I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.

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Quiet Earth

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I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« on: 21 Aug 2014, 11:41 pm »
Hi everyone,

I have been buying quite a few used records lately. Recently I bought seven for 7 dollars, but many of them have been 2 dollars each.  At these low prices I don't really care how bad they look or how dirty they are. I just bring them home and clean 'em up on the nitty gritty machine. Then I give 'em a listen. The ones that I enjoy musically I give a second cleaning on the nitty gritty, but this time with enzyme cleaner. Wow, it really does bring the noisy grunge down to a lower level. Of course some of these old used records are incapable of getting the silent treatment because they are worn too badly. Don't expect miracles. But many of them get respectably quiet after the enzyme cleaning. I am pleasantly surprised.

I'm on my second bottle of MoFi Plus Enzyme Cleaner and I will likely buy some more when it runs out. Maybe I will try a different brand. I would love to hear your take on using enzyme cleaner, but mostly I thought I would share my good luck story. I actually found something here that helps these old records and I thought it was worth sharing. (I know this is old news to a lot of you guys, but maybe it's worth repeating.  :thumb:)

Happy spinning!

Letitroll98

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #1 on: 22 Aug 2014, 03:13 am »
I use Audio Intelligent 3 step cleaner, which uses the enzyme cleaner first, then a regular cleaner, then a purified water rinse.  No idea which brand might be the best, but AI is about the least expensive that I've found.  There also might be a discussion about which product might be best to use first, enzyme or standard wash.  Also there's talk that contact lens enzyme cleaner is the same thing, haven't been brave enough to try this myself, yet.  All in all, the general consensus is that enzyme cleaners work best on old records that may have mold in the grooves.

xsb7244

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xsb7244

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #3 on: 25 Aug 2014, 06:47 pm »
member orthobiz uses Endozime.  orthobiz, can you tell us about Endozime?

Wayner

Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #4 on: 25 Aug 2014, 08:42 pm »
Please use the correct name, it's Bizwiz......... :D

orthobiz

Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #5 on: 1 Sep 2014, 02:27 am »
Ortho has been AWOL but I did catch this thread.
They no longer use Endozime at my hospital, it has been
supplanted by a different brand, don't know the name off-hand.

Anyway, the Endozime is cheap. I sent some overseas to a member and
he had similar results with, I believe, a common household cleaner.

The enzymes contain proteases and lipases, attacking protein (dirt) and fat (greasy fingers
smearing shabby clothes). They use it on delicate instruments.

And, if the record industry is tiny, tiny when it comes to using cleaning chemicals, I figured
the secret ingredient of these compounds would be something like the cleaning fluids used
in other, bigger industries: like hospitals.

When I was using my Loricraft, I had good results with the Endozime stuff. Now I've been using
an Audiodesk ultrasonic and am afraid to use anything but their fluid.  So I'm out of the enzyme
business for now.

But the stuff is dirt cheap (no pun intended), not like the boutique stuff we audiofools buy, a sort
of snake venom of cleaning.

Paul

orthobiz

Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #6 on: 1 Sep 2014, 02:36 am »
Also, I see Endozime has a new product that even has amylase to get starches. And I see it comes in a 1oz size, a box with a bunch of little bottles. I don't see that it would harm the records, any interest? I can look into buying this from my medical supplier.

Also, I see they sell a case of 4 gallons of the yellow stuff I had for over a 100 bucks a gallon. But, that's cheap given that an ounce will dilute to a quart or more and a gallon has 128 oz. in it (if my grade school memory serves me well). So a gallon makes 128 quart bottles of stuff. Pretty slick, eh?

Paul

Diamond Dog

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #7 on: 1 Sep 2014, 05:07 pm »
Hi all:  I'm not a vinyl guy so because of that, I'm just curious as to what kinds of soiling an LP would be exposed to where an enzyme-based cleaner would be required? I get the oil-from- fingerprints aspect as a lot of people wouldn't handle their vinyl as carefully as you guys would, but outside of that, unless they were using those records as serving dishes or murder weapons, what organic soil loads would those vinyl records be subjected to where an enzyme cleaner would be beneficial ?

And now that I've asked that question, do I really want to know the answer?   :green:

It's just a professional curiosity - I work in the business and I'm wondering if it's got more to do with the detergent that those products contain than it has to do with the enzymes.

Thanks
D.D.

Quiet Earth

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #8 on: 1 Sep 2014, 06:56 pm »
Fantastic question and observation! I don't have a freakin' clue what it is we are really cleaning, although I think mold might be one thing on the used record list. Also, why would a brand new record benefit from enzyme cleaning? Again, I have no idea either.

Also, I don't know if I would experiment with the hospital grade stuff since it is an area that I have no experience with. The MoFi enzyme liquid is crystal clear. There is no brown or blue coloring like the hospital stuff. Is it different?

Good question double D.  :thumb:

Wayner

Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #9 on: 1 Sep 2014, 07:21 pm »
Lot of people drink when they are listening to vinyl, so there is probably beer and wine compounds in the grooves, growing mold, along with a damp storage area for records, just plain general overall humidity along with something to start growing (again, beer-wine) and you have a festering mold colony.

Not to mention if someone spits or coughs over a record, that too could be a breeding ground for mold. How's that for starters?

S Clark

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #10 on: 1 Sep 2014, 07:35 pm »
The largest component of household dust is human skin cells.  Other organics mentioned are the oils, molds, mildews cellulose from older record sleeves... all of which could be denatured with various enzymes.  Mold and mildew would be the hardest to remove as they would have grown along the groove surface (scuttlebutt has them etching into the vinyl).  I've used Phoenix cleaner w/enzymes for several years and been happy with it. 

Diamond Dog

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Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #11 on: 2 Sep 2014, 12:17 am »

Good to know, thanks. FWIW you could get a jug of enzyme cleaner at any local janitorial supply house for not too much money. Ask for something with a neutral pH so it's easy on the vinyl. A lot of what you mentioned would likely not be broken down by typically-used enzymes, though. They are fairly specific in terms of what they'll go after.

Jeez, listen to me... I sound like an EE in a cable thread !  :lol:

Wayner, I didn't realize vinyl was such a messy listen. You guys must really like to get down.  :wink:


D.D.

 

Wayner

Re: I'm getting good results with enzyme cleaner.
« Reply #12 on: 2 Sep 2014, 01:54 am »
I am a clean freak......