How to clean moldy VHS videotape
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2019
- Archiving videotape becomes more difficult when you retrieve it out of your basement for the first time in decades and notice mold grew on it all that time. This video will demonstrate the basics of cleaning mold off of videotape, using a technique that has helped me rescue many tapes.
DISCLAIMERS: Use caution around mold; wear a face mask in a well-ventilated area to prevent inhalation. I make no guarantees this method will work for you. If you ruin your own tape following this method, I cannot be held responsible. Watch the entire video and judge for yourself if this is something you want to try.
Music credits:
George Street Shuffle by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: incompetech.com/
Q&A:
Q: Will this damage the tape?
A: All cleaning methods have the possibility of damaging the tape. If you use microfiber lint-free cloth and don't press overly hard, this shouldn't damage the tape.
Q: Other tutorials use alcohol on the pads; should I?
A: I can't speak for other tutorials. I was told a long time ago by a broadcast engineer that alcohol can weaken the binding of videotape over time and cause the oxide to flake off, so I personally don't use it. You should do your own research to decide if you should use alcohol or not.
Q: Why not just use a cheap tape rewinder?
A: Because a rewinder doesn't pull the tape out of the cassette.
Q: How can mold damage the heads?
A: It can get stuck under the wires on the head, which aren't really serviceable.
Q: Where do I get a "donor" VCR?
A: Goodwill or ebay; no need to spend more than 20 bucks.
Q: Should I use stronger pressure putting the cloth to the tape? Use binder clips maybe?
A: NO, because if you press too hard you'll crinkle the tape, rub the oxide off, or both. Use light pressure, and a few passes with clean areas of the cloth, until you don't see any more mold on the cloth from a pass. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Great video. The problem with removing mold with a dry towel is that you just get rid of the visible mold. Mold spreads through microscopic spores though. You need isopropanol to kill off the spores. otherwise it will spread again. My mum used to work at a photo studio and she restored hundrets of moldy photos and tapes. They used some sort of open-reel machine to get access to the tape itself and then carefully clean the tape with something that looked like cotton-wrapped BBQ-tongs which were soaked in 99.9% isopropanol. They also rubbed every mm of the cassette cases with isoprop.
Thanks for the history and technique! I agree, that would be the best way.
Well, the idea is you make a digital archive of the tape and then probably dispose of the tape afterwards. Unless you're expecting to be able to make a better copy later (better equipment).
I don't know much about this sort of thing. Would isopropanol damage the tape in any way? Just wondering
@@SenileOtaku Yeah the problem with videotapes is their complexity, so you might always find more information that exists on the tape that you didn't capture the first time. E.g. capturing separate luminance and chrominance signals will give you better quality after you've already captured plain ol' composite video. Then as for audio tracks, you may have captured linear mono, and find out from another VCR that it actually had linear stereo audio. Or you might have captured from a linear machine and then find out later that there was Hi-Fi Stereo audio. Conversely, you might have captured the Hi-Fi Stereo audio, and then there's some commentary track on the linear track that you missed. Let's not even venture into the (highly unlikely) possibility of digital audio tracks...
So for my special tapes, I might capture them, but I hold onto them. If they're not special, can sure free up a lot of space tossing them!
@@craiggreenier8856 according to most that do this sort of thing I’ve seen, no. Long as it’s high content isopropyl alcohol. I’ve seen some say any thing above 71% but I’d go 99% to avoid water damage Incase the Lower percentages would damage.
I'm going through my tapes now. Tapes I bought in 1981 are perfect! Others that I bought in the 90's, with supposed mold resistance, are totally covered in mold! Every single one... unbelievable.
"They don't make 'em like they used to!"
I’d practice taking apart a tape you don’t care about first. When I tried this, I completely butchered the tape because a load of small loose pieces fell out and I couldn’t put them in right again (luckily I had thought to use a practice tape). Granted the reason this happened was because I hadn’t turned the tape up the right way before taking it apart, but still there are a load of loose parts that could still fall out if you’re not careful. And it’s just a good idea to use a practice tape first.
had this very problem in the late 80's/early 90s living in very humid north Florida. Just used to shut off window a/c unit during the hot summer days, to save on the electric bill(and tapes were inside a dresser drawer even, not just on a shelf or the floor) and after several years, this happened. So, tossed dozens of them. Sure wish I had known that a few decades later, VCR's would be available for 10 bucks used! or that I could try to clean them. Oh well...Oh, a mask might be a good idea to wear when dealing with mold!
