There are two different things that you can use to clean your records if you're on a budget: White vinegar. Dish soap (a gentle formula like Dawn, nothing with bleach or harsh chemicals).
Dampen a clean microfiber cloth with water (distilled water is preferred), and lightly wipe the entire surface of the record in a circular motion with the grooves of the record, being careful to avoid the center label.
Often used hand-in-hand with tap water, dish detergent is another household cleaning product that should never be used to clean records. Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Lactic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Parfum, Limonene, Geraniol, Citral, Linalool, Colorants, Vinegar.
Simply put a few drops of dish soap into a tub of water. Avoid using tap water if you are creating your own solution. This will help to keep minerals that could damage the vinyl away from the records that you are cleaning. Di-ionized or distilled water is ideal for cleaning records.
You should avoid cleaning vinyl records with alcohol. Although it's an effective cleaning agent, the alcohol will destroy the protective coating of the vinyl over time. Isopropyl alcohol, however, is a popular ingredient in many DIY record-cleaning fluids.
The Groove Washer Walnut Record Cleaning Kit ($39.95) is another favorite of music lovers. For something easier and possibly cheaper, depending on what you already have around the house, you can always go for Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner and water.
Some other things to avoid are commercial cleaning products (i.e. Windex, Comet, Borax, etc.) under the kitchen sink. Most often they attack the vinyl itself or, at the very least, block your grooves with even more gunk than they are trying to clean.
Washing Up Liquid And The Kitchen Sink
From there, rinse well with lukewarm running water, taking good care to avoid submerging the label. This YouTube video is a perfect primer. Washing a dirty LP record using soap and water - cheap and safe method!
Combine 50/50 white vinegar and distilled, deionized water OR 1 teaspoon dish soap with 1 liter warm distilled, deionized water in a plastic spray bottle and shake to combine. Spray the solution on your record and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Under a light stream of cool water (not cold/not hot), wet the LP in a circular motion being sure not to get the label wet. On a soft, wet sponge apply a tiny bit of dishwashing soap, clean the LP in a circular motion by soaping down the vinyl (don't get the label wet).
How To Clean Vinyl Records. If you can remember to do so, always dust your records before and after every use (especially if you are listening to a particular album on repeat). We mostly use Swiffer dusters or microfiber cloths (both can use for about 100 other household duties so a good thing to buy in bulk).
*For records that are really coated-with-grime dirty, soak a paper towel in your soap/water solution and rub the surface of the record well before starting with the brush cleaning. You can clean a LOT of records with that much solution.
The solution contains 97% purified water and the rest is 3% hydrogen peroxide, it does not eat your records. I only use microfiber cloths because they really clean great! After I dry it and put it on the platter I use my Audioquest static brush before I play it. Really like the results.
RECORD CLEANING PRODUCTS
For a few vinyl records to clean, you may not want to invest too much budget. In this case, you can, for example, use a microfiber brush associated with a small record cleaning solution. The Simply Analog or Tonar brands offer spray products that are effective and very cost-effective.
Used record purchases, in particular, should always be cleaned before they go anywhere near your turntable and stylus. Dirty records not only sound bad, but they also exacerbate stylus wear and contaminate your turntable – spreading the muck across your precious vinyl collection.
Using Clorox wipes on vinyl records can result in permanent damage to the record surface, which could render it unplayable. Therefore, it is best to avoid using Clorox wipes and other abrasive cleaning products when caring for your vinyl records.
Wash The Record
Although some people use a combination of water and dish soap, we don't recommend it. Instead, we recommend using a cleaning solution designed for use on vinyl records. However, not all record cleaning solutions are created equal. In particular, we recommend avoiding any that contain isopropyl alcohol.
Wipe Away Grime
Wipe away the grime with a dry microfiber towel in a counter-clockwise motion following the grooves of the record. Use a gentle touch but be sure that the towel is making contact with the floor of the record.
While you can use regular tap water, it may leave minerals behind in the grooves, so distilled is always the best bet.
Like with hardwood floors, vinegar's acidity will take away the shine and sheen of a no-wax floor, such as vinyl and linoleum.