How to Clean a Moldy VHS Tape

[@andrewrobotbuilder]

Just used your method to clean my parents' wedding video that was horribly overgrown with mould. It turned out great and I digitised it after, even though this was the copy and I found the original tape in pristine condition in another box nearby shortly after! Great tutorial all the same!

[@tossik1647]

What metod you used for digitised ? I also found my parents wedding VHS.

[@andrewrobotbuilder]

@@tossik1647 I followed The Oldskool PC's video on digitising tapes with VirtualDub, but feel free to check around and see what works for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ_ChXeXbt-MZ8U&ab_channel=TheOldskoolPC

[@mominaali2700]

Does alcohol damages vhs tape?

[@mominaali2700]

​@@andrewrobotbuilder use cloneralliance viewpro to digitise vhs tapes, it's recording is so good that I easily upscaled it into 4k

[@mominaali2700]

​@@andrewrobotbuilder does alcohol damages vhs tapes quality later?

[@michaelr8602]

I just found a huge collection of Japanese animation VHS tapes and books. This will help alot. Thank you

[@leaks2055]

Is some of it vhs only

[@michaelr8602]

@@leaks2055 there is a lot Japanese animation. I still have them

[@ivannotsogreat7501]

Years ago (after Tropical Storm Allison put much of Houston underwater) I had a plan and put it to action (without getting the idea from anyone) and it surprises me that I pull up videos that reminds me of what I did!!!...saved my collection. Great minds think alike.😄

[@Claydood]

I recommend to NOT use a cotton swap to apply the alcohol, cotton fibers can be left behind and get transferred to the tape. Defeating the purpose of using a microfiber cloth.

[@VHS_Vampire1988]

I like to use a glass eye dropper

[@tonymills6518]

Great vid! Haven't read all the comments to find out if anyone's brought this up, but I've had extra crusty tapes break during cleaning, because of sticking. To avoid this now, I'll let a valuable tape run through at regular playback speed to knock the heavy mold off and allow the tape to separate from the rest of the spool. I vacuum that out of the VCR then clean the tape as you describe here.

[@forwardtothepast2411]

great video, i like the odd breath, it sounds like you hate doing it haha, very helpful thought

[@warnerbrosanddisneyvhsdvdb9015]

Alex Orchin I cleaned mold off my VHS tape called Looney tunes back in action that came in the mail today

[@jeremyklinger2691]

seriously, he seems completely annoyed by the whole process it's great lol

[@HalfbrickVHS]

Wouldn't it be wise not to use that same piece of cloth again to clean the underside, as it'll just smear the collected mould onto it?

[@maxheadrom3088]

I think using the same piece for the first few cleans and a new one for the final clean would be a nice idea.

[@jedharper5858]

would the alcohol have killed it off?

[@Robowil]

I'll try doing this to one of my friend's SpongeBob SquarePants VHS tapes.

[@EclectikTronik]

You should use an older VCR which does not have the tape laced round the drum in fast wind. That way you don't risk contaminating the whole tape path with mould or harming the heads

[@mtbbicimaxenos9578]

Im trying this too. Hopefully it will work! And with that finally see and pass taped to digital format! ;) family tapes

[@erikaengstrom8210]

This was so so helpful for saving some family home videos that got moldy while sitting in our family home basement. Thank you!

[@mominaali2700]

Does alcohol damages vhs tape?

[@diamondcounter6982]

I still use VHS tapes

[@autryandevanstudios4330]

Same

[@BKDBrian2]

I guess that's not the Disney version of Hunchback.

[@AdamHaas]

Before and after showing the tape played would have been nice. My home VHS tapes don't have clear windows so I have no idea if mold is causing the to look all messed up.

[@speedyboishan87]

If the reel is damaged in the middle you will see lines fading in and out sadly this is impossible to fix, no way round fixing this, this happens if the reel is poor quality or the tape got jammed in your VCR and screwed the tape reel. Do not use a VCR that is of low quality stick to ones made by Panasonic, HS860 or NV Series they are reliable.

