PRICING FOR THE CLEANER AND ALL OPTIONS CAN BE SEEN BY CLICKING ON THE MENU OPTION AT THE TOP THAT SAYS “MOLD CLEANER”
Hey there tapeheads! If you’ve been collecting VHS for very long you’ve inevitable found a tape at a flea market, yard sale, or maybe in your own storage from years gone by and pulled it out to play it only to discover the thing that makes us all say “Well CRAP!” Yep, I’m talking about mold! Now there’s some side discussion to be had on is it mold or is it the powered chemical breakdown of the tape you’re seeing? Regardless of what it is, it doesn’t need to be on your tape and really doesn’t need to go through your VCR and across your VCR heads. So let’s talk about how we deal with it.
To Clean or Not To Clean
First, let’s hit this part of the subject head on. Should you even be cleaning moldy tapes? Well, the short answer is … MAYBE! Is the tape you’re considering cleaning a $2 tape easily replaced, or is it a recording of an important event you want to digitize before losing it forever? Only you can determine the need to clean a specific tape (or tapes), but I am confident that there IS a need to clean some tape, at some point, even if you send it off to a professional to do. So with that said, let’s talk about cleaning!
Mold Cleaning Methods
There are several ways to clean “mold” (we’ll use as a placeholder for any foreign substance on your tape) and those ways range from manual cleaning of a tape by hand to using a professional cleaning machine that can cost up to $5k to purchase. You can also send in your tapes to professional services that can clean and digitize your tape for you, but if you’ve looked into them at all you’ll know they are expensive. There is also homemade cleaning machines out of rewinders and of course the most common method of using a spare/junk VCR, taking off the lid, and holding cleaning it as the tape rewinds or FF. As you know, this method can take quite a bit of time to clean a tape. In actuality, all of these methods work, but I wanted a cleaner, quicker, more cost effective (over time) way to do it so I set out to build a better moldtrap if you will.
The VHS is LIFE Cleaner
Before I send you off to watch the video, allow me to give you the basics of the machine I’ve designed. It has a bi-directional switch to allow you to spool forward and reverse so you can clean in both directions, and the on/off switch is multi-speed to allow you to control the speed at which you clean. It has a vacuum attachment designed to work with the desktop vacuum I offer, but you can use it without a vacuum, just be aware that mold will freely fly in your air and work space when not using the vacuum. The cleaning columns are designed to allow the cleaning pads to be easily put on and taken off, as well as allowing you to use the same pad multiple times by folding it over and using both sides. I recommend using our officially endorsed and licensed “Pec-Pad” cleaning pads, which are 4″x4″ non-abrasive, lint-free cleaning pads used for cleaning sensitive surfaces. The pad holders were designed to work specifically with these cleaning pads. (I do NOT recommend the cheap China cleaning pads as they are not made in a clean room like PEC-PAD brand is)
The vacuum will contain all the mold that collects at the cleaning pads, pulling it into the vacuums HEPA filter and keeping the majority of the mold spores out of your air and work space. There will sometimes be mold that falls onto the top of the cleaner where the tape first comes off the reel, but with the way I designed the vacuum to sit at the back of the cleaner you can easily pull the vacuum tube around and clean off the top of your cleaner and your desk after cleaning a tape.
The stabilizing collars that go around the spindles allow the spools a flat plane to spin on so that there is no tape bend, keeping your tape from being damaged. It is ESSENTIAL that you use them at all times when cleaning tapes.
The quick swap spindles allow you to easily swap spindles to clean mold from 10 different formats of analog tape. I offer spindle sets for cleaning mold from VHS, Betamax, VHS-C, DV, Video 8, Hi-8, V2000, U-Matic (s), 8mm Reel (3″), and Super 8mm Reel (3″).
One thing to keep in mind is that mold on tapes, especially if it’s heavy mold and has been in high humidity, can cause the tape to stick to itself and tear/shred as it’s being moved from one spool to another. This is unavoidable and for the most part unable to detect prior to seeing it actually happen. So, it’s always my advice to make your first pass on a heavily molded tape SLOWLY! Once you feel the tape is going to spool completely with no complications, you can then increase your speed on the next pass.
I highly recommend you watch the two videos below that I have made that show the setup/operation of the cleaner and the cleaning process, as well as the stabilizing collars and how they work to keep your spools spinning flat.
I always recommend that you wear a N95 mask to protect your airways from mold spores especially if you are allergic to mold spores.
If you are cleaning outside do NOT expose your cleaner to direct heat from the sun for an extended period of time as the heat can warp the lid of your cleaner and cause issues with spooling when cleaning.
If you have any questions about the cleaner or the process, please send me a message on the contact form and I’ll respond asap. Otherwise, if you’re ready to make one of the best investments in your VHS/Analog Tape journey, then head on over to the menu item “Mold Cleaner” and start your order! (Buyers outside of the US please send me a message on the contact form to get ordering instructions for international buyers)