I take two cotton pads and put a dab of 91% alcohol between them. (91% and above is safe. They use it to clean 8mm film and photo negatives. But any lower has too much water and will cause damage.) Then I glue the top two pieces of the cotton together and just slide the film between the cotton where the alcohol is. Then fast forward and rewind a few times.
I clean the tape casing out one side at a time having ff or rw the tape. I use cotton swabs with alcohol to get everything. Because if you do not the mold is just going to grow back. It is still there. You are just wiping off what is visible.
I transfer tapes for people. It is great to save their memories.
Cotton swabs are safe as microfiber cloth? Thx
Good Job, I will recommend to use gloves to avoid leaving finger grease on the tape.
You're right probably use rubber gloves so that you don't use use bare hands. Hopefully that helps.
I taken the lid off my VHS rewinder and took a donor VHS case and notched out the center. I removed the reels from the mold tape to clean the insides and place the reels in the donor case. When I notched the donor case out I also removed all the routing pieces inside as well so the tape reels have no slack between and place a link free towel. Need to figure out how to wire the rewinder to fast forward as well but not sure with the gearing inside but remember rewinders that fast forward in the old days but hard to find. So much fun!
I had a problem with a VHS copy of Hoosiers I bought from Goodwill. This really helps!
I just bought an old sealed video sold as "new" and there was mold inside it. I paid it a good price thinking it would be brand as new. Be careful with sealed VHS too !
About 20 years ago, there was a great artisanal bakery in Winnetka... name escapes me, but they made the most delicious gourmet breads! It was near the movie theater!
I used a normal tissue with isopropyl alcohol, I didn't remove the mold completely from the inside but all that matters is that I now fully transfered it.
Does isopropyl alcohol damage the tape though?
@@benkleschinsky no
@@Conner420matt I conner
@@Conner420matt hi conner
Did you transfer it straight away?
I was planning on but realised that I’m not sure I have the leads to hand to get it onto a screen this weekend. My friend is coming to help me clean them up tomorrow, and I intend to transfer them later (so I won’t know if I’ve wrecked them! 😬)
Thanks a ton man, as my collection grows I grow more and more paranoid about this.
No more
go ahead to put them on a dvd or more stable entity.
Never thought i would have found this channel through a vhs cleaning tutorial. I guess people who would want to clean a vhs also like fixing up old pc's!!!!!
Actually, it's a mixed message -- if you watch my most recent video, I explain what's going on and how I plan to fix it.
I found a duel-directional tape rewinder with a microfiber (low pile) cloth folded loosely onto the tape, clamped into the closed gate works. Passing the tape through cut slits in the towel will give a bit closer tension. Then a light misting of the cloth with isopropanol (another run through). Then 2 run throughs with a new dry cloth. 5-6 runs total.
that would be hard to follow with such instructions and not more help. For most.
A million thanks!! Now that I found you, there are my kids ( mi - late 80's) TI-99 and Atari computers safely packed in the garage that may need some attention. Eventually.
Excellent advice. Thanks
Mold has been a bane for audio recording since 1890 when Edison's brown wax cylinders were found to support mold very well. It has been a bane since then and is one of the reasons that no (known) good recordings of Mark Twain exist. Cylinder recordings made prior to 1890 used a different composition which did not support mold but also made a inferior recording.
I suppose once the mold starts to grow, it etches new grooves into the surface? That's a shame.
Now I'm thinking, since you'd be opening up the cassette housing anyway, that maybe there's a way to build a simple cleaning platform. Something with a couple of spindles, either a switchable linkage (so you can run the tape back & forth) or two small motors to do the same. You could then run the tape through a pair of cleaning pads.
Maybe as an alternative find an old 8MM film splicer/rewinder (except you'd have to lay the winder face down or face up).
I think an enterprising person with a 3-d printer and a DC motor could build one and then sell them on ebay :-) They've got to be way cheaper than the professional device I showed in the video, which was thousands of dollars.
Much obliged !
Not sure if other comments mentioned this, but I find it a good habit when putting the screws back in to “counter clock screw until you feel a click and the self tapping screw will work it’s way into the existing threads. otherwise, you may end up re-threading and possibly striking them.
may not be an issue for a one time thing, but def found it a good practice as i work on a lot of electronic hobby stuff and seen my share or worn out screw holes
Good info- I just stumbled upon a box of VHS tapes in the garage for 10 years now and most aren’t petty. thankfully, only a few have mold that I want to preserve
thanks for the insight 👍👍
Thanks for the hints!
Yes I was a bit hasty and some screws ended up breaking so I had to reshell a couple of VHS tapes.
