Everyone's An Armchair Expert!

Frankly speaking, there’s widespread misinformation regarding record cleaning. Soaps, chemical mixes and brews, and especially the overly generous use of alcohol… not to mention Tergitol, Photo-Flo, and even an ether-based cleaning solution for windows, an unsafe blue solution sold by one distributor of jewelry and dental cleaning ultrasonics are all hazardous to your record's health! Never buy any cleaning solution that does not show its chemical ingredients. (Our ionizing agent is a propanediol 1-2-178 with distilled water, safe for records.)

These negatively affect the record either during or after cleaning. Some are anti-surfactants repelling an ultrasonic’s action, while others are not safe to use on PVC. Remember, always check a chemical’s compatibility with widely available PVC Chemical Compatibility Charts.

Non PVC-friendly cleaning solutions result in issues. Some of these agents are actually enzyme-based and promote fungus, masking the frequencies and timbre of the music by making the needle ride higher in the groove and not make full contact with the left and right channels. Liquids that are Ether or Alcohol based affect the record's plasticizer.

Unlike other cleaning systems, the Kirmuss record restoration process leaves records virtually dry, proving the premise of the record’s PVC repelling water. No air or vacuum drying needed. Any remaining droplets of water are removed by the supplied optician's lint free microfiber cloth.

As used in other ultrasonic, manual, or vacuum record cleaning systems, air drying or blow drying of chemicals that are not physically or mechanically removed further creates issues that accumulate over time (such as the introduction of static) and reduction of timbre as the cleaning solutions leave residues that further coat the record.

Ultrasonic cleaners have indeed existed for decades, and while care must be taken when introducing chemicals into the ultrasonic bath, it’s a highly valuable cleaning tool. Any frequency higher than 35kHz is detrimental to a record’s health; the issue is not the size of the bubble, but rather the speed of the plasma wave as it hits the record. To avoid standing waves in the basin that negate cleaning and restoration, look for a resonance at 70kHz in a 35kHz sonic.

In fact, many ultrasonics advertised as 40 KHz or 120 KHz are not actually using cavitation, rather, are sonic bubblers agitating a soap in the ultrasonic's bath. USE THE ALUMINUM FOIL TEST TO SEE WHICH MANUFACTURER USES CAVITATION OR A SOAP BUBBLER/AGITATOR. Or see our testing results using a cavitation tester.

But ultrasonic action alone isn’t enough. Our system removes release agents, micro-welded dust particles, fungus, and layers of previous cleaning system residues, thus restoring the record to its full potential. In our system, properly spaced records float safely and aren’t speared or squeezed (which damages the record and its label), a temperate distilled water bath is the “mechanical” cleaning action (plasma wave generated through cavitation), and a water-soluble and PVC-safe ionizing surfactant agent is sprayed onto the record’s surface to attract the plasma wave. The temporary change of the record’s charge with respect to that of the water, as well as the multiple cycles with the repeatedly applied ionizing agent, removes from the grooves the aforementioned unwanted release agents. The Kirmuss Audio KA-RC-1 is the ultimate solution to preserving your valuable record collection, truly restoring and maintaining records at an affordable price. RESULTS ARE GUARANTEED!