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How to clean records
A regular question in our shop is how to clean records properly, so here's an overview.
For a quick clean before you play, a really good carbon brush is best, cost £12  These get nicely into the grooves.
And for records that are maybe a little grimy or haven't been played lately, I like to spray with a cleaning/anti static solution (£6) 
But the bigger issue is when records are really dirty, especially with finger prints - which encrust dust and grit down into the grooves. Dance records tend to get pretty mucky after a few DJ sesions and mostly when you pick up secondhand vinyl you'll want to spruce it up. And from time to time it's really worth cleaning your better records. Cleaned records can really surprise you. The dynamics are returned and quiet backgrounds will be quieter. The archetypal vinyl clicks and pops are greatly reduced or removed completely on pristine vinyl.
If it all sounds a bit long winded and nerdy, it's worth remembering that as well as sounding miles better, you are also preserving your records from the wear inflicted by dragging a stylus across layers of grit - and you are extending the life of your stylus.
There're a few ways to clean vinyl safely, depending on budget and how fancy you want to get. The cheapest is a bowl of warm water with a dash of washing up liquid. Rinse the record in the bowl and work around the grooves with a soft sponge or better, the same carbon brush you use for dry brushing to clean into the grooves. Rinse off, preferably in distilled or filtered water to reduce mineral deposits as it dries - or best, wipe with a proprietary cleaning solution such as the antistatic cleaner mentioned above. Some people like to finish off with a wipe of isopropyl alcohol (from the chemist), which is probably OK as a one off but not repeated as it is said to damage the vinyl. Lay the records out to dry on a towel
 Our favourite way of cleaning records is the Knosti Disco Antistat. It's a £50 device which basically does what I described in the washing up bowl method, but properly and easily. Critically it has within it two rows of carbon brushes, which clean the record deep into the grooves on either side. The difference before and after a Knosti clean is quite remarkable, well worth the effort.
If you want to go the next stage in cleaning your records, you really need a record vacuum. There's a few on the market, or, you can make your own fairly easily. Take a look at this article if you're considering making your own. The record vacuum sucks up the cleaning fluid after you've done a wet wash (machine or hand) and with it every last bit of dirt from deep down in the grooves where the high frequencies live. Again, if you can be bothered, the effort will be handsomely repaid.
Once you've cleaned your records, just make sure they are living in a good inner sleeve or a posh anti static inner sleeve and stored upright in a dry place. Sorry if we're teaching you to blow eggs but, one sees some awful things being done to records!!
One thing that's often overlooked is how clean the stylus is. They get dirty too with a film of gum which muffles the sound considerably. Use a stylus cleaning solution (£7)  , or a weak dilution of hydrogen peroxide, on a stylus brush (like a very small toothbrush) and brush very gently.
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