How to Clean Your Turntable Stylus - Avoid Damage!

Your record player or turntable’s needle (better known as the stylus) is the first point in the audio signal chain. For it to perform at its best, you need to keep it clean.
Today we cover the vinyl 101 topic of 'how to clean your stylus' in a way that avoids damage to the stylus/needle or cantilever.
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[@soundmatters]

Thanks for watching! If you enjoy the content, please consider supporting the channel by using the discount codes in the description of this video or by signing up to the Sound Matters Patreon for exclusive content every month. I earn a small commission on the discount codes at no extra cost to you. I appreciate your support. Happy spinning.

[@mikesulhoff1137]

I still have, and use, the Discwasher stylus brush and fluid I had in 1983. It's a beautiful thing, and as safe and effective now as it was then.

[@michaeljones3438]

Yes that Discwasher stylus brush is the best.......they don't seem to make them anymore.......I ran out of the fluid, so I refill it with 50% isopropyl alcohol........work great!

[@alangross2277]

I use an artist's paint brush to gently sweep away any dust. Seeing the before and after photos you showed, makes me want to give the Groovewasher Stylus Cleaning kit a try.

[@GuiltySouls]

I appreciate your videos! I must add a warning of the cleaning the Ortofon Blue with the Groovewasher stylus liquid cleaner based on my own experience. It damaged my stylus, and I had to purchase a replacement. Ortofon does warn about using cleaning fluid on their styluses. Like I mentioned, this was my experience, it could be different for others. Now I just use distilled water for cleaning.

[@waynesharaf6369]

Hi Marc! Thank you for the video on stylus cleaning. I have used the onzow and Hudson Hi-Fi stylus gel cleaners and they seem to work about the same but the Hudson Hi-Fi one is much cheaper. Both of them can be cleaned with just rinsing off with distilled water. Hudson Hi-Fi also has an ultrasonic cleaner that is very inexpensive (around $35) and does a remarkable job cleaning as seen by the video by Ben's audio cave. It really is a remarkable video. Hope you choose to look at it it is eye-opening

[@Rekmeyata]

I went to Hudson Hi-Fi and there is no ultrasonic cleaner in their store.

[@waynesharaf6369]

​I may have misspoken, it is actually called a UV Stylus Cleaner. I tried to send a picture of it . I'm not sure if it went through. The gadget works by vibration.

[@soundmatters]

Thanks! And thank you for adding to the topic. I didn’t know they had an ultrasonic (Hudson), I’ll check that out 🎶🎧

[@Rekmeyata]

@@waynesharaf6369 Ok, good. I watched a video of a guy micro scoping the different methods of cleaning, and the dip in gel stuff did nothing, but the Magic Eraser worked better but not as well as the Hudson Hi-Fi UV stylus cleaner did. It seems from that video the best way to clean a stylus is to first use the Magic Eraser, then use the UV cleaner, watch this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3PPeXSAr9t7aLs Thanks for bringing that Hudson Hi fi UV cleaner to our attention, I'll definitely be buying one. I was already using the Magic Eraser Original, just remember not to brush the needle, use it as you would with the gel, just do as the video shows, and only use the white side, not the blue side.

[@craigising]

Advice for young players: Try to do as much of your record/stylus cleaning dry. Never touch the record grooves with your fingers. Give the record a few rotations with a carbon fibre brush before the needle drops, and only gently wipe the stylus with a brush if you see dust on it. I never had to clean my stylus with anything other than a gentle dry brush until I started using vinyl cleaners and other wet substances, which absolutely gunked my stylus up in record (do you see what I did there?) time. I'm not saying there's never any place for cleaning solutions. But I needed to use my partner's nail polish remover to restore my stylus from all of the gunk. Never needed to since I reverted back to only dry wiping. My theory? If you're buying second-hand vinyl that is super dirty or mouldy, by all means attack it with whatever works. However, for the sake of your stylus, treat your records like fragile artefacts every time you play them, and you'll never need to resort to such lengths to clean both your records or stylus.

[@JimmyV1530]

Great video, although I do clean my stylus regularly, I am going to purchase that groove washer kit, that brush looks much easier to use.

