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How to Take Care of Vinyl Records: 7 Best Practices

How to take care of vinyl records: Keeping them clean.
  • Last updated on: March 24, 2023

Knowing how to take care of vinyl records is crucial for preserving your collection. Several elements are often overlooked, even by experienced collectors.

From correct handling, cleaning, storage, environment, and more, many areas need consideration to protect your vinyl collection.

This is way more important with vinyl than other formats because it’s a type of physical media.

This resource outlines the most important things to keep an eye on to give your record collection the longest lifespan. Reading this will ensure you preserve their sound quality for the best listening experience.

TL;DR – How to Take Care of Vinyl Records

  1. Handle your records correctly, and make sure you don’t get them dirty.
  2. Make sure records are stored correctly, in the right environment
  3. Put records in sleeves after use to protect them from dust etc.
  4. Clean your vinyl records properly, from a light wipe with a brush before/after play to a full-on wet clean to remove gunk and tougher dirt.
  5. Fix a warped record to keep your vinyl and turntable in good shape
  6. Look after your turntable – particularly the cartridge and its stylus, which should be cleaned and replaced as needed.

1) Handle Vinyl Records Correctly

You must know how to handle vinyl records properly. If you do it wrong, you risk making your records greasy and sticky (or even damaged), which can cause more issues down the line.

There is actually a correct technique for handling vinyl records. Although you’ll often see new collectors (or even the experienced) just grab records out the sleeve without paying any attention to how they hold them. This is going to get grease on the grooves – making dust stick to them more, and building up, which ends up sticking to your stylus.

Records should strictly be held by the edges and center label. You should never touch the groove area. When possible, try to hold the record by gently squeezing it from the edges in between your hands rather than touching it with your fingertips. This means that you only touch the side edge, leaving the rest in pristine condition. Not only will these prevent records from attracting dust, but it also means you won’t have to clean them so often.

See the full guide here → How To Handle Vinyl Records

How to Correctly “Load” a Vinyl Record

When putting a record on your turntable, there is a correct process to follow. This ensures you don’t cause any damage. If you aren’t careful when you put a record on, there is a risk of damaging either the surface of the record or the stylus tip.

Follow these steps every time when playing and stopping a record as a best practice.

  1. Carefully remove the record from its outer and inner sleeves, being careful not to touch the record’s surface.
  2. While the turntable is stopped, carefully lower the record onto the platter.
  3. Give the record a quick clean with a brush or microfiber cloth.
  4. Use the cueing lever to lower the tonearm safely, then play the record.
  5. When the record has ended, use the cueing lever again to raise the tonearm.
  6. Clean the record and put it back in the sleeve.

For some people, this will already be a force of habit. Although if you’ve ever had the correct process explained to you, it’s easy to get parts wrong.

Another key process relating to handling is making sure you put records back in their inner (and outer) sleeves after you play them. Also, ensure you store them correctly. More on that further down.

How to handle vinyl records. Removing a record from its sleeve.

2) How to Store Records Correctly

You must store vinyl records correctly to prevent dust build-up and degradation. There is a risk of damaging your entire collection if you mess it up. The main things to consider are the system you use for storage and the environment you keep your collection in.

Here are a few simple tips and rules to follow for the best vinyl record storage practices:

  • Avoid areas with high dust and dirt.
  • Avoid heat
  • Avoid direct sunlight
  • Avoid pressure
  • Avoid intense vibrations
  • Store upright – like books on a bookshelf
  • Use protective sleeves.

Records need a relatively specific environment to maintain their condition. The ideal temperature is between 65° and 70° F (18-21°C) with 45% to 50% humidity.

It’s also crucial that you never store records stacked on each other; this will cause the lower records to warp or even crack under pressure. People often stack them up with little care, but this is one of the quickest ways to bend a record out of shape.

Badly stored vinyl records: Too much lean and hard edges.
Badly stored vinyl records: Too much lean and hard edges.

For a full explanation of proper storage techniques for vinyl records, check out my guide → How to store records properly.

Record sleeves are also an important part of storage…

3) Using Record Sleeves

Keeping records in the right sleeves also helps to keep them clean, safe, and scratch-free. It’s always a better idea to keep records inside inner sleeves than straight inside the colored cardboard album jacket. I also like to use outside plastic sleeves to keep the cover art in good condition too.

Not all inner sleeves are equal. Paper sleeves tend to be a bad idea and leave paper fibers on the record surface and creating additional static electricity. A polyethylene (plastic) inner sleeve is the best type – keeping your record’s surface clean and protected.

Most records come with paper inner sleeves from the factory, so I recommend using something like these Polythene Inner Sleeves. You can even find some with rounded corners, which make it easier to slide into the jacket.

I usually keep the paper inner sleeves tucked inside the outer sleeve (rather than throwing them away). They were part of the original presentation, after all.

Inner and outer record sleeves protect your vinyl records from dust and debris.

4) Clean Records The Right Way

Knowing how to clean records properly is also crucial to keeping them in good shape. There are several recommended methods and others you should avoid. This is just a brief overview of some of the common methods. So make sure you check out the link to the full cleaning guide at the end of this section.

Best Vinyl Record Cleaning Methods

  • Anti-static vinyl brushes/pads.
  • Vinyl record cleaning microfiber cloth.
  • Cleaning solution/fluid.
  • Use a record cleaning machine.

