Nitty Gritty Model 1 – Manual Vacuum Cleaner For Vinyl

How many times have you carefully unwrapped that pristine new album, placed it on the turntable, dropped the needle, and waited for that joylfull release of sound, only to be greeted with unexpected vinyl surface noise, pops and clicks?

For many years I would carefully wipe the records with a whole range of products that claimed to remove dust, dirt and reduce static. To be fair, they did help, but Nitty Gritty opened up a whole new ‘Clean Universe’. Liquids and vacuum are the clear winner here unless you can afford an ultrasonic cleaner.

There are several approaches to effectively cleaning records with fluids, in order of their cost:

1. Manual clothes – lots of ‘elbow grease’!
2. Manual machines such as the Spin Clean
3. Manual vacuum machines – Nitty Gritty Model 1 as reviewed here.
4. Automatic vacuum machines – Nitty Gritty
5. Ultrasonic cleaners – such as the Audio Desk Systeme

Assuming that there is no physical damage to a disc there are several noise sources that the needle will pick up:

1. Static electricity created by the needle and/or cleaning
2. Dust and dirt that gets lodged in the grooves
3. A poor/faulty pressing that has a poor surface finish to the vinyl groove AND
4. The rumored mold release agent used during the pressing process

Let me quickly deal with point 4. Having been to a vinyl pressing plant, talked to the engineers and watched the albums being pressed, the claim that a substance is sprayed onto the stampers prior to the disc being pressed, in order to help release them after they are pressed, appears to be an ‘old wives tale’. I never saw any evidence of such a process and the engineers denied that it ever happens, nor is it even part of the stamping process. However, it was concluded during my discussions that the high pressures involved on the organic and hot vinyl MIGHT cause various compounds at a molecular level to come to the surface during the pressing process. It is these compounds that might be referred to as ‘mold release’. If this is the case, and they indeed are organic by-products of the pressing process, there are now organic cleaners that can supposedly ‘eat’ and dissolve this coating. More on these organic cleaners in a later post and review.

Point 3 means you either return the album or just ‘suck it up’. No amount of cleaning is going to improve this issue.

Points 1 and 2 are where vacuum cleaning really makes the vinyl shine, in more ways than one.

The push to get a record cleaning machine started just after I began to get lots of static build up during a particularly dry summer which, in conjunction with my HVAC, caused terrible static problems. I added an anti-static arm, as shown below, that was very effective. However, it was a little bothersome to use and I had to add an anti-skating modification, in order to make it correctly follow the arm and needle, and my own arm support.

This anti-static cleaner is available from many vendors on E-Bay

Modified Anti-Static Arm, Electrically Isolated (from turntable chassis) with Anti-Skating Modification and Arm Support

So after reading literally dozens of reviews I decided that a cost effective manual vacuum cleaner was in my future. These cleaners not only remove virtually all of the groove dirt, but in conjunction with high quality record sleeves, I use Mobile Fidelity Original Master Sleeves, virtually eliminate all static. I still use an AudioQuest anti-static brush just prior to playing, basically to remove any residual static and any dust that has landed on the album after removing it from its sleeve.

The Nitty Gritty Model 1

Nitty Gritty sells a whole range of vinyl vacuum cleaners and associated cleaning fluids and spares. To be fair their is no real difference in the cleaning performance of any of their models, they all do an excellent job. What you get from the more expensive models is the ability to:

1. Have the disc spun automatically
2. Apply the cleaning fluid(s) from a local tank(s)
3. Clean BOTH sides at the same time

I am sure if you have a large collection of vinyl that all needs cleaning, then the more expensive automatic models would certainly make your work faster and easier. For most of us the Model 1 works really well.

These vacuum cleaners have a range of cleaning fluids that are specifically formulated for:

• Lacquer records, 78’s – PURE1
• Vinyl records – PURE2. This is what I universally use.
• A vinyl and lacquer pre cleaner – FIRSTrv
• An enhanced Enzyme cleaning fluid – PUREnzyme+
• A cleaning and polishing fluid for CD’s – PURE CD

It is also possible to use other manufacturers cleaning fluids at your own discretion.

In Use

Using the Model 1 is extremely simple and requires no special skill sets, just some common sense.

A few pointers to remember when using the cleaner, applying the cleaning fluid, and ‘scrubbing’ the disc:

1. At the beginning to each cleaning session, turn the unit on, and use the provided brush to bring up the nap and remove any accumulated dust etc. on the vacuum slot lips. Then turn off.
2. Always fully wet the velvet lips of the vacuum slot prior to use with the cleaning fluid. If you see the nap getting compressed or worn, replace them.
3. Don’t be afraid of using too much cleaning fluid (within reason), and try not to wet the label. You need the fluid to ‘wet’ the entire surface of the disc and NOT to dry out anywhere on the discs surface before or during the vacuuming process. If this happens the dirt in that area cannot be vacuumed away.
4. Always fully wet the velvet scrubbing brush with the cleaning fluid before use.
5. ONLY ‘scrub’ the grooves, with the provided brush parallel to their rotational direction NEVER across them. Replace this velvet brush if the nap becomes worn.
   1. Placing the vinyl on the turntable fully wet both sides, spreading the cleaning fluid using the velvet cleaning brush. Now hold the brush on the vinyl, above and parallel to, the vacuum slot, apply a little pressure, and gentle rotate the vinyl backwards and forwards, keeping the brush static, and advancing the vinyl after every two or three short rotational movements. This technique scrubs both sides at the same time. (However, in order to ensure both sides get the same scrubbing treatment, I repeat the entire scrubbing process after turning the disc over). Once the whole disc is scrubbed apply a small amount more fluid to each side and gently spread it over the vinyls surface ensuring there are no dry spots, which will have developed during the scrubbing process. Turn on the vacuum and rotate the vinyl two or three times on each side in a continuous motion, so that all the fluid is vacumed away.
   2. These models of vacuum cleaners never fully dry the lead in track, so use a lint free cloth to carefully dry that area after vacuuming.
   3. Even though the vinyl will look dry I leave it for a minute before putting it back into an antistatic sleeve. Always use a new unused sleeve for the discs first cleaning. Old sleeves will contain dust and debris.
   4. Don’t forget to drain the vacuum cleaner after each use.
6. All vacuum cleaners are VERY noisy so make sure that you use some form of ear protection.
7. Semi-proffessional vinyl vacuum cleaners are NOT built for extended continuos use and do heat up. They do contain a heat sensitive cut out, so I would advise scheduling your cleaning in small batches over a reasonable time period.

This purchase and addition to my vinyl collection has to have been the best-spent money ever. I was astonished at the improvement in vinyl surface noise and reduction in pops and clicks. Some of my better pressings became so quiet that they almost sounded like I had put a CD on.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

All my vinyl reviews are done after each disc has been cleaned at least twice with the Nitty Gritty Model 1.