If you have an RTI machine would you still need to dismantle like shown here?
Nice video. Also it's not bad to spray some isopropyl alcohol to case interior so the mold doesnit grow back again at least for a while
Actually we use special machine for clean and wash videotapes and tapes like DLT, LTO and others. it goes trought liquid and wet gate with small brush, ultrasonic bath and then drying. also it have option restore jammed tape witth some heating and surface overrolling process. Excellent result.
I mention such a machine in the beginning of this video; what specific machine do you use?
@@TheOldskoolPC We do not clean damaged cassettes in VCRs because dirt spoils the heads and all the dirt falls inside VCR! Well you won't be able to clean it anyway the heads will get dirty again! Cassettes are brought to us after floods and fires (smoky and watered) We use a device of our own design. Just need to completely remove the reels from the cassette and install the device. And it will wash and clean the entire tape itself. and then the tape can be assembled. There is a similar device for the restoration of reels film, which we also have. But it is much bigger and more complicated.About like a developing machine. All that can be done well is to do it yourself. It is very difficult to buy good things, programs, filters and devices at this time in the world. Almost all used and damaged.
I wish i had found this video 4 years ago.
If I had then i couldve saved some really important footage
thanks for the advice very useful
I've seen some people use IPA-soaked cloths to clean the tape as it runs through the machine on fast forward, but I would be very wary of liquids getting onto the tape. The IPA could cause layers of tape to stick together on the reel if it doesn't evaporate in time and cause even more problems when you try to play it!
Experienced that the other day. Took a look at the IPA bottle and it was 50%. It was a pain to rewind to dry things up
@@gmax341 Use 99%, and the problem won't occur.
I'm planning on capturing several VHS tapes using the method outlined in your capture video. My tapes don't have mold issues, but can you use this microfiber cloth cleaning method as a way to prepare the tapes for an optimal digital capture?
I would not open up tapes and attempt to clean them unless there are clear signs of mold or other damage. Tapes don't need cleaning for better captures unless they are visibly dirty.
Thanks for the share ! I was going to say lol .; once I saw the Toshiba unit I was like can I even trust this guy 😸those are def considered donor units ..I’ve had mainly
Problems with Toshibas . But very helpful tips !
What do you do with the used microfiber cloths that you used for cleaning? Can you wash/reuse them or do you just throw them out? Thanks.
I put them in the washer, but let them air dry (dryer sheets coat them with a film, don't want that).
Very helpful thank you.
I just cleaned a number of mouldy VHS tapes. I did not want to clean them using my machine because it is new and I wanted to use it to convert the tapes to digital. Doing it using a second-hand machine I found was slow and cumbersome. This is a summary of what I eventually did.
Get two bolts where the head fits exactly into the reel drives. I found coach screws to be an ideal fit. On one bolt you need a tube like a short piece of garden hose so the bolt can spin easily.
Unscrew the VHS then turn it over so the screws are underneath. Pull it apart and all the pieces will remain intact.
Remove both reels. On the full reel, push the bolt head with the tube into the drive hole. On the empty reel push in a bolt and connect it to a battery drill.
Fold two sheets of toilet paper to about 1” square. Dampen (don’t soak) the outside with a few drops of propanol alcohol (cleaning alcohol). Stretch out the tape and fold the paper over the tape.
One person holds the bolt with tube on the full reel. The other drives the drill and holds the paper onto the tape guiding it so it winds properly on the empty reel.
The drill can be run fast when you get good at it. You can clean many tapes in a short period. Use TP and propanol to clean the empty reels. That seems to be where most of the mould is. Don’t worry about being perfectly clean. All you want to do is remove mould so it does not clog the recording heads then transfer them before it grows again. You will never remove all the mould spores. Use a mask.
If your tapes play fuzzy, run this process and I found by cleaning them they all play very well.
Carefully watch how the tape came out of the spindles so you can get it back in the cassette again or pull an old one apart if you get confused.
After checking your tape, run a head cleaner tape through your machine.
Thanks for the detailed summary of your process!
I did something that's pretty much a combination of your method and Oldskool PC's method but with a few changes: I have a plastic prong that fits microfibre cloths over both of the prongs without there being too much pressure between them and is small enough to fit in the gaps under the tape without taking apart the VHS itself, so I put my prong inside a vicegrip, the actual tape between the prongs (ie. So it's got cloth on both ends) then use a drill with an attachment I made from an old VHS player + an old drill bit, holding the drill with one hand and the tape with the other.
