FORUMS
So, a box arrived today from www.tracertek.com containing my new GEM Dandy kit, designed by Analog guru George Merrill.
The kit consists of the cleaning apparatus (hereon referred to as a "mandrel" as in the rather concise manual that is included) ***The device is rather utilitarian in look, no feat of eye pleasing aesthetics..but those things are never concerns of mine. 
**** , a tube with a nozzle that attaches to your sink, a variety of adapters for garden hoses and standard faucets, the cleaning solution, as well as the "Groove Lube" kit which is a treatment much like gruv-glide or last. (applicator, treatment solution, and buffing pad)
The operation is incredibly easy. The mandrel is placed into the sink. Protective cups that protect the label are secured by a wing-nut. Once the wing nut is removed, one of the cups slides off the bolt and the record can be slid over the bolt and into place. After the record is in place, the cup is slid back over the bolt and secured with the wing nut.
After the record is secured onto the mandrel, the manual advises that the operator spray a light mist of cleaning solution on either side. Once the coat has been applied the manual advises a wait period of 1-3 minutes before cleaning.
Cleaning is just a matter of spraying the record down with the supplied hose. The manual suggests 30 degree angles, but to be honest, I used what seemed right and did not worry about it. The water is forced through a very small opening and as such the pressure is more than adequate for deep cleaning. The record is rotated on the bolt manually. The "drag" can be adjusted for more or less resistance to allow one a faster or slower rotation. Again, I left it as it was..didnt worry about it.
Once both sides have been sprayed down, you simply remove the wing nut, remove the record, and dry with a suitable towel(the manual reccomends some sort of baby wipe ,the name of which escapes me) The labels did not get wet at all. (I know Fremer had a quibble with this)
That was that. Total cleaning time per record(I cleaned 4 today that were particularly filthy) was about 5-10 minutes. Set up and tear down was very easy(as a matter of record, my 2 year old daughter followed in suit and placed her own "Mother Goose " record onto the mandrel and secured it..speaks to its simplicity)
Now here I sit listening to Willie Nelson's "Phases and Stages" and Ryan Adam's "29".
My instincts tell me that the GEM system does a more thorough job than my Nitty Gritty, but i'll have to spend more time with it.
at any rate,
I recommend this system heartily. It is a no frills, well thought out product that comes at a real-world price.
I will attach pictures later on.
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