It’s a well-known fact that vinyl records have a maximum temperature. What’s long been the achilles heel of daytime house DJs can actually be a massive problem for crate diggers living in a tropical zone such as the one Sydney seems to have become.
While the actual temperature at which vinyl starts to warp seems to be up for debate (due to a myriad of outside factors like sunlight, ventilation and the actual colour of the wax), it’s always better to be on the safe side. Here are our tips for keeping the wax safe throughout what could be our 3 hottest days on record.
Is your vinyl warping in the extreme heat of Sydney’s scorching summertime? Keep the wax chill with these 5 ultra serious tips.
Ice
If your freezer doesn’t cark it in the heat wave, grab a few cubes from the ice tray and slap them on top of your favourite record. Bonus: when the ice melts, cool water will seep down into the circuitry of your record player, making sure everything runs as smoothly as ever.
Don’t tell your friends
Everybody knows the best way to keep a band cool is to make sure nobody else knows about it. Using the same method with vinyl will ensure your wax stays as cool, secret and snobby as possible.
Air flow
Vinyl records are remarkably aerodynamic when thrown like a frisbee, and the quick passing of air through it’s grooves serves the same purpose as a computer fan, cooling your favourite LP.
Change up that colour
Black is a marvellous conductor of heat, and unfortunately 99% of vinyl records are this sweaty colour. To fix this little issue right up, grab your nearest tin of white, cream or tan paint and slap on as much as possible. This will have no effect on the sound.
Fridge it up
Everyone knows the coldest place in your house is the fridge, so it’s the obvious contender for a quick place to cool your favourite wax.
Basic physics decrees that the higher an object’s surface area, the more quickly you’ll be able to heat or cool that object. Thus, breaking up your vinyl records into tiny little pieces before throwing them in the refrigerator is your optimum strategy here.
Read: The seven shortest song ever written.
