VHS Mold

[JLG/JLG]

I'm in the process of converting all my VHS to DVD, but suddenly a lot of tapes from the late 90's, especially anything TDK, are getting white mold on the top of the reel. Is there anything I can do to help prevent the tapes that are still good from getting this problem before I can convert them?

[aedipuss]

sure build a storage room. cold and devoid of humidity. you might want to store your dvds in there also, they have about the same lifespan.

[JLG/JLG]

I'm in NY, so humidity is difficult to avoid, especially this time of year. So I want them near an air conditioner? Do I want much light in the room?

[NJRoadfan]

Send them to a specialist to get them transferred if they content irreplaceable content. Mold generally requires specialized cleaning techniques.

[JLG/JLG]

I'm figuring they are done once they get moldy as that sounds like loads of money for questionable results.

[JLG/JLG]

Is there any logic to why one tape in the box is moldy and the next isn't? I figure doing the oldest ones first gives me the best chance, but it just seems so random.

[handyguy]

Some seal better.

[Cornucopia]

I'm figuring they are done once they get moldy as that sounds like loads of money for questionable results.

Not necessarily true. Follow NJRoadfan's advice.

Scott

[awhite2600]

I found a big box of VHS tapes in my basement about a year ago. The box had been exposed to some water a few years earlier when there was a small water leak. (Not a flood, just enough water to wet the entire basement floor.) A few of the tapes had white mold visible through the windows. I mistakenly placed a couple of the tapes on a table near a sunny window and got sidetracked for about an hour. When I came back I was surprised to see that the mold was no longer visible.

I'm sure that the tapes were likely still contaminated. I don't know if the mold just turned black or if the sunlight killed it. I ended up giving the entire box of tapes to a friend. I did warn him about the ones that had been moldy. Don't know if he ever tried playing them or not. Most of the tapes were just recordings of TV shows so there wasn't anything valuable.

[JLG/JLG]

Has anyone had the mold "go away" by sun or anything else or been able to open the tape and get rid of what may just have been dust on the reel (sometimes it's hard to tell which is which if it's just 1 little spot) and then actually tried dubbing it and had it not gunk up their machine?

So apart from the temperature/humidity aspect, any opinions on what the best way to actually store the tapes, like what you should or shouldn't have them in or anything you might be able to put with/near them to help prevent mold from appearing?

[turk690]

I've had a 1995-era VHS tape with the purported mold (white maybe powdery spots on the reel itself) that I intended to make a DVD out of. I didn't play it just yet but opened the case, curious. The mold appears to be just on top of the spooled up tape (that means it's on a thin sliver on the side of the tape). I closed the case again then loaded it in a stand-alone rewinder and rew & ff it at least 15x, maybe more. As I expected, the whitish stuff was gone. I played it, and appeared to be ok, except that about every 10mins the VHS player head would clog and the picture would gradually disappear in a haze of onscreen snow, along with the hi-fi audio (normal audio continued). I would retrieve the tape, clean the heads, then insert it again. After tediously playing the tape this way, I rew & ff it again a few more times. I cleaned the VHS players heads once more. The second time I played it, the heads clogged 3x only (within the program length of 90mins). The tape plays ok now.

[JLG/JLG]

>build a storage room. cold and devoid of humidity

Unfortunately, I can't afford to add a room to the house that might be ideal, what can I do within a limited budget that might at least help some while I finish converting? Air conditioners, fans, something I can buy to help alter the conditions or stop mold from spawning/spreading, something I can change w/ the way I'm storing them, that sort of thing?
And what temperature is really good where cooler won't mean damp?
Sorry if I'm just going crazy here

[JLG/JLG]

Does anyone sell a stackable plastic storage bin that holds like 30 or 50 tapes you'd like to save but don't need Citizen Kane master protection for that isn't clear let the sunlight destroy them plastic?