Another thing is to do the first pass at very, very slow speeds (I pretty much put on a movie to watch while I do it and clean it at "playback speed" for the worst cases) as it prevents the mould from flinging around the case almost completely, meaning that the "take apart the tape" step is as simple as cleaning the insides of the reels and then giving the cassette itself a quick blow with compressed air to blow out any mould that did fall off or had already spread beyond the tape.
I remember back in the 90s , at a VHS rental store , when they used a VHS tape re-winder , the mold used to come off
I have some VHS tapes that have a lot of mold on them. I just bought a VCR which also has a DVD player along with RCA cords. The VCR has no problem playing DVDs, but when I try playing the VHS tapes I get a flash of static and the video cuts out and my TV looses its signal to the VCR. I’m doing this all on a flatscreen TV because I don’t have a CRT TV, and the VCR and cables were bought separately. Do you think cleaning the mold off of the tapes would fix that problem? I read somewhere that it’s hard to get VHS tapes to play on flatscreens, and I wasn’t sure if it was the tapes or hardware.
Tapes don't play back properly with mold on them. If you played tapes with the mold still attached, you've damaged, or at least dirtied, the inside of your VCR. You must clean the VCR heads as well as get the mold out of your tape before trying again.
that happened to my vcr open it up and clean the wheel inside
I just video and I do have that problem on many tapes. Thanks
I have a question, just looking for some feedback.
I have a lot of old movies on VHS, and I know that it’s illegal to copy them, but am I allowed to digitize them, to preserve them?
Or do I just continue to watch the mold grow.
If I buy a digital copy of some media nowadays and something happens I’m allowed to recover it on another device.
I just want to preserve what I have.
Thanks, If you happen to see this and have any ideas, I would like to hear from you.
I hadn’t thought of that! I am only worried about restoring and saving home videos.
I guess it might be considered a pirate copy, but as long as you’re not doing it for selling and reproducing for more than preserving for yourself…? Ie 1-for-1… when videos were made I doubt they considered that it wouldn’t last forever, but keeping them to not be useful isn’t a great option either!
Do you recommend baking of vhs tape which are full of molds stick and hard to wind
In general, yes, but I would consult reel-to-reel enthusiasts for the correct temperature and duration.
@@TheOldskoolPC I still have lots of valuable VHS tape from my shootings, the only successful Technic that i`ve used is a Manual mode, i mount the spool on a stand, then wipe the tape with isopropyl alcohol mix then with dry cloth, the process is very tedious work, as i need to wipe the whole tape wet then dry.
Please help: Could you use a head cleaner taper once you are done, and make the donor VCR as good as it was again?
Possibly. I've never been brave enough to find out.
@@TheOldskoolPC I just bought one that works well but it eats tapes. I am gonna try, hope it works!
@@TheOldskoolPC Good news! it works well after a thorough cleaning to get the mold out
I've been looking for a broken vcr to buy so I can do this as I don't want to sacrifice either of my two working ones. If the vcr doesn't eject (as the seller has mentioned) can it still be used for this??
Not easily. I recommend just going to goodwill to see if they have any.
Question! If I clean these tape, the image quality will improve? I have some and the image looks fuzzy and with static
I would first clean your VCR heads (properly, do not use a cotton bud!) as that might be the culprit. Only clean the tape if you can see mold or other damage.
@@TheOldskoolPC By cotton bud do you mean Q-Tip? Just curious what's the harm in that? I've been using alcohol & Q-Tips for years being very careful not to break the little tabs on the drum. Is there something else I should be concerned about?
Hi what type screw drivers are you using thanks very much i need to buy some for fixing tapes and vcr aswell thanks very much.
The screwdrivers you'd need would depend on what screws are in the tape. That said, most are philips-head screws.
@@TheOldskoolPC hi ok thanks i get them online in a pack yes.
With a tape as bad as the one you showed, I don't doubt that it is mold, but according to this video, at least with metal audio cassettes (which use a similar formulation to videotapes), white powder on the tape might not always necessarily be mold -- it could just be the original lubricant of the tape which has solidified and turned into powder form, in which case simply fast-forwarding and then rewinding the tape will redistribute it and get rid of the powder: th-cam.com/video/ezdlGSXUZ3M/w-d-xo.html
Good to know, thanks! The reason I'm fairly sure the mold on the tape in the video is indeed mold is because it was on the clear plastic reels as well as the tape itself. If it were only on the tape, then it might be solidified lubricant -- however, that's not something I'd want floating around my only good capture deck.
Hey *VWestlife* what a coincidence to find you here, How could you affirm it is white powder inside than mold instead?
