Clean Vinyl Records & The Nitty Gritty Record Cleaner

What is an audiophile?    The word comes from the Latin word: audire - "to hear;" and the Greek word philos - "loving."  Today's definitions range from anyone who loves to listen to original music on original records on original high fidelity phonographs to one who could care less about what he/she listens to as long as the sound is absolutely perfect.

The goal of the three audiophiles who established Nitty Gritty in 1981 falls in between the two extremes presented above.  They wanted to provide competitive affordable professional quality record cleaning products to the worldwide market. And so began a legacy that is still providing the best possible product at an affordable price. Their line of record cleaning machines ranges from a hand-operated one-side-at-a-time record cleaning machine to a totally automatic professional totally automated two-sided cleaner.

The Nitty Gritty two-step process has received rave reviews worldwide for many years.  Each step is easy to follow with amazing result.

Why clean a record? Some people will argue that a clean record sounds no different than a dirty one.  I totally disagree.  Think about this for a moment.  Every time you touch a record you leave a little of yourself behind - fingerprint, oil, dirt, dead skin cells or a number of other things.  Where have your fingers been before you touched that record?  Not to mention dust and pollutants in the air attracted to the surface of the record during play time.  The grooves of a record are very fragile - that is where the sound is carefully laid.  Over time, with all that gunk building up, the sound can become distorted and not as intended by the recording studio. Plus...all that dirt and grime can actually do harm to your now irreplaceable vinyl not only when you play it, but also because all kinds of ugly stuff can grow in the grooves and on the surface.

Thus the two-part Nitty Gritty Cleaning System.

1)  STEP ONE:  Scrub the record with a  special cleaning fluid wash. Nitty Gritty has two such washes.  Both washes are formulated from chemicals that are totally biodegradable.

•     Purifier 2 is a strong cleaning fluid capable of breaking down the most stubborn grease or residue because it contains a degreaser, a static neutralizer, a mild detergent, and a surfactant.  The most amazing thing is that there are only 6 parts solid per million parts solid which makes it residue free.
•     Purifier 1 is recommended for use on 78 rpm records as it contains no alcohol. 

Nitty Gritty has a VAC SWEEP brush designed to gently scrub record grooves.  It has thousand of microscopic fiber bristles are soft and make the most efficient use of the Nitty Gritty cleaning solutions.

2)  STEP TWO:  Vacuum the surface of the record with a Nitty Gritty vacuuming system. It runs on a very unique principle - "hemicylindrical lip interface."  The vacuum sucks through these fiber-covered 'lips.' The shape of these lips minimizes contact with the surface of the record as well as maximizing air velocity utilizing what is known as the "venturi effect."  The VAC-SWEEP provides additional scrubbing at the same time as providing cushions that protect the fragile grooves.

The record is supported on a rotating platform thus eliminating contact with any of the record grooves and preventing any re-contamination of one side of the record while the other side is being cleaned. The motor is industrial grade and provides the user with trouble-free cleaning.  Many people are using the same Nitty Gritty machine they purchased in the 1980's.

Customer Comments:

"Thanks to Nitty Gritty, there is now no reason for any music lover to deprive themselves of the best possible sound their record collection can provide."                                                              ----Sensible Sound

"[Nitty Gritty] yielded massive improvements in noise and musical detail over the best hand brushes I have tested."                                                                                                                 ----Audio Magazine

"[Nitty Gritty] made previously dirty records sound like heaven on earth, and there is nothing at anywhere near the price that will do as much for your dirty records."                              ---- International Audio Review

"This is the first time I have felt that I have record care under control. My only regret is that I waited so long to buy the Nitty Gritty."                                                                                           ----Audio Amateur