Let Underdog Clean Your Records

Have an LP that just doesn't perform as well as it seems it should, or a stack of albums you pulled from your parents' closet that haven't seen a needle in decades?  

Whether it's a 40-year-old album that needs a deep cleaning, or an LP you purchased new that seems particularly dirty from the pressing process, Underdog Records will ultrasonic clean your LPs for you.

Underdog Records upgraded from a Nitty Gritty vacuum system to a HumminGuru Ultrasonic Record Cleaner the Spring of 2023 and has been using it to wonderful results.  This process provides a completely friction-free record cleaning that, first, ultrasonic washes & cleans your LP with the use of our in-house record cleaning solution, and then gently dries the LP with fans (no heat applied) so that when the process is complete the album is ready to be immediately placed on your turntable platter or into a fresh sleeve.

The cleaning of each LP (wash + dry) takes approximately 7 minutes.  We then place each cleaned LP in a fresh paper sleeve, or for an additional $0.30 per album, into an archive quality, anti-static inner sleeve.  All original inner sleeves will be replaced inside the cover separate from the album itself.

Cleaning Rate: $3 per LP

The cost of service for the cleaning of one LP by this method is $3.  Please note that this price is PER LP, not per title.  For instance, if you bring us a record that is 2 LPs (i.e. "Frampton Comes Alive" or "Physical Graffiti"), the cost to clean that title will be $6 ... $3 per LP.

We ask that you not bring more than 3 LPs per visit for cleaning unless you are willing to drop them off with us.  Please see below for more details on how many LPs you can bring and expected turnaround time.

Turnaround Time:

1-3 LPs: While you wait.  Please anticipate 7 minutes per LP, so 3 LPs will take approximately 21 minutes.

4-10 LPs: 1 business day.  Drop 4-10 LPs off with us on one business day to have them completed by the next business day.

11-19 LPs: 2 business days (appointment required).  Drop 11-19 LPs off with us for cleaning but please allow 2 business days for completion.  If we finish them early, we'll notify you in advance of 2 business days.  

20-25 LPs: 3 business days (appointment required).  At this time, we are asking that customers not bring more than 25 LPs to be cleaned in one session.  Please remember that this is counted per LP, not per title.  So every double album counts as 2 LPs, a triple album counts as 3 LPs, etc.  

Make an Appointment:

Any cleaning order of 11-25 LPs requires an appointment to make sure we don't promise to clean too many LPs in one period (we also have to use the machine for our own inventory, for instance).  To make an appointment, please call the store (336-893-7293) or come by during business hours.  

Drop Off & Pick Up:

LP cleaning orders are available for drop off and pick up any time during normal shop hours.  We will notify customers when their cleaning order is ready for pickup by text, phone call, or email depending on customer preference.

We Cannot Guarantee Play Results:

Our offer is to clean your LPs using our HumminGuru Ultrasonic Record Cleaner with the added benefit of our in-house cleaning solution that we have been using for over a decade.  This process does a spectacular job of deep cleaning the grooves of your record to free dust, dirt, and particles that have been residing in the grooves of your albums for potentially decades.  

This is not, however, an LP REPAIR service.  If your LP has a skip, there is no guarantee that this process will fix the issue (though it might).  An LP that is worn or scratched will, unfortunately, remain so.  I assure you that this process will give your LP an excellent, thorough clean -- much better than could ever be achieved by hand or with a record washing system like a Spin Clean.  But if your LP is performing at a grade of VG or VG-, we cannot guarantee that an ultrasonic cleaning will improve your LP by a grade (or better) if that is simply the condition of your LP based upon scratches or general wear to your album.

From my experience of ultrasonic cleaning albums, its one weakness are records with heavy smudges.  If someone has clearly been handling your album with their fingers and there are heavy, grimy fingerprint smudges, ultrasonic cleaning is not designed to work as well on eliminating those sorts of issues.  Ultrasonic cleaning excels at loosening and washing the dust and dirt from your grooves that causes surface noise.  Additional solvents and attention are needed for trying to dissolve and remove smudges and are not included in our $3 ultrasonic cleaning.

We cannot offer refunds for ANY cleaning order, regardless of play quality of your LP after a cleaning session.  You are paying for the use & wear on our machine and our time.

Payment:

Payment can be made any of the same ways we always accept payment: cash, card (Visa/MC/Discover/AMEX), PayPal, Venmo, or Cashapp.  Payment for all drop off cleaning orders must be made at the time of drop off.

Cleaning Offered for 12" Records Only:

Ultrasonic cleaning is offered for 12" vinyl records only at this time.  No 7" or 10" records, and no 12" shellac records.  

If you have any questions, feel free to call the shop during regular hours at 336-893-7293.  You can also send us a message through the Contact page on this website.