Tried a $10 ultrasonic cleaner on my dusty old jazz records and now I'm scared I ruined them

I picked up one of those cheap ultrasonic cleaners off Amazon last week, figured it would be a game changer for cleaning up some thrift store finds. Dropped in a Sunny Rollins LP that had bad crackle, ran it for like 8 minutes with distilled water and a drop of dish soap. When I pulled it out, the vinyl felt weirdly rough and the label was starting to peel at the edge. I learned the hard way that those budget cleaners don't have temperature control, so the water was way too hot and it messed with the groove. Now I'm stuck with a record that sounds worse than before, with a warped label and extra noise. Anyone else tried one of these and got burned? What do you use instead that actually works without wrecking your collection?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_scott27d ago

Did you try letting it air dry or did you pat it with a microfiber cloth?

coleman.jamie27d ago

Oh man, that's rough! Just a heads up though, patting with a microfiber cloth can actually push dirt back into the grooves if there's any residue left, better to let it air dry on a rack. I use a spin-clean now, way safer for the label and no heat drama.