Care & maintenance

A record wears a little with every play, and how fast depends mainly on two things: how clean the groove is and how good the stylus still is. Treated well, a record from 1970 still plays today. This series is about the small routines that make that happen, and about where your records live when they are not playing.

Cleaning is the routine with the most effect. A dry brush before each side is enough for most records; a wet clean is for second-hand finds and for records that still crackle after brushing. What you never use, such as tap water and washing-up liquid, is in the guide on cleaning records.

The stylus is the part that wears most quietly. The hours on the packaging are an average, not a prediction, and a worn stylus damages every record you play after it. How to hear and see that it is finished, and how to change it yourself, is in the guide on replacing the stylus.

Then storage. Records stand upright, not too tight, out of the sun, in a cabinet at least 33 centimetres deep. Which cabinets work, from cube shelf to sideboard, and what each type costs, is compared in the guide on buying a record cabinet. The guide on storing records covers inner sleeves, singles and box sets, and what to do when the cabinet is full. If you have a hundred records and can no longer find anything, start with the guide on organising your collection.

None of these routines needs a laboratory or an expensive kit. Most of it costs less than a new record, and the first euros are best spent on the records already on the shelf: new inner sleeves and a brush.