Frequently asked questions

With our exclusive mist spray atomiser one 250ml bottle of our solution will clean over 205 records on average and with our 500ml bottle you should be able to clean approximately 410 records on average. The calculations are based on 4 sprays a side, 8 sprays a record.

Our Extra Strength brew contains a higher concentrate of IPA paired with a slightly more abrasive/aggressive surfactant. Perfectly safe on all vinyl however designed for the dirtier varieties of second hand vinyl out there. Melody Mate was commissioned to create this mix to help a Melbourne archive clean up a collection that had cultivated a bad case of mould and suffered from legacy nicotine contamination.

We sold of the excess we made and it proved so popular we ended up selling the mix ongoing as part of our product line up.

Our solution works very well in the Knosti, Spin Clean and Vinyl Styl cleaners in fact the Knosti and Spin Clean were two of the many cleaning devices/machines we trialed our solution on when running through our research and development back in 2014. We found that based on our electron microscope results our solution left less residue and was more effective at removing debris (including contaminants such as fingerprint and dust) than the supplied solutions. Depending on the dirtiness of the records we found that we could clean about 50-60 records before needing to replace our solution in the KDA. Similar results were found in the Spin Clean and Vinyl Styl. When they were older/dirtier it was more around the 30-35 mark. Being IPA based Melody Mate’s a little more forgiving because it tends to kill any trace of fungus or mould. Filtering and rebottling what's used in the bath in a separate bottle will prolong the use of the solution between cleans.

The Knosti, Spin Clean and Vinyl Styl all have the same basic design principles and processes and have all been tested sucessfully with our solution.

Melody Mate is made in Melbourne, Australia. Our solution is created in a controlled lab grade environment.

Melody Mate comprises of lab grade IPA, our own specifically designed surfactant and distilled water. This combination has been tried and true in one format or another since the 60's with absolutely no detrimental effect on vinyl. With most on the market solutions they use a mix of chemicals which are proprietary and for the most part are unknown to all except them. What I personally found using the a lot of other solutions is that they tend to leave residue in the grooves of the vinyl.

IPA which is used in record cleaning solutions such as Melody Mate Solution is proven effective in killing mould, it also kills bacteria and fungi. It works by dissolving cell membranes. It kills vegetative organisms by breaking down cell walls.Isopropyl Alcohol is a quick drying light-duty precision cleaner. Its fast-penetrating, 100% pure formula aggressively dissolves grease, dust, dirt, lint, oils and flux from most surfaces.

Isopropyl Alcohol also is excellent for removing polar soils such as rosin flux and other charged contaminants. It is chemically stable, non-conductive and non-corrosive. Isopropyl Alcohol evaporates rapidly and leaves no residue.

Now on to vinyl records... Vinyl is made up of ethylene (found in crude oil) and chlorine (found in regular salt). When processed, both the substances are combined to form Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) resin. As most of us learnt in secondary school science PVC is resistant to aqueous solutions and ionic compounds and would need to be immersed in a solution like IPA for months or even years before showing signs of crazing or brittleness.

Even with repeated regular cleaning the effect would be negligible. And when applying this theory to vinyl records we do have a track record to refer to as IPA has been used in record cleaning solution since the 70's. Even in archive libraries. And guess what? They still refer to these records, cleaned in IPA as reference specimens.

In fact the only drawback of IPA is that it damages schellac and that is why you should not use IPA based solution on 78 RPM records. That's it.

Ultrasonic machines work via a mechanical process at the microscopic level while more "traditional" record cleaning machines work by using a surfactant to solubilise fatty organic compounds (or dissolve/suspend inorganic compounds), i.e. a chemical process based on thermodynamics.

The removal of the dirty/spent fluid is what really sets the efficacy of one approach apart from the other. Would you rather concentrated vacuum to suck the dirty fluid out of the grooves or would you rather it just air dry?

Having said all of that you can see our detailed thoughts on our blog posts here:

http://melodymate.blogspot.com/2015/06/ultrasonic-record-cleaners-unbiased.html

http://melodymate.blogspot.com/2015/06/vpi-industries-harry-weisfeld-reviews.html

In the case of using our solution with a Spin Clean, Knosti Disco-Antistat (Gen 1 or 2) or Vinyl Styl Deep Groove it's all the same...

The user runs through the same steps as per the manufacturers instructions just with our solution as the substitute. The only difference in our solution and theirs is that our solution is designed to be used as is, in other words you don’t dilute it or add water. Once the cleaning process is complete then the user can the let the vinyl air dry or wipe them down with a microfiber cloth.

Do the records need to be distilled water washed after the clean (after rinse process)?

Based on our R&D (research) we found that an after clean rinse was unnecessary however a lot of our customers still insist on using distilled water as an after-rinse.

I believe this is just habit as the machine manufacturers supplied solution can tend to leave a film on the vinyl (and as a result eventually on the stylus).

Can the solution be reused in these machines?

The reuse of the solution is fine and recommended. Being an IPA based fluid Melody Mate is ideal for multiple usage because it kills any trace of fungus or mould on contact. Depending on the dirtiness of the records we found that we could clean about 50-60 records before needing to replace our solution in the KDA or SC. When they were older/dirtier it was more around the 40-50 mark. Filtering and rebottling what's used in the bath in a separate bottle will prolong the use of the solution between cleans.