Care & Maintenance of Your Vinyl Record Collection

Vinyl records are delicate, and very susceptible to damage and wear. Therefore a few techniques should be used when it comes to handling, cleaning and storage of your valued records. There are essentially three concerns to consider when handling vinyl records. One that the record is kept free of foreign matter, Two that they be kept free of any pressure that might cause deformations such as warping and three that they are stored in a stable, controlled environment.

One can classify foreign matter as deposits which are not part of the original record, such as body oils from fingerprints, smoke, stains, stearic acids, dust etc.. Dust is commonly a mixture of flakes of human skin, minute particles of mineral or plant material, textile fibers, smoke, fingerprint oils and other organic and inorganic materials. There are often salts such as sodium chloride from fingerprints, and skin fragments and gritty silica crystals. Within this chemical mixture are the spore of countless molds, fungi and micro-organisms which live on the organic material in the dust (fingerprints make for a good culture).

Mold loves vinyl, not vinyl per-se but what is in the grooves. The paper dust and such that settles in the grooves, combined with the occasional wet cleaning, the dark confines of an album sleeve coupled with moderate temperature, all are extremely conductive to forming your own mold colonies. Much of this dirt is "hygroscopic" (water-attracting) and this tendency can encourage molds, as well as increases the corrosiveness of salts. Dust is an abrasive and combined with the pressure exerted on the groove walls by the stylus, can permanently etch the walls and worse the dust can be embedded permanently into thermoplastic substances. Only a small point of the stylus is actually making contact with the groove walls, one and a half grams of stylus pressure on such a minute surface translates to several tons of pressure per square inch. The resulting drag generates enough heat that the plastic partially melts, though not enough to deform the vinyl but cause a microscopic flow around the stylus into which dust can be embedded permanently.

Stearic acids have always been a part of the making of vinyl in one form or another. After a record is pressed there will be thin film of these acids on the surface of the vinyl. The stearic acids found in vinyl formulation has a two-fold effect in the vinyl production process, they act as a record mold release agent but there primary purpose is to act as a buffer for the vinyl stamping process.

For long life and playability, proper storage of your recordings is a must. Some of the factors to consider for the proper storage of vinyl records are temperature and humidity, dirt and dust, improper stacking, excessive pressure and weight, and mechanical or chemical damage. With respect to the environment, though not always practical, a constant temperature of 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius should be maintained. Plus a relative humidity of 45-50% is highly recommended. Avoid rapid changes in temperature and humidity, it could have a adverse effect on the life expectancy of your recordings.

Special attention should be placed on sunlight and on sources of heat such as heaters, vents, and artificial lighting. Also beware of high humidity and water. This will cause mould to grow on the album jackets, and within the inner sleeves causing unrepairable damage. Avoid dusty environments. Whenever possible, enclose your recordings in a relatively airtight container such as a cabinet with doors, or sealable boxes. Don't be afraid to lightly vacuum the area surrounding your vinyl records. Replace dirty and mouldy record jackets and inner sleeves to avoid further damage to the discs. Do not store, in or around smokey or cooking areas. Smoke and cooking greases easily adhere to phonograph records and their jackets.

NEVER...NEVER...NEVER...
Never store recordings on their sides or flat! Always maintain vinyl records in an absolutely vertical position.

Remove the original manufacturers wrapping from records. These wraps will shrink over time, eventually warping the jacket and it's contents. Replace this "shrink wrap" with high density polyethylene, or "acid free" sleeves.

Additionally, one should also replace regular paper or "acid bearing" inner sleeves, with mylar or polyethylene lined sleeves. Regular paper inner sleeves will scratch the surface of your recordings with every pass. Also available are rice paper inner sleeves from Japan, though these type of sleeves are a little expensive.

Do Not Discard the Original "Dust Sleeve"
as it completes the originality of the packaging of your phonograph record.

