Slime in L'art du Son record cleaning liquid

default -- Wed, 08/19/2009 - 15:16

I bought L'art du Son record cleaning liquid (for LPs) a while ago and mixed it with distilled water according to the directions. I store the mixture in a plastic container that the distilled water came in. I've noticed that over time, filaments of white slime form in the liquid. That's not very comforting! Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone know what it is?

Halcro -- Thu, 08/20/2009 - 00:36

I also did the same as you but found the 'white' slime to be grey slime and it tended to multiply rather quickly.
This suggests to me some organic 'mould' or 'growth' which cannot be a good thing to be placing in your vinyl grooves?!
This appears to be an endemic problem with L'Art du Son so I ended up ditching the lot, cleaning out my RCM with bleach and Sodium Bicarb and filling the RCM reservoir with pure distilled water.
I now use a steam cleaner to clean vinyl on the RCM and finish with a distilled water rinse and vacuum.
Good Luck.

John Mitchell -- Fri, 08/21/2009 - 14:17

Thanks for the feedback. What steam cleaner do you use? Are you concerned that the heat might damage the grooves?

John Mitchell

Scot Markwell (not verified) -- Fri, 08/21/2009 - 13:21

Scot Markwell here of Themusic.com and Elite Audio Video Distribution. It is true that under certain conditions the L Art du Son LP fluid can grow this slime, which is a mold. The reason that it does this is that if the fluid is stored in a plastic container (like the ones that a lot of distiilled water comes in), the plastic can actually trigger the mold and feed its growth. This is why the concentrated fluid comes in a glass container. If you store the mixed fluid in a glass jar this will not happen. I have only recently understood this (I had a long talk with the manufacturer) and all bottles sold now have this information inculded. I am sorry if this has grossed anyone out. If you want to get a replacement bottle to give it another go I will send you out one for the price of the shipping only. You can contact me at scot [dot] markwell [at] themusic [dot] com.

Halcro -- Sat, 08/22/2009 - 05:19

You're welcome John,
Here is a link to just one of the many on Steam Cleaning which are still active on Audiogon. http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1226841663&read&keyw&zzste... no danger to the vinyl and the cost of the steamer is around $30. Try it if you can. It's better than fluids in my opinion and saves you heaps of money over time.
Regards
Halcro