Best stylus cleaners

Dry or wet: four ways to clean a stylus

Why bother: Audio-Technica says “Although the stylus tip may not appear to be dirty, microdust and other debris accumulated on it can diminish sound quality and possibly damage the stylus assembly.” (Audio-Technica). How often: Ortofon says “Please remember to remove dust from the diamond tip before and after playback of each record.” (Ortofon FAQ).

The six picks cover four methods. Each maker’s instructions are for its own product:

• BrushPicks 1 and 5, and the brush in pick 6Ortofon, for its brush (pick 1): “Use the brush in the forward direction from the rear of the cartridge toward the stylus tip and never from stylus tip to the rear of the cartridge and never from side to side.” Goldring, for the brush in its kit (pick 6): “Horizontally draw the brush gently across the stylus from back to front, applying as little upward pressure as possible.” Pro-Ject publishes no direction for Clean it (pick 5).
• Gel padPick 2, and the gel in pick 6Clearaudio, for its gel (pick 2): “Usage is simple: the stylus is gently lowered onto the pad two or three times”. Goldring, for the gel in its kit (pick 6), if “fluff and sticky deposits” remain after the brush: “just place the pot on your turntable platter and lower the stylus onto the gel, lifting the stylus again and repeating if necessary.”
• FluidPick 3Clearaudio: “High efficient stylus cleaning fluid including applicator brush to remove dirt and dust. 10 ml.” It publishes no steps and no ingredients.
• ElectronicPick 4Walvis: “Moisten the cleaning pad with one drop of stylus cleaning fluid.” “Switch on the stylus cleaner and clean for about 10 seconds.”

What cartridge makers say about liquids and gels

Ortofon’s FAQ: “We advise against using any liquids on the stylus …” and “The use of solvents on the stylus and cantilever may damage stylus cement.” Its warranty doesn’t cover that: “The Ortofon warranty service will not be valid in cases where such treatment has caused malfunction of your cartridge.” (Ortofon FAQ).

Next to that, Clearaudio describes its own fluid, pick 3, as “High efficient stylus cleaning fluid including applicator brush to remove dirt and dust. 10 ml.” and Walvis has you put “one drop of stylus cleaning fluid” on its pad. Neither publishes what its fluid contains. So before you buy either, read what your cartridge’s maker says: the manual or its website.

Ortofon, on its care page: “We recommend the use of a dry brush only; avoid any fluids or gels as they can potentially damage the stylus or the internals of the cartridge.” (Ortofon: Protect your equipment). It names no product, and neither Clearaudio’s nor Goldring’s gel. Check what your own cartridge’s maker says.

Electronic cleaners

In Walvis’s words, for pick 4: “Ultrasonic cleaning works on the basis of a liquid that is brought into ultrasonic vibration with the Stylus to be cleaned.” Walvis calls pick 4 “ultrasonic” and publishes no frequency, so we can’t say more than that.

Dirty or worn out?

Ortofon lists dust as one cause of distortion: “Even minimal dust or debris on the stylus or record can introduce distortion.” It also says distortion “typically suggests that the stylus may be worn or damaged”, with more distortion on voices and string instruments toward the inner grooves, and with those symptoms the stylus “likely needs replacement” (Ortofon FAQ). How long a stylus lasts depends on whom you ask. Ortofon: “With proper care we find that up to 1000 hours is possible without degradation of performance.”; for DJs who scratch and back-cue, it says “DJ’s will have to consider about 500 hours at the most.” (Ortofon FAQ). Nagaoka: “For diamond styli, replace the stylus regularly, using approximately 200 hours as a guideline.” (Nagaoka FAQ).

The picks in detail

Each pick says what it suits and what to watch for, from the maker’s own pages and the dated, sourced notes listed under it. Where a maker doesn’t publish something, we say so. Claims about cleaning and sound are the makers’, quoted as theirs; we haven’t tested them.

How we picked

• One method per pick, covering all four: a fibre brush for every side (pick 1), a gel pad (pick 2), a fluid (pick 3), an electronic cleaner (pick 4), a lower-priced brush (pick 5) and a kit with gel, brush and lens (pick 6).
• Made for a stylus, with instructions. Each maker says it is for cleaning a stylus. Four publish how to use it; Clearaudio (for Elixir of Sound) and Pro-Ject (for Clean it) don’t, and their sections say so.
• Instructions only in the maker’s own words. How-to steps are each maker’s own, for its own product; cartridge makers’ general advice is quoted as theirs.
• Prices from the maker’s own shop. On 27 Oct 2026: Ortofon’s shop on ortofon.com, in euros; Clearaudio’s analogshop (run by Clearaudio electronic GmbH; legal notice); Walvis Products B.V.’s own shop, for its own-brand cleaner; Pro-Ject’s EU shop (run by Pro-Ject’s company, Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH; imprint). Goldring’s UK shop showed no price on our visit, and we don’t show dealers’ prices. Prices change, so the shop link shows today’s.
• Shop links go to the maker’s page for that exact model, plus Thomann for Pro-Ject Clean it.

We have not used or measured these for this guide, and we don’t give scores. Where Max has used one himself, his notes will appear under that pick. The full method is on How we pick.

Not published by the maker:

• Ortofon Stylus Brush, Fiber: what’s in the box, material, cleaning it, number of uses, which cartridges
• Clearaudio Stylus Cleaner Gel: number of uses, which cartridges
• Clearaudio Elixir of Sound: material, how to use, how often, fluid, cleaning it, number of uses, which cartridges
• Walvis Electronic Stylus Cleaner: material, how often, fluid, number of uses, which cartridges
• Pro-Ject Clean it: what’s in the box, how to use, fluid, cleaning it, number of uses, warnings, which cartridges
• Goldring EXTRACT Stylus Cleaning Kit: fluid, number of uses, warnings

Questions

Pictures and sources

• All six pictures are our own drawings. We found no licensed photo of any of these six products on Wikimedia Commons or Unsplash, so each is drawn in plain shapes from the maker’s description, not to scale.
• Sources for every spec and price are linked under each pick. Why and how often to clean, liquids and gels, electronic cleaners and worn styli: Audio-Technica (UK) support: How to clean a stylus, Ortofon FAQ: stylus lifetime and care, Ortofon FAQ: stylus and record care, Ortofon: Protect your equipment (stylus and record care), Ortofon FAQ: distortion, Ortofon FAQ: stylus lifetime, Nagaoka FAQ: analog audio. All checked 27 Oct 2026.