Now that my vinyl rig is up and running in the new house… I pulled out my very limited collection and decided to clean them.  Since I don’t have an extensive collection, right  now I use the Spin Clean record washer.  Later on this year I’ll consider upgrading  to a nice vacuum system.

Anyway while using distilled water is nice…..using RODI is better in my opinion.  It’s basically water that is made by stripping it down of all contaminants using a Reverse Osmosis water system.  The water is then run through a separate Deionization media bed essentially making it deionized.   This water has a different feel to it..I would say almost slippery so to speak.  

You can buy this water at a local fish store that sells salt water fish.  But please go to a specialty store…a local pet store like a Petco won’t have it and if they say they do…they are probably lying to you.  But you must ask for “RODI” water…and not just “RO” water…there is a difference.  

The Backstory is that I was big into salt water fish for  a long time and used to make my own RODI water at home.  In my new house I decided not to set up the tank right now… But I still use my reverse osmosis water system to feed my refrigerator for drinking water.  I configured the system so when I want to make RODI water, I bypass my remineralizing cartridge for drinking water, and send the water through my dual DI Resin bed.  

The fish store should probably sell you the water at maybe the same cost s regular distilled water…maybe 1.5x  times the cost.   As I’m cleaning the record in the spin  clean… The water just literally rolls all the way down the grooves a lot quicker than regular distilled water.  Plus… I think with the water being deionized, it  could potentially help with static  properties of the album..But don’t quote me on that. I would say it’s worth giving it a try.

Happy listening!
Dom

If you have a university with a chemistry lab nearby they often have an RODI faucet.  My local university has always let me fill gallons for free.

Excellent suggestion; I had never considered the fish market as a source. At Whole Foods, I purchase deionized reverse osmosis water. They do sell empty bottles, but they are not inexpensive, so bring your own jugs. The cost of the water itself is low.