have a small confession to make: despite being a music lover all my life with vinyl being my medium of choice,
I have never owned a record cleaning machine. The frst machines I heard of-one of the Nitty Gritties if memory serves, or maybe it was the Keith Monks one-were beyond my fnancial means in those days, and the thought of hand washing my precious vinyl gave me the willies (to be totally honest, it still does)! So, with the exception of a flirtation with Last Record Preserver, I have never washed my records. I am, however, extremely fastidious with them: I never touch the playing surfaces (handling the record by the label and edge only), I always keep them in anti-static sleeves, and I never lend them to anyone.
When I buy used records, I give them a thorough examination to make sure they’re in good condition (or at least, visibly clean).