[@masongovender9231]

I have been doing this for 6+ years for clients. I live near the coast with high amounts of humidity (lots of mold). It usually improves the tapes by 50-90%. There are rare cases where the mold does damage the tape beyond repair. Its time consuming but worth the results.

[@speedyboishan87]

@@masongovender9231 Hi mould can damage the reel or recording of a tape, if the video or tape is important i strongly recommend you make a copy or transfer it over to DVD then that way you have a backup.

[@babychickenstudios]

I’ve heard that putting mouldy tapes into a vcr player can damage them..the mould will collect on the video heads and over time will break it..and if there’s mould on the video heads and you put a clean tape in, it can transfer onto that tape and make that mouldy too 😮

[@gorry123]

+1 for the NES

[@1supacress]

+2 for the Famicom

[@stylish81]

Very good video dude! Perfectly informative and simple!

[@allanbuckingham538]

Great Instructional video, good job...:) :)

[@EidolonFilmsUk]

I clean both sides at the same time, by using a cleaning bad folded over between my thumb and finger. Much more efficient. However, when I try cleaning with Isopropyl in the manner you use, I have found that the tape layers can stick togther. I do it dry, and clean by hand any hard bits of mould that don't come off with a pass like that. If it's a bad and 'crusty' bit it will need going over repeatedly with Isporopyl to shift it. I take the tape apart before I start, after I've ff'd it, and again at the end.

[@iamvulgar8188]

Aren't there oils on the tape itself? Wouldn't rubbing alcohol be bad for that?

[@Benjamin-om3ih]

Hi there This is a wonderful upload. I'm very happy to have come across it. I am about to begin digitizing all of our family VHS tapes. I wanted to ask you a question. The cleaning your doing that isn't the magnetic tape itself (the inside of the casing etc), is that nessicary for the quality of film or is it to protect against future mold outbreaks? I'll likely throw the tapes once I've digitized so I don't need to protect for longevity Thank you

[@CajunReaper95]

Now keep in mind tapes tend to wear out after a number of plays and rewinds so the poor picture isn’t necessarily due to the mold effecting it.

[@caseystrange]

Easy and perfect. Thanks for teaching me this trick. It helped relieve much anxiety at the situation I have. And it also showed me I caught the mold just in time.

[@ricowilko]

Won't this risk damaging the VCR heads?

[@aliciadelosoul4311]

THANK YOU! My mom's basement got flooded and our family videos were moldy like this and we were devastated. Cleaned them like you showed and they work like a charm! So wonderful! Can't express how grateful we are for your video!

[@porkdoigoipaul3291]

Like if you still use VHS tapes

[@the1ucidone]

My man with the champion edition VHS cleaning tutorial. Thanks a lot! My Ma and Pa left me a ton of tapes and they all have a bit of mold so I got work to do.

[@tobywatts5530]

Im trying this on a really old BBC VHS wish me luck

[@damian9303]

Doing this on some Tennis tape that has too much mold to the point it fucked up the quality.

[@warnerbrosanddisneyvhsdvdb9015]

Toby Watts my cousin's VHS tapes got moldy during bad weather

[@zandorvorkov9305]

MR VHS COLLECTOR. Where did your cousin store the tapes? I wonder why there are so many moldy tapes out there? I keep mine in the house in a room and they all play perfectly.

[@miracleworld4694]

My VCR eaten a tape but I fixed the problem and they play just fine

[@peterg6889]

Good Luck! (Even though you have probably finished by now...)

[@KDiNicola93]

Thank you so much for this video. While transferring old home movies found 4 that were very bad-mold. Worked great. Thanks again

[@jefrey5578]

Would amyl nitrate(sp?) be better. I have an old bottle of vhs head cleaner at home as I do ISO 91%. Thanks!

[@truthfilter]

why don't you just wrap some micro fibre cloth around the first post then you wouldn't have to hold it away from the post? also i'm wondering if you could use a UV light to kill the mould or would that effect the tape ?

[@Killiansuniverse]

do you know how to get rid of statics from your VHS tapes?

[@masongovender9231]

Late reply, but one thing you can to is clean the VCR head.

