The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I asked him about getting the water on the core. He seemed to thing it was a resin of some kind that included wood. He was of the impression that Edison experimented with the materials and they could withstand some small levels of water for a short duration, perhaps just long enough to clean them?

We'll see

They cleaned up real nice. I took the two worst and I'm pleased with the results

BTW, I forgot that he told me to add .10% chlorine bleach to the formula too, in case there was any mold on them.

I put the mixture in a spray bottle and set the nozzle to a fine mist. I placed the record flat on a microfibre towel. After spraying the surface lightly and leaving the mixture on the surface for 15-20 seconds, I used micro fibre mitts to scrub them. I used a separate micro fibre cloth to dry them off immediately after the scrubbing.I did each side between three and six times before I was happy with the result. They seemed to be fine when I was done and there is presently not evidence of any absorbtion issues.
When done,I placed each record in an acid free paper sleeve and then a mylar sleeve, ready for storage.

I'll check them again tomorrow for any evidence of damage and try to play them. Time will tell how effective this method will be?

Make sure you're letting them dry for at least a couple of hours in something like a dish drainer (that's what I use) before sleeving them. Even though I use a vacuum assisted record cleaning machine, I still let them air dry for a couple of hours afterward. I've cleaned every one of my 1500+ Edison discs using a water based cleaner (check out the Disc Doctor's website) and never had a problem. As long as you're careful not to get anything near the core (if the disc has an edge chip, for example), you won't have any problems. I never have.

Sean

Played them tonight, all is well