Did something rather foolish today; mouldy VHS tape in VCR

[Fortesque]

So, I picked up a bunch of VHS tapes from the thrift store today, and was just using my spare VCR to rewind them all (the amount of people who leave tapes unrewound, sheesh). Anyway, I was on a roll rewinding this new bunch of tapes, so much so that I did not look very closely at a certain tape that I inserted and rewound (it was already very near the beginning, and only rewound for about 2 seconds before finishing). When I took the tape out, I saw that it was covered in mold.

I'm now worried that I've "infected", so to speak, my VCR. So, a few questions I have are:

1. I store this spare VCR underneath my main unit; could the mold spread from the bottom VCR to the top one if left unattended?

2. Can this problem simply be rectified with a wet VHS cleaning tape? Or will this make it worse? Tempted to run one through both units, just to be sure, but will wait for advice. If not, what should I do?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[ronmaz]

spores!! Any relation to gamemaniaco?

[Fortesque]

Any relation to gamemaniaco?

What's that?

And yes, spores That's what I'm worried about.

[DB83]

We do not mention the 'g' word around here.

IMHO it is most unlikely that mould would rise through the lower unit and penetrate the upper unit.

Have you tried to play any of these tapes in the lower unit ?

Clogged heads would probably not be cleaned by any consumer cleaning tape. If there is mould on the heads then that will transfer to the cleaning tape as well.

[Fortesque]

Have you tried to play any of these tapes in the lower unit ?

If you mean after I accidentally inserted the mouldy one, then yes, I played another random tape that I had lying around, didn't seem to have any visual impact.

[DB83]

Panic over then.

[Fortesque]

Panic over then.

So you mean if any mold spores had gone in there, it would be immediately visible on playback?

[DB83]

Without taking the top off you will not know what is in there.

But if you have no playback issues then the video heads are not damaged.

[Cornucopia]

You should have the unit serviced (clean the tape heads, guides & rest of tape path) and checked anyway, just to be safe. Do it now, not later.
You dodged a bullet, but you are still in the line of fire.

Oh, and do yourself a favor and pick up a vhs tape rewinder. Save your machine wear for when you are capping. And ALWAYS pre-inspect your tapes' condition!

Scott

[Noahtuck]

Any relation to gamemaniaco?

What's that?

That reply alone is VERY suspicious!!!

When someone asks you if you are related to someone, who the hell says "WHAT IS THAT" ??
Most people with an IQ over 40 would say "WHO is that"

[Fortesque]

Any relation to gamemaniaco?

What's that?

That reply alone is VERY suspicious!!!

When someone asks you if you are related to someone, who the hell says "WHAT IS THAT" ??
Most people with an IQ over 40 would say "WHO is that"

This is my first time on this site. I didn't know if it was a person, group, website, or otherwise.

[johns0]

We suspect you to be a part of the mold/fungus paranoia group where gamemaniaco is the leader.

[DB83]

I would prefer to give the OP the benefit of the doubt.

He has not acted like 'g'. He appears to have a better understanding of the answers he has been given and is not repeating ad-nauseum the questions.

Unfortunately, 'g' has left a nasty stain in the forum and it is now too easy to jump to conclusions.

[Fortesque]

Well, you can all rest assured that I am in no way affiliated with him/her. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll look into what it would cost to get it serviced, (as Cornucopia mentioned), just in case. I'm an IT technician, so I have a fairly good knowledge when it comes to dealing with the internals of electronics; I might even see if I can find a good guide and take a crack at cleaning it properly myself.