Degritter
Machine cleaning fluid - Cleaner for ultrasonic washing machines - Degritter

Record Cleaning Accessory · Machine Care

An ultrasonic record cleaning machine is a precision instrument — and like any precision instrument, it needs regular care to keep its full cleaning performance over many years. Every record cleaned leaves minute residues in the tank and ultrasonic bath: dissolved dust particles, pressing residues, grease traces, mineral micro-deposits from the water. Over time, these form a film on the inner walls of the cavitation chamber and can, in the worst case, lead to biofilm and microbial growth. The Degritter Machine Cleaning Fluid is the Estonian manufacturer's official answer to this exact problem — a concentrate tuned specifically to the geometry and materials of the Degritter machines, designed to descale, degrease and hygienically refresh the interior in a single pass.

Before this product was introduced, Degritter owners had to resort to a cumbersome DIY procedure: empty the tank, remove the rubber gasket, manually scrub the ultrasonic chamber with isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush, then run several wash cycles with a vinegar solution and finish by rinsing with distilled water. A process easily consuming an hour — and one that mechanically stresses the cavitation chamber. The Machine Cleaning Fluid replaces this entire routine with a handful of wash cycles using a professionally balanced cleaning concentrate. Simply add to the tank, run the recommended cycle without a record — done. The ultrasonic cavitation itself does the cleaning work.

Anyone who regularly cleans records with a Degritter inevitably introduces organic and mineral contaminants into the system — that is literally the machine's job. Active filtration catches the bulk of it, but some residue still settles on tank walls, pump lines and the transducer plates. Add to that residues from the record cleaning fluid (surfactants, glycols) and — even with distilled water — minute traces of minerals that build up over many cycles into a thin layer of scale. This film works against the machine in two ways: it dampens ultrasonic cavitation in the affected area, and it provides a breeding ground for germs if the water is changed too rarely.

Degritter recommends changing the water at least once a week or after every 30 records cleaned — a clear indication of how seriously the manufacturer takes the hygiene angle. Complementing this, the entire water circuit should undergo a deep clean at regular intervals. The Machine Cleaning Fluid was developed exactly for this rhythm: not as a substitute for the routine water change, but as a periodic deep clean that ensures cavitation energy can act on every record unimpeded — just as it did on day one.

The formulation combines two principles that complement each other: more than 30% phosphates form the backbone of descaling and chelating action. Phosphates reliably bind calcium and magnesium ions and release mineral deposits clinging to the stainless-steel and plastic surfaces of the ultrasonic chamber. They work especially efficiently in warm, moving liquid — that is, exactly the conditions present during a Degritter wash cycle.

The second pillar: 5–15% non-ionic surfactants. They reduce surface tension, dissolve organic grease residues and leftover traces of older cleaning fluids, and hold the dissolved contaminants in suspension until they are flushed out through the tank drain. Non-ionic surfactants also foam very little — a critical property in an ultrasonic system, where foam would destroy cavitation efficiency. The balanced ratio between phosphate chelators and surfactants makes the product doubly effective in a single pass, with no conflict between the two classes of active ingredient.

Application stays reassuringly simple and follows the familiar Degritter principle: add to the tank, start the machine, let it work. Dosage varies by model — the Degritter Mark II with its 1.3-litre tank needs less concentrate than the considerably larger Fonoteek station with its multi-tank system. It goes without saying that the cleaning cycle is run without a record in the slot — this is purely an interior clean for the machine itself.

A welcome bonus: the fluid is also compatible with other ultrasonic cleaning units. Anyone running an additional DIY ultrasonic bath for other tasks has a professional maintenance solution for both machines in a single product. After the cleaning cycle, the tank is flushed several times with pure distilled water until no surfactant or phosphate residue remains — only then is fresh cleaning water loaded for the next record session.