What to do with moldy vinyl?

[Magpel]

Sad question, I guess. My record collection--the most significant monument of my youth--has grown moldy in its moist basement storage space. The vinyl itself has a white powedery mold on it.

 

So weigh in with thoughts and experiences: should I try to salvage this stuff? Throw away the sleeves and jackets and try to clean the LPs? Is there any hope?

 

My instinct is to purge. Just junk it.

 

...But then I see my complete XTC and Elvis Costello and Little Feat collections...yikes.

 

Any thoughts

[JM350]

I would say there is no reason to trash the records, you just need to clean them.

 

A solution of distilled water with some alcohol (about 10%) and a few drops of surfactant, a really good one like Triton X114 is best because it doesn't leave any residue but dishwashing liquid would be ok.

 

A record cleaning machine (like a VPI or Nitty Gritty) is best but you can do it by hand.

 

You might or might not be able to save the record covers. Try rubbing them down carefully with a cloth that is slightly damp with alcohol. Keep them seperate from the records for several weeks while you see if the mold returns

 

I would probably ditch the paper sleaves, you can buy new ones.

 

Cleaning you records is a good idea even if they don't have mold, much record noise is dirt in the grooves and a good cleaning can result in less crackle as well as an overall improvement in the sound of vinyl records.

 

Do not however use any alcohol on shellac 78's.

[FrankieP]

Dont throw it away, you can still save it. Just clean it out by running lukewarm water on it using a circular motion (be careful not to get the label wet) and drying it off with a lint free cloth. I would suggest purchasing a record cleaning solution like the Allsop Orbitrac 2 . I used it on my precious record collection and I highly recommend it.

[John Sayers]

I'd wash them in soapy water etc as suggested but then rinse them off in a solution containing some vinegar to stop the mould returning.

 

cheers

john

[Lee Knight]

John's right about the vinager. It's the only thing that killed the mold in my carpet after the heavy So Cal rains last winter. I've never tried it on vinyl but it seems like it would work great...

 

I used to wash my albums in a solution of warm water and a liitle bit of liquid dishwashing soap.

 

A big pan, a terry cloth towel on the bottom to prevent scratching. Set one in there and gently wash with the softest cloth you've got, following the pattern of grooves. Flip and repeat. Rinse and set out to dry on another soft cloth.

[daklander]

Magpel,

Box them up and send them to me. I'll pay the freight. I'll have you send them media mail. I'll then do the requist, simple, task required for cleaning and have additional pieces for my collection.