best way to clean mold off LPs

Hi all,
A friend of mine emails that her Mother's basement flooded and a cherished set of old LPs suffered water damage. It took awhile to get everything cleared out and dry. In the meantime mold set in and destroyed the LP jackets. Apparently she's thrown these out but wants to save the vinyl, which has some mold on it.

What would be a good cleaning forumula? would mild bleach solution hurt them? I was going to recommend a mild dilution of dish soap but thought I'd check with you guys.

TIA,
Ken

 

Ken, here's one thread mentioning the Disc Doctor cleaning method. I know there are other threads in the Archives.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12396&highlight=disc+and+doctor

mud-

 

I'd stay away from bleach personally. Mildly warm tap water and put it right under the faucet. It's worked for me with mold.

 

I would try just distilled or filtered water first, and if that does not work, then you could add some neutral liquid soap, or try a more complex solution w/ isopropyl alcohol etc.

 

I work with moldy discs in an archival setting, and I'll tell you: we aren't allowed to do a thing with 'em ourselves because of OSHA regs. That mold can be dangerous to some folks' health. We send moldy discs to a preservation lab. I, myself, have never suffered any (noticible) effects from handling such things - but you might like to be careful.

Another point: handling moldy discs can release spores which can then get into other things, including other records.

Just my 2 cents!!

 

I've discovered the best way to remove mold from vinyl records is to use a soft cotton cloth(an old t-shirt made of 100% cotton works best), wet it with cool tap water, and wipe the surface til it's wet. Then gently wipe it dry with another cloth. In the past I'd used rubbing alcohol for this sort of thing but you really shouldn't use any harsh solvents or chemicals on records. Also I still noticed surface noise on the vinyl when I used alcohol, where as with water I did not.