HANDLE WITH CARE
When handling your phonograph records or "vinyl record" avoid touching the playing or grooved surface. You should handle the record by either edge and the labeled surface only.
Remove the vinyl record from the jacket with the inner dust sleeve by bowing the jacket open by holding it against the body and applying a slight pressure with a hand. Pull the record out by holding a corner of the inner dust sleeve. Avoid pressing down onto the disc with the fingers as any dust caught between the sleeve and the disc will be pressed into the grooves.

Remove your vinyl record from the inner dust sleeve by bowing the dust sleeve and letting it slip gradually into an open hand so that the edge falls on the inside of the thumb knuckle. The middle finger should reach for the center label. Never reach into the sleeve. To hold a record, place the thumb on the edge of the disc, and the rest of the fingers of the same hand on the center label for balance. Use both hands on the edge to place disc on turntable.

Do not use paper or cardboard inner sleeves and do not store records without inner sleeves. Use soft polyethylene inner sleeves. Do not use record sleeves made of PVC.

Okay most will agree that these foreign substances should be removed to achieve ultimate playback and to preserve the life of the record itself, the debate rages on as to how best to accomplish this goal. If you ask 10 different record collectors about the best way to clean a record, you are a likely to receive ten wildly different answers from the alchemist approach to Ivory Liquid Soap in the kitchen sink. The base fluid for record cleaning solutions is distilled water. Distilled water is used for cleaning for many reasons. First being, its precise chemical make-up is known, distilled water will not leave any residue behind, it is safe to use and inexpensive. Water disperses static charges and counteracts the increased conductivity from the pick-up of salt deposits from finger prints. However water alone can not dissolve grease and oils, thus surfactants are used as additives to enable water to be grease solvent. Surfactants break grease surface bonds and allow water to penetrate grease solids, causing swelling and the random dispersion.

Nonionic surfactants such as Tergitol, Tergitol 15-S-3 is an oil soluble surfactant and 15-S-9 is a water soluble surfactant. Combined they remove a wide range of dirt and greases and can safely be used on sound recordings. Use 0.25 part of Tergitol 15-S-3 and 0.25 parts of Tergitol 15-S-9 per 100 parts of distilled water. The recording must then be rinsed thoroughly with distilled water to eliminate any trace of detergent residue. Phonograph Records or "Vinyl" are best cleaned using a record cleaning machine such as a VPI, or Nitty Gritty. These machines allow for an even dispersion of fluid and can then vacuum the liquid leaving a clean, dry surface. The records must then be rinsed thoroughly with distilled water and vacuumed dry -

Never Ever Play a Wet Record.

Most records are positively charged with static electricity. This positive charge attracts dust and grime to the groove, resulting in clicks cracks and unwanted surface noise and also accelerated the deterioration of the stylus. Since dust is usually held in place by electrostatic attraction, dry wiping on its own does not effectively work. The added friction created by the duster will cause the dust to jump back to the charged surface.

For More information about this phenomenon
and your vinyl records check out this Squidoo Lens
Static Electricty and Your Vinyl Records

Vinyl Record Grading -
Standard Goldmine Grading System

Fox Music Company uses the grading system first developed by Goldmine Records. Virtually all methods currently in use for the grading of records, is based in some way, shape, or form, on this system. Rather than offer some variation of the original system first developed by Goldmine, Fox Music Company has created a lens to display the Goldmine record grading method in it's entirety.

Visit this Squidoo Lens For More Information on
Grading Your Vinyl Records.

Record Collection Protection

Store your collectible vinyl records in our polyethylene sleeves and protect them from dust, dirt, finger oils, and other airborne pollutants. Our poly sleeves hold size and thickness tolerances
and have passed the "Photo Activity Test" certifying that they are safe for long-term storage.

When you store your phonograph records in polyethylene sleeves you keep the records and covers free from dust, dirt, finger oils and other air borne pollutants, all of which cause paper to breakdown and grooves to fill up.

Our Recyclable polyethylene or "poly" bags are made from High Clarity, 100% Pure Virgin Polyethylene material which is used worldwide in museums, archival institutions, and libraries as one of the preferred storage and display materials. Our polyethylene sleeves are stable, inert, and do not leach.

