How to Clean Your Vinyl Records (2026): Vacuum, Ultrasonic, Solution, Brush

Unless you’re buying them brand-new—and often even then—your vinyl records are probably filthy. New records are staticky and attract dust; old records have been sitting in boxes in other peoples’ musty basements. Take it from someone who has bought, sold, found, cleaned, and restored some dusty, grimy gems: Your records will greatly benefit from a good bath.

Below you'll find everything you need to know about getting (and keeping) your wax fresh.

Be sure to check out our list of the best turntables, our guide on where to shop for vinyl records online, and our guide on how to upgrade your home audio for free or cheap.

Updated April 2026: We added information about ultrasonic cleaning machines, upgraded the formatting of this page, and updated links and prices.

Pro-Ject VC-E Cleaner

Courtesy of Pro-Ject

If you do a quick Amazon search, you'll find a ton of products that purport to clean vinyl records. Typically, they use sprays and some form of wiping device, like a cloth or pad, to clean the record's surface. However, vinyl grooves are so small that the fibers of any cloth can't possibly reach inside. While you might get cleaning liquid into the grooves, getting it back out is pretty hard. This means that the traditional wipe-off or spin-and-clean style devices mostly just spread the dirt around in the grooves.