rather than spreading it further up the needle or bending it by moving it in a direction it’s not built for.
  4. Take another brush and dip it in the alcohol mix. Use this alcohol-covered brush to clean the stylus further gently. Again, brushing from back to front.
  5. The alcohol helps to loosen any hardened dust and evaporates off.
  6. Wait until the alcohol evaporates; now, you can re-attach the stylus.

Cleaning a record player needle with a small brush.

How to clean a record needle: Gel pad method

The gel method differs from the fluid brush and often achieves better results. This technique is also very simple.

  1. Clean the overall turntable housing as Steps 1-4 above.
  2. Open the lid of your cleaning gel, and place it on the platter.
  3. Use the tonearm to lower the stylus tip to the gel slowly. Don’t do this by hand; use the tonearm lowering mechanism – otherwise, you risk bending the stylus.
  4. Dip the tip in the gel, not fully submerged, but enough to cover the end. Repeat multiple times, each time in a new area of the gel pad.
  5. You should see residue appear on the gel, this is the dirt being extracted from the needle.
  6. Remove the needle from the gel.
  7. Once the stylus is cleaned, you should wash the gel pad itself to remove the collected dirt.

Dirt collected after cleaning a needle with a gel-based cleaner.

Why should you clean your record player needle?

In addition to improving your listening experience, maintaining a clean stylus extends the life of your records. There are two main reasons for keeping your turntable’s stylus clean:

  1. To prevent damage to records & stylus

Abrasives such as dust, dirt, and other debris may damage the record’s stylus if they become stuck between the needle and the groove. A filthy stylus may speed up the deterioration of a record, resulting in a decrease in clarity.

  1. For better sound quality and more consistent playback

When a cartridge is covered with dust, it will not sound nice. In order to reproduce sound accurately, tight contact between the stylus and the grooves of a record is needed. The sound quality will become muted or scratchy because dust interferes with this contact. In addition, a filthy stylus is more likely to skip a beat. One of the most prevalent reasons for mistracking is a piece of stylus debris.

What happens if you don’t regularly clean it?

Several issues can arise from an uncleaned needle. Without regular cleaning, dirt, and dust will build up to an excessive level on the needle. When used, this will create a muffled, distorted sound. It will also make your records dirty, as the surface of the vinyl will pick up dirt from the needle.

Dirt and dust also eventually harden on the needle, which makes it harder to clean. Keep on top of the dirt by cleaning your needle regularly. As the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine…

How can you tell that your needle needs to be cleaned?

The most obvious sign will be a decreased sound quality in your setup.

If your records start to sound muffled and scratchy, or they keep skipping, there’s a good chance you need to clean your stylus.

To some extent, you can visually see the dust build-up, although sometimes the dirt is smaller than you can see. Your ears are a better indicator than your eyes!

Below is a before and after comparison! Can you spot the difference?

A record player needle clean before and after.

What to do if you accidentally damage your needle?

I’m sure it happens to all of us at some point! Don’t worry, a damaged needle doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

Depending on the severity of the damage, and the brand of the needle, the stylus may need to be replaced completely.

In some cases, you only need to replace the needle itself rather than the whole cartridge (which is the housing that the stylus is attached to).

Check out my guide on how to replace a record player needle for more detailed info on how to find a replacement. I also explain how you can find the right cartridge/stylus model for your turntable.

WARNING: Do not listen to records using a broken needle. Not only will it sound terrible, but the damaged needle may be more prone to scratching your precious wax!

Where to find a replacement needle

Depending on the style of cartridge you use, you may be able to buy a replacement stylus for that model. In other cases, you may need to replace the whole cartridge or even the entire tonearm.

The best places to find replacement needles and cartridges are online. Amazon is a good place to look, but often the original cartridge manufacturer will sell them directly from their websites.

Just make sure you buy a product that is compatible with your system!

FAQs

Yes, a stylus is the same as a record needle.

The terms “needle” and “stylus” are interchangeable and refer to the same item. The correct term would be “needle assembly,” although people rarely use that term.

Most styluses last around 800 to 1000 hours of use on average, depending on the brand (and materials used). After this time, a diamond-tipped stylus may need to be replaced.

Some vinyl collectors argue that the 1000-hour limit is too harsh and that good stylus maintenance may extend the life of your stylus significantly.

You should expect your stylus to outlast the average if you set up your turntable properly, clean your stylus diligently, and only play records in excellent condition.

You should clean your record needle regularly, depending on how often you use your turntable and whether you’re diligent about keeping your records clean.

The easiest way to tell is from experience. Regularly inspect the needle (with a magnifying glass if you need to). If you see hair and dirt caught on the tip, that’s a clear sign it’s time for a clean. Take note of how often that happens, and you’ll have an answer that’s right in your particular situation.

Record needles are usually made of a metal cantilever (aluminum alloy, for example) and a diamond or sapphire tip.

These materials are used for durability and sound quality.

Because of its high hardness, a diamond can be shaped into a considerably smaller stylus tip than previous ceramic models. This could track much deeper into the record’s groove, enabling the diamond to extract more information from a record groove than ceramic designs could.

This improved the frequency sensitivity and quality of record needles, allowing for high-fidelity music at home.

The metals used in the stylus and cantilever arm also have an effect on the sound. For example, boron styluses are a step up from standard aluminum ones. Boron is lighter and stiffer, which helps the needle to pick up finer details.

Have any questions or feedback?

Leave a comment below and I’ll get right back to you!

Picture of Ed Lansink
Ed Lansink

I'm a passionate vinyl collector, analog fan, and lifetime enthusiast of most things audio.

On VinyliQ I help fellow vinyl collectors enjoy their hobby to the max, sharing my knowledge about and passion for vinyl.

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