Are you the type of person that likes to take really good care of your belongings? How about your vast collection of CDs, DVDs and vinyl records? Well, no matter how careful you are, such things get dirty over time, especially if you’re a collector making purchases from various pre-owned stores and such. So how exactly does one go about cleaning the grime off of your old 45’s? If you ask the preservationists at the Library of Congress, there is a very special method for doing this.

Reading through this guide that they put together, I’m at least happy in knowing that the Library of Congress staff is willing to go to great lengths to preserve the items in their possession. If you want to live up to their standards, you’re going to have to go through a lot of work. This includes obtaining Tergitol and mixing it with deionized water, and storing it under nitrogen. Oh, and don’t forget to keep a refrigerator on hand that you don’t use for food. I think I’m content with just wiping them off with my t-shirt.

via BoingBoing