Humminguru - The budget ultrasonic with the funny name

I don't really buy or play any really dirty records. I mostly buy new reissues, and near-mint used albums. I currently use Audio Intelligent One Step Cleaning Fluid with the Pro-ject Vacuum Cleaning Machine. I clean all albums, even new, when I get them and put them in Mofi sleeves. Is it worth switching to the Humminguru? Will it be easier to use and give better results? Should I reclean the ones I did by the previous method? For effectiveness and efficiency, what liquids and method would you recommend for this type of use? Should I consider the humminguru stylus cleaner too? Thanks for the advice.

 

Thanks a bunch for this post. I snagged one of these during the holiday sale. I've been using 15 drops per gallon of Tergikleen for my cleaning cycle and ordered a 2nd water tank for my rinse cycle to remove the paranoia of residual Tergikleen in the filter. I use a 5 min wash for 5 records then drain, and was initially doing a 2 minute auto cycle for the rinse. I switched to a 5 min auto cycle for the rinse recently and found a significant reduction in record noise. Some records I had thought to be irredeemable sound great now.

 

I switched to a similar regimen. I'm mostly cleaning new records singly now that I've cleaned most of my regularly played records. I too found switching to a separate rinse cycle was a noticeable improvement.

 

@shotgunshane
Humminguru should be giving you a kickback. Yes, I ordered one too.

Reading through your recommendations. I'm not sure I understand your coffee filter thing. Of course, I don't really understand how you put the water in, etc., because I don't have hardware in my hands. It looks like you pour the water from the gallon jug into the hole where the record goes. Really? If that's the case, essentially any funnel would work.??

Thanks again for putting all of this down. It is a great resource.

 

That's pretty much it! Dump down the record basin, spin/clean, then the machine evacuates the solution/water back into the tank. Then the drying cycle starts.

 

Perfect! Thank you.

 

Quick update: I've now had my HumminGuru RCM for about a year now and it's been 100% trouble free. I've cleaned about half of my collection, approximately 300 records, and every new LP gets a trip through the RCM before first play. HumminGuru just came out with sleeves (inner and outer) that seem to be competitively priced compared to my go-to Invest in Vinyl sleeves. This link to the sleeves on Amazon includes a 10% discount code. I've just ordered up some of the inners, so I'll update this thread with a comparison once they show up.

 

I've been meaning to update. I have some grungy 70's pressings that I can't afford/refuse to pay for NM copies of from Discogs and Tergikleen made an improvement but there was still noticeable grunge in the grooves when playing. I got some Audio Intelligent enzymatic concentrate and mixed up a liter based on their specifications, then added 6 drops of Tergikleen in the hopes it would help the enzymatic cleaner to get deeper into the grooves. I run a 5 minute cleaning cycle, let the record soak for a few additional minutes and then run another 5 minute cleaning cycle, followed by a rinse cycle. It hasn't eliminated noise from small scratches obviously, but it has made some improvement in playback quality. I don't know if everyone will find it worthwhile, but my UK Harvest 1st pressing of Animals is at least an enjoyable, if somewhat noisy, listen now instead of a distorted mess.
Edit:
I've also been running my rinse cycles with 4 drops of Tergikleen per gallon of distilled water, after watching the plain distilled water sit on the flat surfaces of the record and never seem to enter the grooves, I don't really know if it's made a difference, but the whole record looks wet while rinsing and I don't notice an audible film/residue in playback.