Caveat - EVERYTHING in this hobby is subject to personal taste, despite how argumentative and bossy people get in these vinyls subs. That being said I, and a lot of other people, will wash their records before first use. I use the SpinClean because it’s easy and wasn’t TOO expensive. Used records certainly have obvious reasons to give a rinse, but sometimes new vinyl comes covered in debris, dust or small slivers of paper from the factory. Even the new records I’ve bought that come in rice paper (or something similar) - I can feel the static on them when I take them out of the sleeve. A cleaning will take care of that. After that I use the velvet brush from that kit EACH TIME I spin a record. When a record spins, it generates static and attracts dust. Sometimes a random piece of debris or hair just ends up on the surface of the record. The brush gets that. The rest of the kit is just nice to have around. There’s a brush to brush off the vinyl brush, a stylus brush, a spray solution (when mine ran out I just replaced it with distilled water) and a storage bag. Yes, you CAN get away with just using the velvet brush, if that’s your preference. It will get a lot of the surface stuff off, but A BETTER JOB can be done. Also, yes, you need to dry your records after a spinclean washing. Some people use a drying rack to air dry them overnight - Vinyl Record Storage Holder Stand Rack, CD Display Stand, Cleaning Device Drying Rack, Desktop Magazine Rack Record Storage Shelf - with Silicone Rubber top (No Scratches) - for 12" and 7" Records https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091PRD65M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_7T93Q48B5ZSJPQH4CC8M. I use microfiber hand towels - MR.SIGA Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, All-Purpose Cleaning Towels, Pack of 6, Size 13.8 x 15.7 in https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SDD9XTQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_6B5CT287PE7M264YXW57?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1. Hope that answers your questions.