Hey I have nirvana live tapes. Help please.
What if it ends up being mould though and you’ve rewound it inside your player and spread the spores around?
@@VHSRarities PLEASE restore those a.s.a.p. Nirvana heads like me live for that shit!
Wow helpful information
Hi
Isopropyl Alcohol is getting hard to get.
One shop tells me they are making it into hand gel.
Could you use that?
Thanks
I wouldn't do that since there could be other additives. In what country are you located where Isopropyl Alcohol is hard to get?
@@TheOldskoolPC UK
Friend, after cleaning the reels, instead of cleaning the inside of the tapes, could I just not replace with new tapes, keeping the old reels? Or would this not be recommended.
Cleaning tapes to rescue their contents is generally considered the last stage in a tape's life. Once the tape has been properly archived (25i or 30i, preserve both fields!), the tape is usually discarded, or sometimes put back in storage. It is definitely *not* returned to active use.
So I have a few vhs tapes that got damaged/ mold and lost the visual quality but has sound. It just looks like tracking lines. Can these be fixed and recovered like in your video?
The mold likely came off the tape and got stuck in your drive heads. I would try the method in the video, then watch a video on how to properly clean VCR heads with paper and alcohol (no q-tips!!) and hopefully that will help.
@@TheOldskoolPCis microfiber made with 100% polyester?
Don't you have to use isopropyl alcohol or something similar (and highly evaporative) in order to kill the mold entirely on all surfaces, including the edges and sides of the tape itself?
Probably not a bad idea, although not strictly necessary if your goal is to remove it for the purposes of capture. I don't have enough experience with cleaning tapes with alcohol to advise.
great video
I have been playing various VHS tapes- both professionally recorded movies and home-made videos- on several VCR units (four so far), and they are all playing poorly (stuttering, skipping, jumping, etc.) I've cleaned all of the unit's VCR heads and contact points, and although I haven't opened any of them, none of the tapes appear to have any mold or other issues. Are the tapes just too old and degraded from age or humidity? I'm out of ideas.
If professionally recorded movies are failing to play on several VCR units, that's somewhat alarming. If they're old and worn out and stretched, or stored in humidity, or stored in locations with extreme hot and cold cycles, then yes, it could be the tapes.
Sounds to me like bad drive belts in the VCR. Replace those and you should be fine. May want to replace the pinch roller aswell
Thanks a Million 😀
How did you get it off the tape reel itself? (the left reel when you take it apart) You didn't show that.
Skip back to the bit before he takes the tape apart. He ran it through a VCR with its cover removed, holding a microfiber cloth against each side of the tape as it was rewinding. This effectively dusted the tape and works much faster than unwinding/cleaning by hand while also reducing risk of damage to the tape.
@@andrewhankins7031 Thanks, I skipped the start thinking it was all going to be done when it was taken apart - lol :)
@@retrogeezer No worries. I did the same XD
Everyone of mine have mold and mainly because of me because of bad storing by my part. I don't know if they can be restored or if it's even worth the time or effort!
If you have one-of-a-kind content, like family memories or out-of-print material, it's worth the effort :-)
That's very cool.
I have an extremely rare betamax tape that has mold on it, its the only known copy to exist and it really means a lot to me. Is there such thing as a cleaning service somewhere? Id really rather not mess it up considering its rarity.
Search google for vhs tape cleaning service
Great video! Currently finding all my old tapes to back up and sadly, they've definitely got mold on them. I only have the one VCR, probably not a pristine machine itself, and no donor VCR. Any other ways I can do the main reel cleaning?
Be very careful with your single VCR unit :-) I mentioned a donor VCR because "just in case", but in reality the VCR I show in the video worked just fine after disassembling/cleaning/reassembling.
Do it by hand (using gloves and a microfiber cloth). It's not the quickest process but gets a bit faster once you get the hang of it! Also listen to something in the background so you don't go insane! 😅
Hmmm... should I not use an alcohol wipe down on the hard surfaces and air dry, to discourage any future mold?
Not a bad idea, especially if you think you'll want to capture the tape again in the future. Proper storage is more important in the long run, though.
its outgassig not mold...
@@esecallum no
@@AtomizedSound it's outgassing as I analyses it where is mold going to come from the tape is in a cover kept on a dry place and it going creep thru the crevices just to settle on the magnetic tape and not anywhere else..I am right
Very helpful video, thank you. Do you have any thoughts on using alcohol in this process? I've seen some guides recommend that but am not sure if that adds risk of damage.