[@covelus]

Awesome tutorial, thanks a lot! I have a question, please: I only could find in my country stores (local or Amazon) Isopropyl Alcohol 99,9%, not Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol 91%... could this be used, or would it damage the tape?

[@maxheadrom3088]

Awesome! I have lots of family tapes to clean and digitize. I guess I'll be having a lot of fun with isopropil alcohol!

[@unstoppableguy]

Brilliant, good job! Worth the time and effort to save your precious tapes! Well done buddy!

[@TheOriginalKellyLynnAnderson]

This is the 1990 VHS of Hunchback of Notre Dame from the Hollywood Movie Greats Collection.

[@TheOriginalKellyLynnAnderson]

I have that exact VCR, btw.

[@BenjiJames]

I would love to know how you were storing this tape for it to become THAT moldy O_O However, that clean up job was brilliant!!

[@lazarusblackwell6988]

That tape must have been stored in a very inhospitable place In a dark moist and hot place without any ventilation Keep your tapes properly stored people If you don't want to lose them

[@srirachaegg2518]

Can you travel back in time about 20+ years or so and launch an intense PSA campaign about this?

[@mohammadj.jaradat8076]

This is really really helpful. Thank you for sharing

[@asdfopera7661]

I should have watched this video before throwing out 50 moldy tapes...😮

[@LilBlighter]

I've got a 60 tape challenge ahead of me, some like this and sone much worse. I wondered whether you could clean both sides of the tape at the same time, then still give it two passes. I have a spare old VCR as my 'cleaning rig" so only clean tapes go near my decent VCR. As soon as they're clean I'm digitizing everything, then the tapes can all finally go, but not until I have a backup of everything, just in case. Will practice opening up and cleaning a couple of test tapes to get the hang of it first, then get a routine going. Thanks for sharing.

[@Redchannelconditions]

I’ve only got 3. But I don’t know what’s on them. Could be gold. Could be crap ha.

[@hvtherealhv]

Sorry, why 91% and not 99% isopropyl ? thanks!

[@jodywagner8021]

Would it ruin your vcr if you fast forward the vhs tape if there is lots of mold on it?

[@jma6412]

Jody Wagner Yes... definetely. You will contaminate your vcr and all the tapes you put inside afterwards. You can ruin your heads too if mold gets in contact with them.

[@jodywagner8021]

JMA I been doing one with lots of mold on them then Cleaning my vcr with rubbing alcohol and so far no mold has returned to the tapes I finished after watching them with the vcr I use to clean them 😁

[@charliebrown6850]

Why use several q tips to make tool? I would use a (handle end) of a teaspoon or similar to wrap the microcloth onto? Better flat surface? Or do you want the tool to flex? Good video nonetheless.

[@bsanchez3563]

Oh cool idk it was fixable of ya found a tape an it had visible through the clear plastic windows fwiw.. but merely figured it was junk thus I did not buy them.. just ones that were when I would buy goodwill tapes fwiw as a kid.. just looked for non moldy blanks.. for recording simpsons fwiw.

[@UnusableFootage]

Thank you dustin from the past

[@maxpayz2431]

I'll try to do this method with my dragon ball z movie tapes

[@AntonyFritchlee2003-je9jl]

A Panasonic VCR PV-V4022 (No Joke)

[@ydayama19]

Does this method work with a moldy audio cassette as well?

[@michaeldiver6031]

If it has moId. think it would work. It’s just tape. But you may not be able to remind and forward it like he did on a machine. . You could use a biro pen to turn the reel and a cotton bud on the tape. Cleaning the inside of the tape holder would probably be more fiddley if you had to do that

[@Augustbabe62]

Unfortunately, my family tapes have become moldy. I will try one that I have already converted to DVD and see if I can tell the difference. Thanks for posting.

[@MJCPeters]

2 additional thoughts. Buy a VCR for $10 at a resale shop for this, don't use your good one. Also this is not a permanent solution, this makes the tape usable so it can be copied to a clean new tape. The video will be preserved on the new tape.

[@rommix0]

Indeed. No sense doing the cleaning process on an AG-1980.

[@adambarnes8016]

Just found my christening video and it has mould on it like this... SO glad theres a way of cleaning it!! As its completely irreplaceable cheers bro!

