Steam cleaning records 2

Absorbed? Are we to believe a vinyl LP record acts as a sponge on a microscopic level?

Someone please cite an article written by an authority on plastics that will corroborate this assertion.

Until then, I am firm in the belief that an infinitesimal amount of water which was not picked up with a drying cloth may remain in the grooves of an LP after wet cleaning, but the water will never be absorbed into the vinyl. Eventually, it will evaporate. Isn't this why some folks place their LPs in drying racks after rinsing the records with water? Of course it is.

I've seen data sheets on PVC which list water absorption properties. A data sheet might read:

Water Absorption % increase 24 hrs @ 25°C (ASTM D570)

The percentage is usually less than .5%, sometimes much less, but it does indicate that PVC *can* absorb H2O.

Water Absorption % increase 24 hrs @ 25°C (ASTM D570).

The percentage is usually less than .5%, sometimes much less, but it does indicate that PVC *can* absorb H2O.
Ho72 (Answers)

Thank you.

.5% increase in 24 hours?

So, the percentage increase in, say, 5 minutes would be? Negligible?

Assuming one soaked an LP for 24 hours to achieve a .5% increase in H2O, what benefits in playback would one expect to hear?

I should have added to my post above that I am making no claim or judgment about whether the rate of water absorption of PVC is significant, let alone beneficial. I am just remarking on an observed property of the material.

Tvad,

Without examining the ASTM specification and knowing more about the properties of vinyl, it's impossible for me to know much about its absorptive action, i.e. the rate of absorption. I can hazard a guess, however, that it's probably not constant over time. It may soak up the largest percentage of water in the first minutes of exposure.

Even if this is true, to what extent this hydration does or does not benefit the listening experience is unknown to me.