How can I properly care for my vinyl collection inside my Tallahassee apartment?

For some reason, within the last ten years, vinyl records have made a triumphant comeback in our generation's popular culture. We even have record stores right here in Tallahassee! Personally, I buy vinyl because it sounds better than digital recordings and I like to physically hold the album cover. No matter why you have a vinyl collection, you are definitely excited to play them on your turntable while you jam out with your roommates. However, you may be wondering how your records should be properly used, cleaned, and stored in your Tallahassee apartment.

Care During Use

First of all, you always want to handle your records with care. While they make a pretty cool sound when you wobble them, too much wobbling, dropping, or rubbing them can actually leave permanent, detrimental impacts. Do not be afraid to hold them on their long, flat side, though. Lay them gently on your turntable's slipmat, turn it on, and carefully place the needle on top of the record.

It is a little known fact that turntable needles are not only removable, but should be replaced at least once in a while to avoid damage to your records. Every time the needle slides atop a record, very slight damage happens to both items simply because they rub together. Old, dull needles will damage your vinyl quicker, though, because there is a higher chance they will slide across the grooves instead of over them.

Proper Storage

After you are finished listening to a record, gently pull the needle straight up and off, turn off the turntable, and carefully slide your vinyl into its sleeve. Then, place the sleeve inside the album cover and return the cover to its rightful place. When storing any amount of records, you want to avoid leaving them anywhere hot. Storing them outside of your Tallahassee apartment, especially since we live in the Sunshine State, can leave them irreversibly warped and unplayable. I suggest keeping them in your bedroom or in an indoor closet so air conditioning or your ceiling fan can keep them at the right temperature.


You also want to keep your records in a solid container like a crate or a box. Make sure your container fits your albums' physical dimensions while not letting them sit too loose inside. When storing them, you want to stand them up vertically instead of letting them lay horizontally flat; not only does this allow you to easily slide them in and out of your apartment's storage space, but this also ensures your album covers and records avoid becoming warped or snapped.

For anyone who owns vinyl, pulling them out and using them is an exciting thing. This medium has been used for over a century to store and play music for countless music lovers like you. Using and storing them properly in your Tallahassee apartment helps them last a long time and keeps them available for jamming with your roommates (or, if no one's around, your pets)!

These are the opinions of writers and not the opinions of RentTally.com or any of our advertising partners.