[@davenewsome]

BEWARE! THE MOLD ACTS LIKE GLUE, HANGS ONTO THE ROLL OF TAPE, SO WHEN THE VCR GRABS IT, AND THE MOLD IS HOLDING IT TOGETHER, IT CAUSES THE TAPE TO BREAK!!

[@malikgriffith_36456]

11:36 hey! That NES, cool videogame

[@johnnyretro1975]

wow that looks amazing you make it look easy but i bet its not ive got loads of moldy ones but its not as easy as you make it

[@jetset808]

This is amazing.. I wanted to 3d print something but this is a much better idea

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

That's exactly how I do it! But you forgot to clean the tape path of the VCR because mold spores will get stuck on the tape guides and heads. :)

[@maxsol84]

Any advice on how to clean the tape path of the VCR? (sorry, I realize your post is over a year old, thought I'd ask just in case)

[@RagedContinuum]

@@maxsol84 get some kimwipes and 90+% rubbing alcohol and spin it around while you gently hold the moistened wipe against the head. Look up how to clean dat recorders - same thing

[@RagedContinuum]

you have to be gentle because the heads are fragile

[@scottdafoe8336]

Ill pay you to clean some tapes for me

[@austinthevhsvideogamelover5265]

11:37 i think i see the Brand quasar on that vcr underneath his NES. Does anyone know the model number? It could be from 1995 or 1996.

[@Sol-Cutta]

DONT USE THIS TAPE DAMAGING METHOD.. my channel has a diy guide

[@ReanimatedItachi]

Where?

[@sawing14s]

Can the same thing be done with a Betamax VCR and tapes?

[@FreeThinkAlways]

Youre telling me that tape plays perfectly fine on a tv after having all that done to it? I will believe that when I see it

[@technodrone7723]

We have some family tapes that are molded. Some don’t spin when you hit play, basically won’t move. Is that the mold? And why about tapes that you can what they audio but see no video? We weee gonna send these off to a company to restore but it’s very expensive and don’t know which tapes have stuff we want and stuff we don’t. So if I could do this myself that would be amazing! I’m pretty tech savvy, but never done anything like this. I wonder if some of the tapes needs to be restored completely to be able to be played. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[@TheSumyan07]

What if tape is stuck together in its casing? Then how to clean?

[@EmilePavlovic]

Great Instructional video* (pardon the pun haha) ...cheers heaps! ;-)

[@marconistars7384]

What are the gesture symbols of the video?

[@kingshearer2]

Yes that mould was dead white mould. Cool video, I've been cleaning tapes using a similar method.

[@zetamagnus101]

does it have to specifically be 91% rubbing alcohol?

[@shanenice5380]

One more thing.can u clean it by hand

[@KindCountsDeb3773]

Would you clean a second time to improve? Or would that be risky? TY BTW: I'm so klutzy, notsure I could do this. I have a couple of vcr's, even one that takes VHS tape and records onto dvd. But I have pretty bad amount of mold. We'll see.

[@Rockabillyman26]

your video was very helpful did what you did and now my VHS tapes are mold clean, thanks so much Dustin.

[@CajunReaper95]

How does this happen?

[@planetanalog]

I have some tapes with like one small spot of dust that's about or less than the size of this . some have a few small spots around. Some have one and i mean ONE speck of small hair. Is it mold or is it possible for dust to get inside and on the reel?

[@jsmith7253]

Unfortunately the mold will come back. Some of the tapes I've cleaned about a year ago got moldy again. My advice is to have a separate vcr just for your moldy tapes, both for cleaning and viewing, so that you wont contaminate mold-free tapes.

[@RagedContinuum]

you have to take the conditions away for mold, so keeping them in a low-humidity environment

[@masongovender9231]

Yip. He did mention that this was a cleaning Rig.

[@alexslusher16]

I am just asking out of curiosity, but you know how some VHS Tapes do that jitter to the Blue Screen if it's an older tape? Does this process fix that sort of thing?

