Noisy Alternator Belt, FIXED! Options

[michael7810]

My alternator belt is really noisy...it's hard to describe. Not a squeal like a loose AC belt it's more like a squeakey knocky sound. It's been getting worse for a few months...it used to go away once the engine warmed up but now it bad all the time. The belt has about 15k miles and the tension feels about right - a little play between both pulleys. I have not tried to adjust it yet. Can't remember the brand of the belt but it has a ribbed surface (i.e. not smooth belt against the pulleys). Out of desperation and because I had a can in the garage, I sprayed it with CRC Belt Conditioner and holy crap the noise got much louder (same weird noise just louder). Any recommendations for quieting it down short of replacing the belt?
TIA,
Mike

[michael7810]

Got it running again after rebuilding the carbs. My neighbor was helping me adjust them and was certain the belt noise was an alternator bearing. Given he's a retired machinist (the old fashioned type before CNC) and pretty good diagnosing noises I decided it was time to get to the bottom of it. I removed the belt and it looked glazed but the alternator mounts were tight and the bearings felt perfect. So Bob, who can fix damn near anything that doesn't have a computer attached, asked for some sandpaper and went to work removing the glaze. While he was doing that I cleaned the sticky belt conditioner from the fan and alternator grooves. That completely fixed the problem. I'll order a spare belt but for now I'm driving the hell out of it before it gets hot in Phoenix.