VHS mold cleaning method?
 

Hello

I have box of rare VHS-s. The problem is that most of these tapes have some kind of mold on them and thus sticky.

What would be good idea to remove the stickyness and mold from them. I know about the standard procedure about doing it outside and wearing safety masks and gloves during that, but which machines I should be using? I don't think that VCR would be good idea for that so I would prefer using Geneva etc "tape cleaners", but are these any good? Also would it be good idea to leave them on direct sunlight for few hours before and after cleaning them?

Looking forward to your ideas.

https://www.digitalfaq.com/search-re...mold&sa=Search

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@joonas,

I would only using the RTI Tapechek, it's been discussed on the site.

Do note that mold can be toxic, so avoid doing this inside your home or office. I once went into anaphylactic shock due to mold from another region spewing from video gear with a fan. It cost me time and money. You've been warned.

There are also some interesting UV methods that have been discussed here in the past, look into those. Maybe better than the RTI, because it would kill spores inert. And spores are hard to kill.

Those are super expensive from what I’ve found, so I’m curious to know if there are any businesses out there that use them (because I only have a certain amount of tapes I’d like cleaned, a low number I can count on my fingers). I know RTI have made cleaning machines for VHS, Betamax, and U-matic.

"Local businesses", no, not in decades.

Online, yes, SpecBros. I'm not entirely sure of their current cleaning workflows, but I would imagine it's RTI or comparable/better. Maybe even custom, given the messes they have to clean up. The only issue is they may require a transfer. Or not, ask. I've heard back private where their transfers were lacking, but the tapes were often physically cleaned/restored good enough for a 2nd transfer at home, and those results were outstanding.

Mold tends to stick like glue to objects including magnetic tape. No wonder it is strong enough to tear and break thinner tapes such as 8mm and DV when they're unspooled. Unless it's very minor, my guess is mold needs to be chemically treated, meaning a wet cycle followed by a removal of the "mold + chemical", probably a rinse cycle, then a drying cycle before the tape is wound dry back onto the spool. Not simple. It appears to need to be a process fully monitored and controlled by an expert, which is what Specs Bros appear to do, rather than just banging a tape into a cleaning machine and pressing the "go" button.

By comparison the Tapecheck appears to be designed for removing loose dirt and oxide from tapes, not for cleaning mold. There's no word that I can find in the Operator Instruction manual about cleaning mold.


http://www.datadev.com/computer-tape...inspector.html

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/re...ion-manual-rti