[@datapoint6859]

After the drum head (relative to tape flow, be it FF/RW) is always better. Why? Because wet tape sticks, and if it is wet enough when it hits the drum, it's going to stick and bind everything up. I'd much rather have to clean a post than untangle that mess, especially as the name of this game is preservation.

[@Introvert_2001]

Thank you Dustin! I just wanna ask will this damage my VCR?

[@christopherstorey1125]

Hell yeah great tutorial!

[@Ryemoon062]

Glad i found this video. Starting to collected animated movies/shows and as i was cleaning out a shelf that was no good, turns out a few tapes have caught mold. luckily their not so hard to find for a reasonable price, but i definetly will invest into another old VCR and convert it into a cleaner, just in case i run into a issue where a tape is hard to find/expensive

[@shanenice5380]

Do a video how to storage a tape

[@Synnystershy]

A few of my Thunderbirds VHS tapes are starting to mould

[@jacobcleaver9180]

Double dragon rules!!!

[@SAckTheGoof]

"lets clean the tape out of the mold, as you can see there is too much tape" that thing was more mold than tape.

[@yeetus4885]

Can you clean a tape and still use the same VCR to watch tapes on? Assuming you do a good clean and if it's maybe a light cleaning job to begin with? I only have the one atm

[@matthewharris7331]

So the thing with all these cleaning mold videos is not one single person plays the tape after lol so is it playable??? I I been digitizing all my vhs but I have one moldy one I would love to know if it will be able to copy after cleaning

[@Dretroz]

Ty I had slight mold on my Digimon Volume 1 & those are hard to find in English now so you saved me big time man.

[@sneakytingvega5638]

Does this also help with the playback issue? Whenever I watch the 1995 THX "Star Wars: A New Hope", the video flickers as if the frames were being shuffled in some places.

[@massarchiver776]

Will this damage my vcr?

[@lilavision1292]

Eventually, the idea is to have another cheap VCR that you don't care if it gets damaged for do only the cleaning with it. If you do it on the same VCR that you use for playing the tapes be sure to clean the video heads an all the other parts that touches the tape afterwards.

[@rosevillereaper9230]

If you dont have a vcr can you just pinch the tape in a microfiber cloth with iso on it and pull the tape through?

[@8bitfellow60]

What do you do with the used microfiber cloths that you used for cleaning? Can you wash/reuse them or do you just throw them out? Thanks.

[@musa4761]

Can I use petrol instead of rubbing alcohol?

[@Deweycox710]

I have moldy tapes and I would like them clean but it might take a very long time to clean them all I might try it one day!

[@rail324nqch-par-8]

Where did you say that Iso rubbing alcohol is available the one your using. Could you use a alcohol in a chemist like hand sanitizer?

[@fabianpenaloyola3266]

Hi! I'm afraid to screw up my vcr cleaning my moldy tapes. Could this be done manually, without the vcr?

[@USannAung]

Fabián Peña Loyola you can get some old vcr from goodway or somewhere sells oldies

[@dman3438]

Fabián Peña Loyola yes technically .

[@bwc1976]

Any old junk VCR off eBay or Craigslist will work as long as it fast-forwards and rewinds. Don't contaminate your "daily driver" doing this.

[@andrewjonesy2V]

do you always press against the tape before starting? I managed to snap one pressing as it was going. thanks

[@jacobxiaolong9104]

"Ren found this old stack of VHS Tapes, would you like to help then sort out?"

[@juljasmaharchive]

Jacob Xiao Long yeah my great grandma who’s 97 has a ton of moldy cassettes, vhs and records and wanted me to clean them for her lmao

[@joselynatencio7051]

there are 2 lines of mold at the start of my star wars vhs tape. im afraid to touch it, should i leave it alone?

[@williamgottlieb8723]

To do all that cleaning just to accidently record on it..... BREAK OFF THAT TAB ALREADY!

[@lucyxchan6808]

Also works on old recorder tapes...be careful, not all tapes can handle isopropal alcohol...one of the oldest of the recorder tapes had the outer layer stripped...

[@brettduffy1992]

I had baby tapes found in the Attic some of them were moldy some of them are not the ones that were not moldy played fine I feel okay knowing that the other ones that were okay played fine so The moldy one should be okay?