How do we clean Audio Cassettes?

[jay]

When we play audio cassettes there is every chance of sedimentation happening on the head,pinchroller and capstan.

Now what is the process of cleaning audio cassettes. I have some old cassettes which were not played for almost more than a decade and now even after repeated rewinds,fast forward its not playing to its potential.How do we overcome such issues of restoring back the tape in the cassette and making it play as it was.

Pls suggest.

 

[greenhorn]

I used to take apart and brush the sides of the reels with alcohol, but found that it didn't make a difference. So I play them on a cheaper deck so that it sheds all the oxide. After a couple of plays, it becomes less, and you can use them on your good deck

 

[reubensm]

If your tape turns dusty or attracts fungus, the best you can do is to throw it away. Once you clean, you're not going to get optimal performance. Also, I would not play these cleaned tapes in my NAK. If you are very particular about the recording, its ealier to protect it. For tapes, prevention is better than cure. Also, use brands that are of high quality and fungus resistant. Store your tapes in a dry, dust free environment at a suitable temperature. Never throw them in a cupboard or in a drawer. From my experience, the new generation TDK tapes usually do not attract fungus.

 

[sarith]

I used to take apart and brush the sides of the reels with alcohol, but found that it didn't make a difference. So I play them on a cheaper deck so that it sheds all the oxide. After a couple of plays, it becomes less, and you can use them on your good deck

I have a makeshift setup(cassette mechanism) to clean my tapes. I too use alcohol to clean the tapes. I use cleaning tape bits and cotton soaked in alcohol to clean it. It's a painstaking process and needs patience.

So I only clean important recordings. It cleans fungus off well, but not the sticky dirty tapes. T-series and the like of more than a decade old tend to have this phenomena.

 

[greenhorn]

when i was in school, I used to scrub the entire tape reel manually by hand and cotton buds.

A good tape usually stops shedding after a couple of passes. The indian ones are useless though. Fungus - the sound happens not because of fungus, but because the lubricant in the tape is dried up. I used to use talcum powder when I was in college. Read recently that the vinyl seat protectors used in cars (used sparingly) gives good results. Haven't tried it though.

I'll never throw away a single tape from my dad's collection, unless they get chewed up badly beyond use. I've managed to keep them running so far

 

[sarith]

Store your tapes in a dry, dust free environment at a suitable temperature. Never throw them in a cupboard or in a drawer. From my experience, the new generation TDK tapes usually do not attract fungus.

+1 to that. I keep them on my Almari after putting multiple layers of newspaper on the cabin walls. Storing tapes in a thermocol enclosure keeps the fungus away I guess. All the TDK, BASF, Fuji cassettes I have stays fungus free till date (even maxell ur is in good shape)

 

[reubensm]

the key is to play them regularly, it the surface dries up, then you'd hear a squealing sound on playback, that the signal for the tape to be on its way to the garbage bin

 

[jay]

the key is to play them regularly, it the surface dries up, then you'd hear a squealing sound on playback, that the signal for the tape to be on its way to the garbage bin

Yes.The key is indeed to play them regularly.

Someone sugegsted me to keep the problematic cassettes out under sunlight for half an hour / one hour and then fast forward rewind and play.It eases out the fungus or the sedimentation.Is it correct?

 

[jay]

Yes.The key is indeed to play them regularly.

Someone sugegsted me to keep the problematic cassettes out under sunlight for half an hour / one hour and then fast forward rewind and play.It eases out the fungus or the sedimentation.Is it correct?

Can someone pls confirm this?

 

[Rupam]

Direct Sunlight is not good for your tapes, wrap them in newspaper and then put them in sunlight not more than 30 mins.

Do not store on wood shelving or in a basement or attic. Store all tapes vertically in acid free protective boxes or containers. Store in an area where the temperature stays lower than 21C.

 

[subro99]

the key is to play them regularly, it the surface dries up, then you'd hear a squealing sound on playback, that the signal for the tape to be on its way to the garbage bin

Just my two cents - Again, during my school days. I would open the cassette with a small philips screw driver, sprinkle two drops of talcom powder, close it again - but won't keep the cover fully tight. Then would put it in deck and complete one fast forward/rewind cycle (depending on which side the roll is).

And before playing, clean the head with an after shave. This removed the squealing sound from the otherwise dry tape.

I did try to download the old songs but not all of them are available.

You know how it is - once u hear them after so many years, your childhood comes back......:indifferent14:

 

[jay]

Direct Sunlight is not good for your tapes, wrap them in newspaper and then put them in sunlight not more than 30 mins.

Do not store on wood shelving or in a basement or attic. Store all tapes vertically in acid free protective boxes or containers. Store in an area where the temperature stays lower than 21C.

Thanks.

Why vertically?

 

[jay]

Just my two cents - Again, during my school days. I would open the cassette with a small philips screw driver, sprinkle two drops of talcom powder, close it again - but won't keep the cover fully tight. Then would put it in deck and complete one fast forward/rewind cycle (depending on which side the roll is).

And before playing, clean the head with an after shave. This removed the squealing sound from the otherwise dry tape.

I did try to download the old songs but not all of them are available.

You know how it is - once u hear them after so many years, your childhood comes back......:indifferent14:

Yes most of us followed the above method during our school and college days when tapes were abundant and we played them in mostly those Philips Powerhouses or Sony Double decks,

But is it possible to do the same in these high end single decks? Probably the answer will be NO

 

[reubensm]

Again, don't waste your time talking about cleaning old tapes, they are not worth risking on expensive decks like NAKs. If you have old salvaged decks on Rs.10/- pinch rollers, then its fine I guess

Sorry for the straight talking.

 

[jay]

Again, don't waste your time talking about cleaning old tapes, they are not worth risking on expensive decks like NAKs. If you have old salvaged decks on Rs.10/- pinch rollers, then its fine I guess

Sorry for the straight talking.

Actually the trouble is in these old cassettes lot of treasure trove are there and its not possible to get a copy of the same anymore.Thats why trying to restore.

 

[Hindsight]

When we play audio cassettes there is every chance of sedimentation happening on the head,pinchroller and capstan.

Now what is the process of cleaning audio cassettes. I have some old cassettes which were not played for almost more than a decade and now even after repeated rewinds,fast forward its not playing to its potential.How do we overcome such issues of restoring back the tape in the cassette and making it play as it was.

Pls suggest.

I have just restored a screeching, scraping original 1976 Electric Light Orchestra cassette, "A new world record", using Q-Tips and nail varnish remover. Cleaned the heads in the cassette deck and the 'head' or pad in the middle of the cassette. Rewound the cassette in each direction. Good as new.