Our "poly" record sleeves also have microscopic breathing pores, which do not allow moisture to be trapped inside the sleeve. Aside from its structural superiority, it is also less expensive than most other plastic storage and display materials.

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Fox Music Company, is a Indie Record Store Nestled in the Heart of Historic Watertown Wisconsin

Vinyl, Phonograph Records, Long Plays, LPs, Albums, EPs, Wax Stacks or Stacks of Wax,
7's 10's or 12's, 45 rpm, 33 1/3 rpm, 78 rpm or maybe...., for you its Digital? Compact Disc, CD's, DVD's, Blur-ay, Hi Def, what ever your favorite term or Format,
Fox Music Company has a Large Inventory of Records & CDs, New & Used.

Fox Music Company, is located Downtown Watertown on the corner of Main Street and First Street. The record store is in the historic "Merchants National Bank Building" Our entrance is on First Street at the top of the wheel chair ramp.

The City of Watertown is located in the South Eastern portion of Wisconsin and is centered where the counties of Dodge and Jefferson meet. The North side of Watertown sits in Dodge County, the South side in Jefferson County. In the East-West direction we are midway between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Take the Fox Music Company Picture Tour
These Images are hosted at flickr (yahoo)

Vinyl Record Care and Maintenance
Cleanliness is absolutely mandatory to achieve the best sound quality of your vinyl records. A clean vinyl record will not only sound better, but last longer. It has long been proven that the playing of dirty records will result in a rapid deterioration of quality and degradation of the original recorded sound, or simply can cause permanent damage to your vinyl records.
Read More

Grading Your Vinyl Records
The following is the grading system first developed by Goldmine Records. Virtually all methods currently in use for the grading of records, is based in some way, shape, or form, on this system. Rather than offer some variation of the original system first developed by Goldmine, Fox Music Company will display the Goldmine record grading method in it's entirety.
Read More

Vinyl Records.., What Are Vinyl Records..??
Vinyl records were introduced and marketed as the unbreakable record, unlike its shellac counterpart of days gone by, that would break at the drop of a hat and becomes more brittle over time.
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David Stone Martin and the Art of Jazz
In the world of jazz there is one artist collected the world over who has never played an instrument not even a note of music but has left his mark on the jazz culture. Illustrator David Stone Martin was one of the most prolific and influential graphic designers of the postwar era, with his signature hand sketched graphics with two or three primary colors, perfectly capturing the energy and spontaneity of the jazz idiom.
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What Type of Records Do You Collect??
Vinyl Record Collectors come in as many shapes as sizes and generations as the vinyl records they collect. Why do people collect records??
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What Is A Phonograph Record??
A phonograph record is an analog sound medium that consists of a flat disc record with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the outside edge (lead-in) and ending near the center of the record (lead-out).The audio content of the record is contained within the spiral groove which extends for more than a half mile. The groove itself is actually narrower than the thickness of a human hair yet
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Lenny Bruce the Charlie Parker of Comedy
When once asked to describe jazz, trumpet legend Miles Davis sarcastically but saliently replied, "You can sweat it down to four words: Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker." Now trying to apply that same old-school, new-school trailblazer to comedy is somewhat more a problem.
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Static Electricity and Your Vinyl Records
Because static electricity plays such a major role in the problem of vinyl record cleaning and that we have repeatedly referred to the malice effects of static electricity, we feel an explanation of this phenomenon is in order.
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Audio Rarities
Fox Music is a Indie Record Store Located in the Heart of Watertown Wisconsin in the Downtown Historic District on the corner of First and Main Street. Our online location Fox Music Company - webpages where you can find and search by Artist, Album or Song - Read Reviews, Bios or Listen to Audio Clips of new release and back catalog tiles and a whole lot more......
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Don't Forget To Take The Fox Music Company
Indie Record Store Picture Tour
Hosted on flickr (yahoo images)...and of coarse you must stop and visit with
Tyson and Boogie
the Record Store Mascots or... is it "Mas-Cats"

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