My mod list is Oblivion + Official DLC, Unofficial patches for all, MMM + Frans, and a few smaller mods. I ran BOSS and it left notes on most of the DLC, saying they have dirty edits in need of cleaning, and BOSS includes a link to the cleaning guide. I think I have read somewhere that you should never clean the DLC, but I could be wrong. So, DON'T clean the DLC? Other than that, BOSS has recognized all files and the only file I had to reorder was Mart's Monster Mod - Fran's Leveled Quests.esp.

DO clean the DLC. The only plugins you should not clean are ones in which the dirty edits are on purpose, such as the majority of the main mods in FCOM. If you ever encounter a problem, TES4Edit automatically creates a backup of the original plugin in the data directory. If you're modding Oblivion you should be keeping a backup of all your original files anyway to avoid a reinstall in case things go badly.

Yup, concur, I have a BAIN full of the official DLCs cleaned.

Here's the topic http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1200914-list-tes4edit-cleaning-list/page__hl__tes4edit

Its a bit out of date now, BOSS is the definitive list as far as advice is concerned what should be done with any particular mod.

Can you create bain installers of the DLCs????

Oh yes.
Inspired by alt3rn1ty I've made bains of the original game files (separate bains for the BSAs, folders and DLC), the cleaned DLC and optimised mesh BSAs. It works well and was very handy when I messed up cleaning the DLC and broke the misc meshes BSA.

http://www.bild.me/bild.php?file=1910595Untitled.png

Just make sure you have Auto-Refresh gamesas Content Checked http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/images/35230-1-1317081231.png
(Takes a bit of time doing a refresh after you first enable it, but after the second load up of Wrye Bash with that enabled, it gets quicker again and not much longer than without it)

Thank you all for helping. I have cleaned the DLC's the proper way, as described in the guide, learning about implicit and explicit dependencies. The only thing left for me to do now is start a new game and play. Except that I have discovered another mod called Claudia's Little Secret 1, 2, and 3. I can't resist, gotta have it. Thanks again, back to Oblivion from Skyrim.

Rather then start a new topic I figure this may be a good place to ask a related question...
Can I just use the option in TES4Gecko to clean the DLC mods, or do I have to use TES4Edit instead? Also if I can't use TES4Gecko - why not? What is the difference between TES4Gecko's cleaning and the TES4Edit cleaning procedure in relation to how the DLC mods should be cleaned?
Thank you in advance...

TES4Edit is a more reliable tool, and also has more up to date record support. Gecko's cleaning function isn't entirely safe the last time I tried it. TES4Edit also handles deleted items, which is something I don't see anywhere in Gecko's options.

Cool - thanks for the details. TES4Edit it is then...

Btw.. which version of TES4Edit is actually recommended for cleaning?

3.0.15 Experimental?

Yes, 3.0.15 is what I've been using.