Alternative to chamois swabs to clean VCRs?
 

The chamois swabs are just synthetic chamois on a stick, right? So am I okay using lint-free synthetic chamois cloths, assuming I don't re-use a dirty one?

About 10 years ago, I actually used dSLR sensor swabs more than anything else. In those days, the swabs were fairly cheap, and I had to buy them for my work cameras already. That's before self-cleaning sensors tech existed on pro dSLRS as it does now (and for at least 5 years).

I have some of these: http://amzn.to/2Gvx1hW
That exact item is no longer available, but with the photo shown you can probably find something similar.
I see many here: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_s...3b3041ba2a0906

It just needs to be non-fabric/cotton/etc,

Paper is also a terrible idea. Paper is made from trees. Would you rub tree bark all over the VCR heads? I'd hope not!

Appreciate it. I had a bunch of those swabs but I was starting to go through them pretty quickly. I wanted something to minimize waste, especially plastic usage.

I've been using lint-free synthetic chamois cloths wrapped around a plastic dowel, and washing them with microfiber detergent.

Still have to figure out a good way to attach the 2 items where I can move down the cloth easily, it seems to me to be working quite well.