Wet Playing Vinyl Records

I have been collecting records for 40 years.

Wet playing vinyl records.

Thoroughly clean and dry them before playing. Keep your records dry. It is a myth that playing a wet record will reduce static build up. Never stack vinyl records as shown in this photo as it can lead to warped discs and ring wear on the album jackets.

Never wet play a vinyl record does wet playing a record help reduce noise. After years of playing vinyl you get used to handling a record properly and it takes no extra time. The benefits of a vacuum cleaner made specifically for cleaning vinyl records is that it sucks up the dirt and dust that has settled into the grooves of the vinyl while simultaneously minimizing pressure and. Never wet play your vinyl records.

Clean vinyl records with a vacuum cleaner. Never play or store a wet record. Never spritz water or wet play a vinyl record in an attempt to quiet the crackle and pops. Instead using a record with moisture on it can damage the grooves and create an even bigger mess to clean.

Once a record is played wet it needs to be played that way again to sound acceptable. Pretty much always new condition. Make sure that you fully wipe down your records with a microfiber cloth or let them air dry on a cleaning mat. Check out this experiment with a play test included.

I handle the record carefully with clean hands and by the edges. As this crud starts to dry it just makes it more difficult to now properly clean the record. Wet playing sounds like an ideal solution at first but is not. I have a good carbon fibre brush and always dust a record before playing.