[@soundmatters]

It’s a great design. So many others are small and fiddly or have brushes that are too dense and risk bending the cantilever. Happy listening 🎶🎧

[@faustus67]

I also really like the Groovewasher brush. Much easier to use than the Project brush I had been using. I’m a bit reticent about using the liquid though. Avid HiFi, who make my cartridge, recommend not using any liquid cleaner on it. Apparently. A fair number of other manufacturers do warn against it as well. Some suggestions are to use just a tiny amount which I may do at some point. But I’m not comfortable about it.

[@DennisHan-n9s]

Many cartridge and styli manufacturers don't want any type of liquid used because if it has alcohol or another solvent, it will eventually dissolve the epoxy that bonds the diamond tip to the cantilever. I don't think a nude stylus would have this problem.

[@DennisHan-n9s]

Also, Grado told me to never use liquid (again, I think they mean a solvent) to clean their styli. It would help if Groovewasher stated what's in the stylus cleaner.

[@soundmatters]

Thanks for joining the conversation. Yes, it’s true some manufacturers play safe and advise against fluid. Ortofon are the same. I’ve never had a problem and I use it almost daily. That said, these things are always a balance of effective cleaning and risk. I don’t find the dry cleaning enough sometimes. Happy listening 🎶🎧

[@albinklein7680]

I use stiff construction paper very lightly wetted with ethanol since decades to clean crusty styli.

[@DalstonVinyl]

Also, aluminium cantilevers are hollow tubes, and fluid can leach upwards into the cartridge body, causing untold damage...i dont have this problem though, my cantilever is solid boron. But be mindful of this issue if you use excessive fluid, too often.

[@marcbegine]

Ortofon only wants you to clean it dry, danger for the stylus glue when using fluids!

[@drgeff1]

Thanks I didn't know that

[@TheBoatmike]

Ortofon provides a stylus brush, but not liquid. The fibers on their brush appear very dense and stiff to me. Without knowing any better, it makes me use the brush with very light pressure. I would still use a light pressure with the Gvoovewasher brush, but I'd be less worrried about it. The fibers are more flexible than on the Ortofon brush and seem safer to me.

[@soundmatters]

That’s true; Ortofon likely covering their back and playing safe. Trouble is, cleaning dry often doesn’t get it fully clean. As always, these things are a balancing act of effectiveness and risk. I’ve always used the fluid and mostly use Ortofon cartridges. Happy listening 🎶🎧

[@jmfloyd23]

@@soundmattersI use mobile fidelity no. 9 liquid stylus cleaner on my Ortofon 2m blue and Sumiko blue point no. 2 carts.

[@AudioPhun]

This only applies to bonded styli, nicer nude mounted models don’t have any adhesive.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

I use a 1cm² piece of magic eraser pushed onto a toothpick. Dab it onto the stylus

[@cunningtim]

Distilled water also works well with your brush to get the gunk off, and certainly won’t harm anything

[@obsprisma]

I use the Big Fuzz gel sometimes but most of all i use the Nagaoko High Clean 801

[@soundmatters]

Thanks for adding to the discussion: I need to try these! 🎶🎧

[@rich.e]

I stopped using my Zerodust a couple of years ago after all the controversy... feel bad to have wasted all that money. Now I use one of the 'magic eraser' type cleaners after most plays; other KZbinrs have shown these to do a decent job of removing crud and give the stylus a little polish. An electronic stylus cleaner makes less frequent, supporting appearances as well. My cartridge has a Boron cantilever so liquid cleaners are out.

[@garystinson5498]

Hi. Used your link for the Groovewasher but it directs me to the U.S. site & they say they don't ship to U.K. & to go through Amazon UK.

[@soundmatters]

Yes, sadly it's too cost prohibitive for them. Amazon should have regular stock now though.

[@Wised1000]

Never use a solvent based cleaner on your stylus. FYI, alcohol of any type, is, a solvent! Many styli use glues to bond their diamonds to the cantilever or the needle itself is "bonded" thus the diamond is only the very tip of the needle, the rest being a dense metal. Most manufacturers recommend either the brush or the gel cleaner. Personally, I hate brushes because I have a shaky hand. However, there is a method as gentle as the gel and as thorough as the brush! Original Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! It will clean your stylus as well or better than any other method, has absolutely zero chemicals and is absolutely innocuous to the stylus. Simply dip the stylus into a small, thin block of the spongy material as you would into a gel cleaner. A whole eraser sponge should last you for decades (cut into small thin cubes). And, best of all, it costs pennies. Before I "dip" the stylus I give the cantilever a few short bursts of air with my optical lens Giottos manual lens blower and the entire thing is like fresh out of the box in seconds.

