Help : Cleaning of LPs affected by termite mud

Bidya

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Hello Friends,

One of my friend has a huge collection of LP Records which he wants to give me. But the problem is, the covers of the Records have been eaten by Termites as those were kept in a store room for more than 15 years and there is the termite mud/soil spread over the Records. Now, my question is, can it be cleaned and the Records be made usable.

Please give me a solution.

With regards,

Bidya
 
If there is a thick encrustation of termite mud on the disc, then it's bad news. You would be able to get it off with soap and water, but it's very likely that the grooves might be permanently damaged, as those little bastards are fond of eating into the vinyl itself. Seen a few LPs that we unrecoverable from termite damage. If you're lucky, if the encrustation is at a superficial level, you might be able to salvage a few. All the best!
 
If there is a thick encrustation of termite mud on the disc, then it's bad news. You would be able to get it off with soap and water, but it's very likely that the grooves might be permanently damaged, as those little bastards are fond of eating into the vinyl itself. Seen a few LPs that we unrecoverable from termite damage. If you're lucky, if the encrustation is at a superficial level, you might be able to salvage a few. All the best!

Thank U Sir, will try ur suggestion.
 
Plain water is the safest for removing old dust/muck etc. Use a water jet if possible, avoiding the label. A trip to the washbasin should work adequately, at this stage.
 
Dear Bidya, what happened next? Did you cleaned and then got lucky with those LPs?
 
Tried to wash one of the LPs, of course which was less mud. Mud was gone completely but the stain was there. I have a Hi Q Philips 742 Player, not working perfectly, but running. Played the washed LP on it and after few minutes, a lot of dirt is seen sticking on the needle. The portion over which it was ran, it is clean, no stain of mud remains. I suppose this way the cartridge will get damaged. I would try something else and see if it can improve the result.
 
Hydrogen Peroxide would dig up dirt like nothing else. You may try that and share the results.

BTW, there is an elaborate thread on the subject.
 
Apply mild soap water ( or diluted vinegar ?) on the lp and let it stay that way for several hours. Then wash it with a strong jet of water. After that clean it again with a fine soft bristle brush or preferably disc cleaning pad. Very time consuming but may work to remove muck from the grooves. Some discs may have termite muck only on the cover ! Maybe .....!

Note that some people on the Net say vinegar and tap water are the most destructive materials for vinyl and at the same time guys have said they have been cleaning the vinyl all the time with vinegar and water. The water must be clean of course . Preferable to do the final rinse with distilled water to ensure no solid deposits remain when the water dries up. You MUST wipe the disc with a soft lint free cotton cloth.....like a freshly washed vest ! If you use vinegar , don't let it stay for more than 15 minutes or so and use it diluted say 1:10 ( vinegar:water). Distilled water final rinse is a must !
 
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You may use this method, which I have tried on such records :

1. Soak the mud with a solution made by 50:50 ration of distilled water and laboratory
grade IPA i.e Isopropyl Alcohol.

2. Rinse it thoroughly and repeat the process till the vinyl is cleaner looking.

3. Let it dry off at room temp. for about 3-4 hours.

4. Use the same solution and a carbon fiver brush and rotate the brush in clockwise and
anticlockwise directions on the record for about 5 times each.

5. After above procedure place the record on flat table above a clean newspaper and wipe it with a lint free
cloth again in clockwise and anticlockwise directions for about 5 times each.

You can try this method on a single record first. For me it worked, although it is near impossible to get the dust and grit completely out of the grooves but it helped to salvage some records atleast.


Hope this helps.

Cheers
 
its isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol. best source- a medical store- the medical spirit that we use to soak cotton n apply before injecting drugs is the stuff. and tap water has minerals. it may leave deposits on finer grooves when water evaporates thereby spoiling the track. you need r o water or distilled water. mix both 70-80% water with alcohol. but the whole purpose of this exercise is to create a solvent that wont lleave muck spots after it dries up. this is no detergent and you have to use detergent with this mixture.
also wet cleaning works like a charm. get a dedicated player with needle for this and u d be surprised with results.
 
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I had tried to wash the records with only surgical spirit but did not get the desired result. Now, I will try cleaning with mixture of spirit and distilled water. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I use RO made clean potable water with IPA and two or three drops hand-wash liquid soap. I use a 4 inch dia 3 inch deep bowl to hold the mixture.

But I swipe cloth draped in that liquid for one or max two turns.
It worked for me.
I think, following FM "frend2001", I should rub it more.

also wet cleaning works like a charm. get a dedicated player with needle for this and u d be surprised with results.

Is this wet cleaning anything else than mentioned in this topic? Let me know those secrets then.

For your case, I think, you should clean the records with plain water first (under a sink).
 
I had tried to wash the records with only surgical spirit but did not get the desired result. Now, I will try cleaning with mixture of spirit and distilled water. Thanks for the suggestion.

Please add a detergent. Spirit alone is not enough to dislodge dirt and dust. Remember that detergent has the property of attracting and dislodging dirt particles, which is why it's so useful in washing dirty clothes.

Also, since your dirt is stuck (termite mud is usually very hard), after wetting it in your solution, soak it for sometime so that the dirt softens. After it softens, use very soft brush to brush the affected areas. This will additionally dislodge the dirt by stirring up and breaking up the dirt. Allow it to soak for some more time, as now the detergent solution can now penetrate deeper as you have broken up the dirt particles into smaller sizes. Soak up with wet cloth and dry with with lint free cloth (old tee shirt or banian are perfect).
 
Is this wet cleaning anything else than mentioned in this topic? Let me know those secrets then.

I think what entsurgeon suggested is to run the player on the affected record, after wetting the record. The stylus will dislodge the softened dirt from the groove.

A bit radical, I'd say;)
 
I add 2 drops of Triton X (Surfactant) to mixture of IPA and distilled water. It helps removing dirt from the grove without leaving any residue after final rinse with RO/ Distilled water. I apply the mixture with soft shoe brush.

Regards
Sachin
 
I think what entsurgeon suggested is to run the player on the affected record, after wetting the record. The stylus will dislodge the softened dirt from the groove.

A bit radical, I'd say;)

So will I, especially with costly (to me) styluses.

And records do not remain wet for long to till stylus run though out the length of the groove.

Wet cleaning with white banyan is enough to me.
 
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