The professional machines use a dry pad, so that's the advice I tend to follow. That said, I do use alcohol sometimes when I rescue floppy diskette media, but only as a lubricant and not for cleaning.
If during isopropanol or alcohol (what’s the difference in terms of their cleaning tape risks and advantaged?)…. How much is needed to be used? How do you apply it, and when?
Before or after (or instead of) a dry wipe as shown in the video?
@@CB-jh1pt I'd love to know this as well -- did you ever end up finding a solution?
@@joshhallnz I tried 2 tapes which were reproducible to test techniques. I ran through twice using dry wipe lint cloth only (all the way forwards, and in reverse; cleaning the inside of the cassette both times. I used cotton bud tips soaked in 99% isopropanol for this.
Tried playing the tapes after this. Quite jumpy, but could get a picture and sound from it.
Then did an isopropanol wipe on tape to see if it improved the jumps/ quality. Rewound and fast-forwarded tapes to try and “iron out” any creases. No noticeable success, and I was scared to try it on home videos yet bad I wanted to improve the technique.
I kept a couple of reproducible tapes (kids feature films etc) from when I sorted the mouldy ones before. Since found the previously non-mouldy films are looking furry, so have a few more to trial… yay 🤦♀️
5:05 Would you have to rewind and do the same on the other reel?
No, because you're getting both sides of the tape on a single pass, all the way from one reel to the other.
Your the best man 🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍👍😃
My only issue with this method is that my vhs players have been automatically rejecting anything I put in there that has mold. So I can’t use the machine to fast forward or rewind. Any other ideas?
I have auto vhs rewinders. They were made specifically for rewinding back in the day. Saved the VHS heads.
Another great recipe
Hi I may have been onto you before.
What percentage Isopropyl would you use please? A 70% one.
In the event that you couldn't get Isopropyl would sanitizer with isopropyl alcohol in its ingredients be OK please?
I use 99% for just about everything. Hand sanitizer should NOT be used because additives could do more harm than good.
@@TheOldskoolPC I have been able to get 70% isopropyl.
Would that be OK to use?
Thanks for your kind reply.
You can buy 99% at hardware stores in the paint section. Test it on tapes you don't care about in case it melts the tape. Hand sanitizers are sticky, usually. Hydrogen peroxide or bleach also kill mold. Not sure about how bleach would do on the tape, but I did see a cleaning site that mentioned Hydrogen peroxide. Not sure how liberally they were applying it and to what surface of the tape. Again I'd test it on a tape that I didn't mind damaging and a donor vcr. You can find them online and at second hand shops. You also may be able to use a tape rewinder.
Can you do this with a Umatic 3/4 in. tape?..I have an edited master of a college project I made back in '91 that I never got a chance to knock down to 1/2 in... I was wondering if I could get it put onto a flash drive. When I fished it out of storage It had mold on it...Does anyone know what it might run me to have it professionally done?
If it's a umatic tape, I would definitely contact a few transfer houses and mention to them that it has some mold on it. Some transfer places have specialized machines to clean the tape.
@@TheOldskoolPC Thanks, so much!..Is it a very expensive process?
I have disney vhs who are moldy but extremly rare. Would this work on them?
Yes, it should work on any VHS tape.
@@TheOldskoolPC Thank you, this video saved me a lot of trouble.
Nice video on how to start cleaning a VIS tape, doing this for a while as a hobby, for friends and now I'm in search of these electronic VHS cleaners, so I dont have to take risks of tearing the tape apart. I've looked online, but I havent found anything. Does anyone know where to find them or how to search for them?
Ebay is probably the easiest to search, but you'll get a thousand entries for those "VHS Head Cleaning Tape" things for every actual tape cleaner. Other than that you'll be hunting in darker corners.
I’ve seen a few comments saying clean the tape with isopropyl alcohol, NEVER DO THIS. The alcohol will strip the lubricative layer off the tape and destroy it, isopropyl alcohol should only be used to clean the cassette casing, the empty reels and VCR components.
One of my childhood memories VHS tapes is basically full of mold - almost the entirety of the ribbon is white. Do you think it's salvageable?
yes. i just played them fine. you can open it and use a brush to wipe away.
Yes, just follow the procedure in the video. You might need to do it several times to get rid of all the mold, but you can.
@@TheOldskoolPC its not mold but outgassing compounds just like batteries which are leaky... it doesn't happen on basf chromium tapes
Nope, pretty sure it's just mold: resources.culturalheritage.org/emg-review/volume-two-2011-2012/restoration-of-molded-videotapes-research-on-vacuum-freeze-drying-of-water-damaged-videotapes/#Mold
@@esecallum I have Basf chromium tapes and it happened...
