Snap, crackle, pop

Thanks for the responses. I do inspect before I buy, but the "white ring" is a new for me to look for.

Usually what I do with all my used records is I first fill the sink with warm soap and water. While the water is running I dip the playing surface in the water and with a large super soft water color brush I use circular motions in both directions to pre wash the lp before I go into the spin clean. Of course I rinse the soap off first. I always dry with super soft cotton towels and then I always use a new anti static sleeves.

As for static, I've never really had an issue, but I live in hot humid louisiana, so static doesn't really present itself.

Yeah, considering where you live, you don't have a static problem. So my guess is the rice krispies come more from worn vinyl than dirt.

Glad to help with the "white ring". It is a telltale indicator that the records were not taken care of, either on the tables they were played on and how they were stored.

Just keep hunting down the best copies of a particular title you can and enjoy the music Brother!

The better the cartridge and arm, the fewer snaps, crackles, etc.

IME, an enzyme-based cleaning solution is the best cure for most snaps, crackles and pops. I have a $2K Loricraft RCM (one of the best) but cleaning with just surfactants ("soap") and rinsing does not remove everything.

The grunge in LP grooves provides a breeding ground for microbial growths. Many of these (or their carcasses) are not easily dissolved by surfactant action alone.

Enzymes, however, are chemically designed to break down organic matter. They will attack and help dissolve stuff that soap and water will not.

Having compared 4 brands, my best results come from AIVS solutions, with their Enzymatic being the most effective for removing snaps/crackles/pops.

BTW, having dissolved all the gunk in the grooves you still need to remove it. A Spin Clean, while economical, will not remove all the grunge-laden liquid before evaporation begins. Allowing the grungy liquid to evaporate leaves the grunge behind, probably broken into smaller particles that may be even harder to remove.

A vacuum-based RCM is the only way to quickly remove grungy fluids before evaporation undoes the work you began with the cleaning steps. You needn't spend $2K, but if truly clean records are your goal, you need to do more than spin.

My experience and $.02...

Some preamps will emphasize ticks and pops as well!

Sometimes the loading on the phono cartridge can help too; a lot depends on what cartridge you have and the phono preamp.