Bad Record Cleaning Methods (avoid these)

  • Wiping with your hands.
  • Wiping with a random cloth (t-shirt, tea towel).
  • Blowing the dust off. (Chances are you’ll blow tiny saliva droplets onto your record)

You should try to clean your records regularly. I’d recommend giving them a quick brush before and after each playback, paired with a deeper clean every month or two to remove heavier dirt and dust.

Here are some short explanations of the most effective (and simplest) cleaning methods.

Using a Record Cleaning Brush

The easiest, quickest way to clean your vinyl is by using an anti-static carbon fiber brush or pad. This tool is used to remove dirt stuck inside a record’s groove.

Simply move the record brush in a circular motion over the record’s surface, pulling the dust particles toward the outside edge. Then remove the dirt particles from the record brush and repeat until clean.

Carbon fiber brushes are a decent cleaning method for removing dust, although they won’t remove grease and natural oils from finger marks. They need a deeper clean with a cleaning solution.

Brushing before playback helps to remove dust that would otherwise end up sticking to your stylus.

Using a record brush to clean a vinyl record.

Wet Cleaning Records

Groovewasher G2 cleaning kit.To give dirty records a deep clean, using a ‘wet cleaning’ method with a liquid cleaning solution is another easy and effective choice. I like to use this technique whenever I pick up some used records. You can also use wet cleaning machines, which I’ll show you later.

Simply spray the cleaning solution onto the vinyl surface. (I recommend something like the AT634a Record Care Solution or GrooveWasher’s basic cleaning kit (below) ). Don’t spray the entire record; try to avoid the inner label – you only want to get the main groove areas.

Let the cleaning solution soak in briefly, then lightly wipe dry with a lint-free cloth in a circular motion. Ensure the record is completely dry before you play it. (Make sure you use a solution that doesn’t contain isopropyl alcohol – this can damage records. Some wet clean fluids require mixing with distilled water, although check the instructions for the brand you use.

Vinyl Record Cleaning Machines

A record cleaning machine is a highly effective, if expensive, cleaning tool. The more manual Spin Clean is a good start for wet cleaning, but the Pro-Ject VC-S2 or VC-E are great examples of these record cleaning machines. They can help you do a great job at deep cleaning your records.

Want to find out more? Check this resource → How To Clean Vinyl Records.

Best Cleaning Tools and Kits

I recommend owning a record cleaning kit as it makes the process of cleaning records a lot easier and more convenient. Kits can be picked up at affordable prices, but they give you all the tools you need to correctly and safely clean your records.

These are my top recommendations for vinyl care tools and cleaning kits:

My Pro-Ject VC-E record cleaning machine.
My Pro-Ject VC-E record cleaning machine.

If you want more recommendations, check out my full guide here: The Best Record Cleaning Tools and Kits!

5) Fixing Warped Records

Sadly, records can easily become warped; due to heat, pressure, or incorrect storage. Depending on the severity of the warping, it’s potentially fixable.

A warped record seen from the side.
A warped record seen from the side.

There are a couple of methods to try:

  1. You can try squashing the record between two heavy, flat surfaces. This is the cheapest and easiest method, although it might not produce the best results. You also need to be very careful not to do more harm than good working with abrasive surfaces.
  2. The second option is to use a specific record flattening machine. These are expensive, although they work very effectively.

It’s also worth noting that there are a couple of methods that you should avoid. Although you still see them getting suggested. Basically, any method that involves heating or putting records in the oven can be too risky.

If you want to see more details on this topic, check my guide → How To Flatten Warped Records.

6) Taking Care of your record player

Besides looking after the records themselves, you also need to maintain your record player. Try to keep it as clean as possible, and dust it off every now and then. This could be in and around the turntable platter, tonearm, or anywhere where dust and other dirt might gather.

Cleaning your turntable before you clean the needle.

More importantly, clean your turntable’s stylus regularly  (with cleaning fluid) and replace it when it gets worn out.

Learn how to do this in my full guide → How to clean your record player needle.

Stylus cleaning kits are useful here, which easily remove dust and dirt that gets stuck to the tip. You can either use a stylus brush or cleaning fluid (or both).

A record player needle clean before and after.

Cartridges with a worn stylus or damaged suspension mechanism also pose a threat to your records. I’d recommend you change the cartridge (or at least the cartridge) every couple of years. Or if the audio quality seems reduced even after cleaning it.

7) Fixing common issues with vinyl

Even if you try your hardest to take care of vinyl records, sometimes things go wrong, turntables need recalibrating, or you make a purchase that wasn’t in top-notch shape.

Don’t fret; in some cases, there’s a lot you can DIY and fix. Have a look at these guides:

FAQs

You maintain vinyl records by sticking to these basic rules:

  • Handle them correctly.
  • Keep them clean.
  • Store them properly.
  • Use a clean, well-maintained stylus and record player.

See the rest of the guide for more details on each of these elements.

The best thing to clean vinyl records with depends on how dirty the record is.

For superficial cleaning, the best tool is a carbon fiber cleaning brush or pad.

Wet cleaning methods and ultrasonic cleaners are more effective for cleaning grease and dirt embedded in tightly-spaced grooves.

Learn more on this topic here → Cleaning vinyl records.

Vinyl records are not as hard to take care of as you might think. You just need to stick to a few basic principles to maintain their condition.

Once you get your initial storage system set up, then you only need to keep to a couple of habits to keep your record collection in great condition!

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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