Youre doing it the hard way sir... in av class we just used rewinders for tapes with mold then cleaned with alcohol.
Don't know where to find a rewinder :-)
I taken the lid off my VHS rewinder and took a donor VHS case and notched out the center. I removed the reels from the mold tape to clean the insides and place the reels in the donor case. When I notched the donor case out I also removed all the routing pieces inside as well so the tape reels have no slack between and place a link free towel. Need to figure out how to wire the rewinder to fast forward as well but not sure with the gearing inside but remember rewinders that fast forward in the old days but hard to find.
A question, will the video quality go down after mold grew on it?
If it grew between tape layers, then yes, unfortuantely. But the damage shouldn't be across the entire tape, only limited to a few sections.
@@TheOldskoolPC thanks!
Excuse me, isn't it better to clean by playing tape instead of fast forward or rewind. Now as I ask this i realize that by playing it would take a long time 🤔
Maybe there are sections dirtier than other, I'm wondering if just fast forward removes mold partially. And what about placing a piece of sponge...I'm afraid of scratchs though
Playing takes a really long time. The process described in this video is for casual removal of mold; if you have something much worse, then more extreme methods might be necessary.
@@TheOldskoolPC What those more extreme methods would be?
@@TheOldskoolPC also interested in the question asked above
@@CB-jh1pt sadly we may never know
Amazing! I have a wizard of Oz VHS that has mold, not bad but there is a moment where there at the wizards castle (?) And it gets really look bad. So I'm just going to crack it open and get rubbing alcohol and a quetip and get rid of it
The Wizard of Oz had a stunning restoration on Blu-ray a few years ago; you may just want to go with that.
@@TheOldskoolPC I made this comment a month ago, I found a 35mm print
Any solution for sticky shed syndrome tapes
You can search online for the process of "baking" tapes, usually used to fix reel-to-reel tapes. However, this is usually best done by professionals.
Interesting. I've never seen mold inside a VHS tape before. I hope I never do! But if I do, I know what to do about it. Thanks!
3 years later. What is the update? Have you seen mold in a tape yet or are you still the luckiest man on earth?
Nice video!!! Thanks!!! but you are indeed just cleaning visible mold, fungus still there. Use cotton swaps (plenty of them) with ethanol 70%+distilled water 30% …btw those microfiber cloth are contaminated after cleaning the first surface.
Great tips, thanks!
I have a tape that had so much mold the tape was stuck together and tore as I was winding it :/
That's a shame. This is why proper storage (cold, dark, dry) is necessary.
Sounds like SSS but I don't know if that was the case (or even a possibility for vhs tapes)
I still have tons of tapes but never had this problem. I keep mine in my basement but its a finished basement with plenty of air flow and no moisture. Cool video tho, thx
My basement is the same and I don't have these problems with my own tapes -- but the tape in this video was given to me from someone else's basement :-)
I thought you can’t run it through vcr, then how do you clean mold off without running the tape ?
use an old machine to run the tape that has mold on it, like he did (he has another machine to view and record and transfer)
@@justnoted2995 you mean a spare vcr that you wouldn’t mind messing up?
@@littleratchett1527 yes, but the guy cleaned it up afterwards (it was a 'donation'), and apparently it is working fine afterwards
Omg! Now i know why my tapes went wrong while i was trying to 'save' them... I was doing it the other way round!! Ergghhh
I found a old home movie from a thrift store. Brought it home and noticed this orange moldy mess when i opened the top tray thingy. Like it was on top and the side of the physical tape. No way am I touching that tape.
Could always wear an N95 mask and latex gloves to handle the tape.
Sir, you did not talk about cleaning the top of the tape.
I just don't get it my tapes have been stored properly well orginally they were in a damp area but only a few grew mold out of hundreds and I moved them to a safer climate almost a year ago and I'm starting to notice mold on different tapes and some were watched not too long ago why is this happening to me. Please anyone with any advice or that has a similar situation reply. Great video by the way.
Mold grows slowly. Always keep them in a dark, dry, cool place.
Can this method also apply to Betamax?
Yes, any analog interlaced video source.
Do you clean vhs tapes for other people? We’d pay for the service and shipping both ways, of course. 🙂
Sorry, not at this time. I'm too busy working on my next video :-)
Not all tapes are easy to disassemble what about those tapes with really sticky labels that are hard to remove.
i know people use IPA to kill the mould but i'm wondering if you could use UV light to completely kill the mould after the cleaning process ?
