old VHS tape making vcr heads dirty

[abbymat]

I have a 22 year old VHS tape that makes the VCR heads dirty when played, so that it has to be cleaned every few minutes.

Will using something like a Kinyo rewinder and tape cleaner help to clean up the tape some what so that it does not clog the VCR heads constantly ?

http://www.amazon.com/KINYO-UV-230C-Cassette-Rewinderand-Cleaner/dp/B00006JPKA

[Bjs]

It depends on how the device performs the cleaning function ... some are just cheap knockoffs that do very little in the way of actual proper cleaning .

Using one will save the vcr head from being clogged by dust and grit from old tapes ... but you still need to service the vcr anyway ... just less often .

As for a vhs tape , age 22 , back it up before it degrades .

[abbymat]

do you know of any reliable tape cleaner models ? the Kinyo was one of the very few available on the market.

[handyguy]

Does it have mold on it?

[Bjs]

I'll check ... been a while , last one was $75.00au , made for video rental stores , but dont recall who made it .

[wulf109]

Old video tapes will shed the oxide coating,no amount of cleaning will stop it. The glue that holds the oxide on the polyester tape is breaking down.

[abbymat]

no, there is no mold and the tape looks very clean, but head gets clogged almost immediately on playing.

can anything be done about oxide shedding ?

[Quasipal]

Please read this as it has proved very good for me.

http://www.videointerchange.com/video_recovery.htm#Tape%20Baking

Regards, Quasipal