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10 Things NOT to do to Your Vinyl Records
A real vinyl record collector would never commit any of these TEN sins to their records.
In our previous article How To Clean Vinyl Records you learned all about cleaning your records with a vacuum record cleaning machine or by hand and also cleaning with regular household items. We now turn to things NOT to do to your vinyl records. Vinyl records are treasures to enjoy, but one must treat them with care as they are very fragile and easily damaged. Below are things that one should NOT do to vinyl records as it can cause damage and/or impede their sound quality. Please heed the following warnings and remember a "real" record lover wouldn't do these:
Do NOT stack vinyl records
Never stack records on top of each other whether in their jackets or not. This is one sure fire way to cause warping, possible cracking of the vinyl record because of the weight and will inevitably produce scuff marks and ring wear on the record's album cover marring the artwork. Records must always be stored upright like books on a shelf.Wet playing a vinyl record is not a cure
Never wet play a vinyl record in an attempt to quiet the crackle and pops. Doing so only forces the abrasive sludge deeper into the grooves as the needle makes its way around the record possibly doing irreversible damage. This makes the record sound even worse as the crud has dried embedding the dirt throughout the record. The liquid goop will also muck up the delicate cantilever and needle assembly on phono cartridges possibly causing the assembly to detach from the cartridge as the adhesive deteriorates from the liquid. It can also damage the turntable as the fluid can mar the surface and get into the moving parts.Keep fingers off the record
Never touch the record with your bare hands or fingers as your body oil will transfer onto the record attracting even more dust and affecting the sound quality. Always hold a record by its outer edges only. Treat a record as though it were a museum piece.Don't scuff records with clothing
Resist the temptation to wipe your vinyl record with your shirt or dry cloth no matter how soft it may feel. This will scratch and scuff the record and only move the dirt around. For dry cleaning or light touch up, use a carbon fiber record cleaning brush as it actually discharges static and lifts dirt without damaging the vinyl record.Say NO to non-approved cleaners on your vinyl records
Do not use lubricants or solvents such as baby oil, lighter fluid... no matter what anyone may tell you. These fluids can cause a devastating chemical reaction that can permanently damage a record. Use only products labelled as a vinyl record cleaner such as Discwasher D4 for manual cleaning or Nitty Gritty Pure 2 Record Cleaning Solution for vacuum record cleaning machines. If it's not specifically labelled for use on vinyl records then do NOT use it.Wait for the record platter to STOP
Never place or pick up a vinyl record as the turntable platter is spinning. This will quickly scratch the bottom of a record. Always wait for the platter to come to a complete stop before doing anything.How to properly cue up a song on a vinyl record
Never drop or abruptly pick up the needle on a vinyl record especially as it's fading out. Over time you'll start to hear ticks and pops as the vinyl is gradually getting gouged in those areas. Use the cueing lever and aim to cue up a song just before the music starts so that the needle SLOWLY drops in the silent area of the grooves and not in the areas with music. Also, wait for the music to fade out completely or stop before picking up the needle. Better still is to play an entire album side straight through.Don't mar that beautiful album cover art with tape
Refrain from using Scotch tape or packaging tape to fix a record cover that is splitting or tearing. It will completely destroy the cover especially as it ages becoming brittle, yellow, gooey and making things worse than before. Best to place the record jacket in a poly outer sleeve and place the record in its inner sleeve behind it or place the record in its inner sleeve inside a generic cardboard record jacket and save the original jacket in a poly sleeve for safekeeping.Dropping records into a sleeve or jacket is a NO-NO
Resist the temptation to let a record just drop into an inner sleeve and/or record jacket as this is how covers and sleeves split open. How to properly put a record into its sleeve/jacket: Simply hold the cover horizontally and slightly bowed open and gently slide the record in making sure it doesn't bind.Never leave your records out of their sleeves longer than necessary
Put vinyl records away when you're done. Remove a record from the turntable platter as soon as you are finished listening to it to prevent it from attracting dust and dirt. The only time a record should be outside its protective sleeve and jacket is when it is actually being played. No excuses!- How To Clean Vinyl Records
- How to Convert Vinyl Records to MP3, WAV or CDs
- Record Shelving and Storage Solutions
- How to Organize Your Vinyl Record Collection... Alphabetical, Genre...?
- Be Careful Where You Store Your Vinyl Records
- How To Fix A Warped Vinyl Record
- How To Clean A Dusty Styli
- Hints on Saving Audio to a Computer... Save As WAV or Windows Media?
- Why Does the Last Track of an LP Sound Distorted?
- Vinyl Records - Better Quality Pressings From Countries Of Origin? Does Thicker Records = Better?
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Apr 01, 12 | 8:44 pmMy dad copied his records to CD the stashed them under the house laying FLAT! They've been like this for at least 5 years. All I've done is find a place and sit them upright, and I wont get back for a few months to go through them. What do you suppose my chances are of finding them in reasonable or restorable condition?
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Dec 11, 11 | 11:07 am
We opened the package and the albums look fine. Thanks for your prompt response - it put our mind at ease!
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Dec 11, 11 | 9:17 am
Ralph,
Although temperature extremes are never a good thing for vinyl records, it seems like you should be fine as you've let the records acclimate to room temperature gently over time. I'd go ahead and carefully open the package and start listening to them. -
Dec 11, 11 | 8:07 am
We ordered some records and we were unaware they had been delivered so they sat outside on the front porch overnight. The temperature got down to about 20 degrees Farenheit. We brought the package inside and have been letting them warm to room temperature but haven't opened the box yet.
Anything else we should do? Will the cold temperature overnight ruin the reocrds?
Thanks! -
Oct 25, 11 | 2:32 pm
Records in a jukebox is definitely a unique case and one that I don't have an answer for as I don't know the inner workings of a jukebox. Having said that, I would imagine that at set intervals one would manually take the records out of the machine and give them a quick cleaning and then reinstall them. In that case please take a look at our article How to Clean Vinyl Records for some pointers. I hope that helps.
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Oct 25, 11 | 2:19 pm
It might be good to always put the records into storage after playing, but a juke box does not allow for this. Is there anything special that should be done for records sitting in a juke box. I volunteer at a museum where we have two vintage machines available for visitors to play...
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Aug 10, 11 | 9:04 am
Bernie: these are good but I'd add this one: when you see a white speck stuck between the grooves of a vinyl record never EVER try to remove it with your fingernail! You'll scratch the surrounding grooves every time and make the problem worse.
We hope the above list helps you preserve your valuable records for years to come.
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Have done all those things above, and more!
In the middle of DJing a party, sometimes one doesn't have time (or care!) to handle each record .......... We had plenty of fun though.