Record cleaning and care

Every copy of every record is different. I have many, many records that play beautifully, no noise, pops, clicks, etc.  Whether you can eliminate those from a record by cleaning is not guaranteed since some of the problem records I have encountered over the years had no visible indicia of damage. Some records will play quietly with minimal (or even no) cleaning;  this is so even if a record has surface scuffs or hairlines; others-- noise, whether ticks or groove chew, even if pristine to the eye no matter how much you clean. 
The absence of clicks and pops due to the stylus/cartridge and phono stage is not necessarily a reflection of a less revealing set up. Read some of the posts from Ralph Karsten (@Atmasphere) about phono stage design and clicks and pops as an example. 

Record cleaning is a good idea, even with new records.  I buy a lot of used records and had gotten a bit lax recently, not cleaning them all.  The shop I buy most of them from cleans most of their records (except the bargain bin stuff) with a VPI 16.5.  I have one at home, and when I buy records from other sources I always clean them. 

Long story short, I was listening to something I bought there with my girlfriend and it looked super clean and shiny, but was really noisy.  She said "you should clean that" to which I responded "It's already been cleaned, it won't do anything".  To my surprise, it was noticeably quieter after I cleaned it.  Needless to say, now I'm cleaning EVERY record before I play them.

I've been using the Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solution Premium One-Step Formula No. 6.  I don't do any rinsing after cleaning.

Cleaning won't fix a worn or poorly pressed record, but it can do wonders for some of the second hand (and new) records you buy.

lnitm

... the pops and clicks I’m hearing sound from more like dirt or static as I can’t see scratches with the naked eye in particular. Some are brand new records, some are old but in very good shape with appear no scratches.

Visual assessment of an LP is tricky business. I have records that look awful but play perfectly, and vice-versa.

I’ve been told that cartridges that " remove " or " lessen " pops and ticks are rolling off the highs.

Not necessarily. Different stylus profiles may be more or less susceptible to pops and clicks, and the same is true of phono stages.

... a perfect or very clean record and using Ultra Sonic and Vacuum RCM can pops/clicks be virtually eliminated or is that just inherent with vinyl no matter how clean ?

I have many LPs that play with virtually no pops or clicks, including records that are more than 50 years old. Cleanliness - and an LP’s initial quality - are critical to how well an LP will play.

I wash a few of all used LPs IN THE SINK. Some I just use a vacuum cleaner (like the one for the floor) So now you know...Cheap alternative would be to use Aquafina bottled water as a rinse. It is pure H2O. all contaminants removed. I have thousands of used LPs, they play just fine. Maybe I am just not as fussy? but there are typically zero tic or pops on my used LPs.. I buy clean ones to start with. No need to buy messed up ones. Sooner or later a good copy will find you.

I wish, @elizabeth Here’s an example. I bought this record that was not the soundtrack to the album in the movie Cloud Atlas (a somewhat odd sci-fi pic) but something different. It was actually used as a prop in the movie, and they pressed two limited runs. Record was 40 bucks new and sold out by the time my copy arrived from EU. It was tragically warped. I have one of those flattening machines and every time I thought of it I’d give it a whack on the flattener, then play it. Today, voila, since I got the thing- I dunno four or more years ago, it played cleanly for the first time!
I could go buy a copy for like $700-- yeah, it’s that stupid now.
Some records, even when graded high (I will only look at M- used) play like poop. Cleaning helps.
If you get good results-- and the key isn’t just washing the things, it’s getting the cleaning fluid and contaminants off the record, you’re good.
Maybe I’m a little OCD. I guess my point is, not all this stuff is so easily replaceable cheaply.