[@soulstrykena2934]

I used the Hudson gel cleaner and must discourage anyone from using it. I used it religiously after every side of play and found over time that the stylus became tacky itself and retained a great deal of both goo and debris. I cleaned the gel dome regularly as well. The view under a microscope was horrifying and even after cleaning the stylus with fluid and a brush there is still some goo residue remaining (also adding to mass to the stylus, the last place you want it.) Stick to a brush!

[@Rekmeyata]

That was the same problem I had with the Hudson Gel Cleaner.

[@waynesharaf6369]

I've had good luck with the Hudson Hi-Fi gel. The gel has remained intact, and is easily cleaned. I find it comparable to the Onzow. And I also use a brush on occasion. I may have good luck because my records are played only after they have been precleaned with a vacuum machine, then ultrasonically cleaned, then distilled water rinsed. I also use on occasion the Hudson Hi-Fi UV Stylus Cleaner

[@soundmatters]

Goodness me! Yea, the gels terrify me a bit I must say. Very mixed experiences. Thanks for joining the conversation 🎶🎧

[@Trebor2024]

I used your groove washer link and it appears they only ship to USA. No use to me in the UK and I can’t take advantage of the 10% discount!

[@dalerenfer6691]

If your cartridge has a hollow cantilever I've read to not to use liquid cleaners.

[@soundmatters]

It’s true that some manufacturers advise against fluids.

[@rich.e]

Additionally, liquid stylus cleaners should not be used on cartridges/styluses that have a Boron cantilever.

[@davec1117]

I'm playing only cleaned records so not getting crud but dust is floating everywhere and theres's usually a bit of dust caught on the back of the stylus after playing a side. I use a small hand pump blower sold for blowing the dust from camera sensors to blow the dust off. Left hand rests on the turntable front edge to hold, support, aim the nozzle, right hand squeezes the bulb a couple times, done. No contact, no fluids, on the rare occassion this fails, i resort to a short bristled discwasher stylus brush with a drop of disstilled water. Use a ten power jewelers loup to check out the job before and after.

[@tiborosz1825]

You can clean the stylus tip with a scrubbing foam.

[@peterrech2307]

I have my doubts on the Onzow type of unit. I have never used one, but I have seen the residue left on a stylus, which is hard to remove. The Chinese clone of the onzow should be avoided. I have found the sonic vibration units like the Hudson HiFi, Flux and Audio-Technica (which use) units to work very well to clean the stylus and to get the onzow gunk of. If you use a sonic vibration unit to clean your stylus never have your system turned on when using the cleaner.

[@cuppadan]

Agreed. Onzow sticky pad - yuck! Don't need it. The sonic vibration units work the best with or without fluid. It's best to dry brush the tip most of the time, however, once a month I've used 70% iso to clean mine for years with no problems at all. The groove washer type brush is the best type to use with the right angle carbon fiber bristles.

[@ShaneLowe-o7f]

Kerosene works fine

[@paulredding5347]

I use magic eraser once a month,but I dry brush after every side.

[@fossil9559]

Hi, I use the Flux HiFi Sonic Stylus Cleaner :-) has anyone else tried it ?

[@soundmatters]

I’d like to try this 🎶🎧

[@jmfloyd23]

I have the Flux cleaner. Works great for me.

[@DalstonVinyl]

Definitely don't use any fluid with ANY type of alcohol in it...not denatured or isopropyl even. It can ruin the cartridge by unbonding the stylus...stick to an enzymatic fluid, I use one from Greece made by Simply Analog on my upmarket MC cartridge, which I can recommend, alongside Audio Technica AT617a gel.

[@robinsantiago2200]

I have that same brush. Can make my own fluid with alcohol

[@kodithebear]

liquids can damage the stylus

[@soundmatters]

It’s true that manufacturers often advise against them. I’ve never had a problem using one so long as it’s gentle. All methods ultimately carry some risk though

[@sandyfader4649]

One drop does it.