I'm not sure, as I haven't experimented with trying to kill the mold completely, only removing enough of it such that capture as possible and it doesn't damage my equipment. Hopefully someone else in the comments may have an opinion.
@@TheOldskoolPC i know gardeners use UV light to kill Mildew mould like what you get in tapes BUT! i have no idea if the UV light would damage the film ? i would be very interested to know, i enjoyed your video it's good to see people trying to restore things rather than just throw them away
6:00 You're missing the little orange piece putting it back together as seen @ 4:04
You're right... it was the left side reel lock.
Not shown in the video is that it was broken when I inspected it, so I didn't put it back in. But good catch!
Do not leave tapes in a damp environment like Shed, Garage, as tapes can catch mould and cause permanent damage.
Yep
Are you aware of the LD-Decode project and its potential adaptation to VHS tapes?
I am aware of the LD-Decode project, but not how it applies to VHS tapes. If there is a link to more information specifically how it pertains to VHS, I'd love to know about it.
I believe the guys behind it have only speculated on it being applied to VHS tapes in their RetroRGB interview. Apart from that, this video seems to be attempting something similar: th-cam.com/video/t0eLxQY6-RI/w-d-xo.html and these recent threads www.digitalfaq.com/forum/video-capture/9432-decoding-vhs-rf.html & github.com/happycube/ld-decode/issues/16
Oh hey, that's Andrew Jenner -- he and I go way back :-) I'll have to ask him about this someday.
🥇🥇🥇🥇
Does not guarantee your tapes to be in perfect working order, picture flicker, picture malfunction can be a sign of being caused by mould.
This is true. Mold can cause permanent damage that remains even after the mold is cleaned off the tape, unfortunately.
Je kan het makkelijk doen en videorecorder open draaien pak een doek en alcohol en leg dat rustig tegen die tape aan en spoel hem langzaam naar voor en later naar achteren met het doek anders en klaar is het daarna videoband zelf die de binnen kant schoondoen met doek en alcohol en klaar zo gloednieuw want zit altijd vies op en duurt te lang als je het snel en goed wil doen doe je het niet zo is het nog makkelijker dan videoband open doen te veel prusten met die tape en gevaarlijk als je vingers er op komen kun je opnieuw beginnen
Yeah I screwed up. 6 boxes of tapes 🗑 I haven't the time to do this to all. Lol. Sucks though.
So no alcohol needed?
I didn't use any. Some people have used alcohol with success, but I tend to only use that if I'm not getting results from dry anti-static lint-free cloths. I also restore floppy disk media, and I've seen alcohol accelerate dissolving the binder on the wafer, so I personally use it as last resort.
@@TheOldskoolPC so the real question is will the alcohol damage the tapes
Anyone tried this? I can see a lot of comments about “I will have to try this”…
Will I damage them with this DIY?
What are the definite “don’t”s?
I have a lot of family home videos and a donor VHS player.
I just don’t want to break them beyond repair… this almost looks too simple for the state of the videos?!
I’ve seen both alcohol and isopropanol (at 99%) as suggestions… but also that these might damage the reel? And I wouldn’t know until it’s too late.
How does this not ruin the picture/ sound info on the tape? I’m scared! Haha 😅
If it helps, the tape in question was turned into the "New Trier High School Class of 1989 Video Yearbook" video on youtube, and you can see it didn't damage the tape.
@@TheOldskoolPC a few of my tapes look a little more worse-for-wear in the one in this demo video. Would it still turn out ok or would you treat it differently? Your above reply is much appreciated, I’ll check it out, thanks.
I accidentally put a moldy tape in the vcr i think and now i want to know how to clean the vcr
Look for spores and clean them out using alcohol. Also clean the VCR tape heads, but be very careful, you can't use qtips or cotton, instead use paper soaked in alcohol -- there are tutorials on youtube for cleaning the heads.
I have cleaned mold off of my friends vhs tapes
I use alcohol with a tape rewinder
I'd recommend using 99.9% ISO on all of the surfaces, including the tape itself, rather than a dry cloth.
I've wiped the oxide off using ISO on a tape where the binder was disintegrating, so be cautious.
Anyone awesome want to fix my tapes? I have about 60 of them needing some tender loving care. I don't mind doing this, but this looks very time consuming, specially with having about 60 tapes I was given.
Nope
u rule
i have mold on my betamax please help
Betamax isn't much different than VHS for this; does this tutorial not apply to your betamax tapes?
I'll just throw the moldy tape away thanks tho