The Disc Doctor's cleaning product consists of a carefully formulated cleaning solution designed to remove all impurities and rinse clean leaving no residues. The complete cleaning system comprises:

 The solution

 2 small dispenser bottles

 A pair of cleaning pads with spare replacement covers

 A bottle of distilled water

 5 Lint free cotton cleaning cloths.

To use the system, first brush any dust or hairs from the record then place it on a work surface on a protective cloth. I use two of the lint free cloths supplied with the package. Cleaning solution is applied to a dampened pad and wiped round the record following the grooves. It is then worked into the surface by rubbing the pad back & forth 3 or 4 times over a third of the record's circumference. This is then repeated until the entire record has been cleaned. The cleaner is then wiped off with a lint free cloth. I then repeat this process for the B side of the record. Then I rinse the record under a cold running tap. I find this extra rinse very helpful in getting a quiet background to music. To ensure no pollution of the cleaned surface I finish off with a distilled water clean. if you live in an area with hard or tainted water you might want to use a water filter or bottled water for this stage. The excess water is dried off with a separate lint free cloth. Next distilled water is applied to the second cleaning pad and worked into the record surface using the same method as the cleaner; finally the record is dried with a third lint free cloth. After treatment the record is racked in a plate rack and left to air dry. In a typical cleaning session I will rack up 10 records at a time. Alternatively records can be dried with a vacuum cleaner with a velvet protected nozzle.

Once a record has been properly cleaned this way with careful handling you should never have to clean it again. Just brush before and after playing with a Carbon Fibre record brush, always handle records only by the edges, and always keep records in their new film lined sleeves. Even new mint records should be cleaned with the solution as it removes the mould (as in moulding plastic not musty stuff!) release agent left from pressing the record which will obscure some elements of the sound.

Below I have shown an especially bad example record I found at a local charity shop. The obvious food contamination had become a base for mould to grow and develop and the result was something I would never subject my stylus too!

And here is the same record after cleaning with the disc doctor kit, fit to play or sell. This particular box set by the way is listed at £25 on the web.

Vinylcare Record Cleaning Kit Review Hi-FI World February 2010

An effective method of cleaning records is an essential part of any LP replay system, but record cleaning machines are still too exotic (and too expensive) for many listeners. So, a well chosen set of specially designed tools such as this Vinylcare Record Cleaning Kit is a welcome development. At its heart is Disc Doctor’s ” Miracle Record Cleaner” cleaning solution and special pads imported from the USA. Added to this in the kit is absolutely everything else that you will need, apart from the records and somewhere to work.

The first step is to remove the loose dirt with the carbon fibre brush. As this brush is bound to get a bit mucky a second one is included for dusting off “cleaned” records before everyday replay. Next the “Disc Doctor” solution is brought into play. Using this with the special cleaning pads is where the work is done and it takes a bit of practise to get the action just right, but once mastered it’s pretty painless. The record is then rinsed under a running tap (mind that paper label!) to remove the cleaning solution, this is probably the most fraught part of the whole process as it invariably involves getting under your wife or partner’s feet, so be careful. The final stage is to wipe the record again with a second cleaning pad and the distilled water, after which the record is declared clean!

It is recommended to give the disc the once over with the clean carbon fibre brush and the stylus a quick wipe with the Dry Clean pad (included) before listening , if you don’t want your stylus to be the final weak link in the record cleaning chain. Finally the record should be replaced in one of the polythene lined inner sleeves provided.

On audition, the results were most impressive; the obviously well-used test records looked clean, sounded good and the number of pops and clicks were not far off what one would expect from new ones. Not bad for something that could have been a table mat or part of the clutter on a teenager’s bedroom floor in a past life! As the Vinylcare kit is so comprehensive I’d recommend it most for those who are either new to LPs or are returning to them. The more hardcore disc spinner may find they have a lot of the tools already but as these things don’t last forever it’s still worth considering.

With thanks to the reviewer, Tim Jarman. Hi-Fi World