Stack Your Vinyl Records
Handle Your Collection With Care
Clean Your Vinyl
Protect Your Collection with Sleeves
Use a Record Weight Stabilizer

If you’re starting a record collection, it is important that you know how to care for vinyl records. Poor care for your record will not only ruin your personal listening experience but also reduce the overall value of your collection. If not taken care of properly, you may be holding onto a pile of records that have become unlistenable and unsellable. By following these very simple guidelines, your records will retain their value and give you the best listening experience.

That’s why we started getting into this style of listening, right? In a society where we can listen to anything on Spotify or YouTube, we still yearn for the most dynamic versions of our favorite songs and albums. This optimized experience can only be achieved through vinyl pressings. The original, uncompressed, recordings of the greatest music on Earth can be found on a black (and sometimes colored or pictured) disc.

To covet this musical listening ambition, the practice takes more effort than pushing play or dropping the needle. As owners of the best sounds around, we need to make sure that we know how to protect and know how to care for vinyl records. We should show as much respect for this medium as the content artist put into making it sound perfect in the first place. This is your contribution to the sound, and by extension, your happiness.

1. Don’t Stack Your Vinyl Records

The cardinal rule on how to care for vinyl records: Do not stack your records on top of each other. Each record varies in weight, but typically, a piece of vinyl can weigh between 90-200 grams. If stacked upon each other, the amount of force pressure can be overbearing. This is one of the primary causes of records “warping”, which is when the records bend. When warping happens, your record can very well become unplayable.

When storing your collection, place the records vertically. This places no pressure on the material and thus prevents warping. If shelving vinyl, try not to overpack the space as this would cause force pressure from the squeeze.

2. Handle Your Collection With Care

This second rule on how to care for vinyl records is how to physically handle the actual record itself. The disc is encased in a jacket, usually within a protective sleeve inside. If you’re a garage sale shopper or used record collector, you may know the inner sleeve may not be there anymore. But luckily you can purchase replacement inner sleeves online.

When you take the vinyl record out of its jacket, handle it either with the tips of your fingers on the edge or approach from the middle and grab on the stickered section. You want to avoid contact with the record face. The natural oils from your hands can clog the grooves or you may scratch the surface. Both of these would lead to possible playing issues and wear.

Also remember to keep your vinyl records at a neutral room temperature. Leaving them to above or below average room temperatures may also cause warping of the material. Vinyl records, being so light in their material, are extremely sensitive to the elements.

3. Clean Your Vinyl

Do not worry, my friends! If your record happens to smudge or become dirty, you can simply clean them. Though excess filth can come from improper handling, dust is inevitably going to get in the grooves of the record and build up. It is recommended to clean your vinyl records often. I regularly clean my pieces after I’ve finished listening to that album, using a Vinyl Style cleaning cloth. The cloth has helpful lubricants that help get rid of dust and clean the grooves.

If you have a large record collection, or you purchase second-hand used vinyl in bulk, this may be a little tedious. Luckily, you can buy a record cleaning machine to get this process done in no time. Your ears and record needle will thank you for the time and effort put into cleaning and for knowing how to care for vinyl records.

4. Protect Your Collection with Sleeves

As stated before, vinyl is very sensitive to the elements. Their jackets are no exception. Erosion of the jacket can cause issues with the record itself, as it threatens the protection of the disc. For extra fortification, it has become commonplace to use plastic record sleeves. These sleeves will protect the entire package from dust or some sort of minor physical damage and wear.

For sellers and traders, the jacket and artwork can be considered just as valuable as the physical record itself. This sleeve also protects your assets and investments from damage. Hopefully, if and when you decide to sell your collection, your efforts will go noticed, and you will get top dollar for your pieces.

5. Use a Record Weight Stabilizer

The final tip on how to care for vinyl records is not widely known. A record weight stabilizer (also known as a record clamp) is used to keep the record flush on the turntable and thus keeps the record from wobbling. The flushness allows the record, in theory, to play at its optimum capacity becasue there is a smooth connection with the needle. If your record is slightly warped, the weight stabilizer could give this piece a new playable life.

Record weight stabilizers are recommended for your lighter, older pieces that may need more help staying flat on the table, though you are welcome to use it on your newer, heavier pieces to keep them from unnecessary wear.

I hope you enjoyed this article on how to care for vinyl records. Hopefully now you’ve learned just how senstive vinyl records are to damange and picked up some new habits along the way. It’s always good to know how to preserve your collection., and understanding the basics of how to care for vinyl records will hopefully enhance your experience with this exciting hobby. Happy listening everyone!