How to clean mold/mildew off of LPs?

I was given a few dozen of lp's last year that were in a basement flood and they were loaded with mold. Spin Clean did not do the trick. However, aggressive scrubbing in the sink with the Mofi brush in both directions and typical homebrew fluid (i.e. distilled water, Joy etc) worked like a champ.

 

Of all the natural mold killing solutions tea tree oil is the most effective. Although it is also expensive, a small amount of tea tree oil goes a long way in killing mold.
public adjuster Florida

 

NEVER I repeat NEVER use vinegar on a vinyl LP,way too caustic. The machine mentioned a few posts prior requires tap water. Sink cleaning will damage an LP quicker than you can imagine.

Spin Clean's rollers exerpt an incredible amount of pressure,you want to get the dirt off your LP not sqeeze it back in. Also note if your spin cleaning a real filth LP the crud left in the pan will just get spun onto the next LP you attempt to clean.
http://cleaningvinyllps.blogspot.com/

 

Ben, can you elaborate on the "wood glue" method? Is it simply cleaning the record first, then applying wood glue (straight from the bottle?), letting it dry and peeling it off? ...or am I missing something? (Sorry to sound like such a noob, but it's the first time I've needed to do this.) Also - is any type of wood glue better than another? Elmer's, etc? Thanks!

 

There is a ton of info to wade through in this thread, but it makes for an interesting read if you're bored. Tightbond II (available in most home improvement shops like Lowes, Home Depot) seems to get the most recommendations.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99837

There are also several youtube videos you can find doing a search of vinyl wood glue

 

I would stay clear of mouldy LPs. Throw them out.

 

I just bought a gallon of wood glue from Home Depot ($17.97) and a 1" brush. I went this route because there is no sink in my garage. Requires some skill with a brush but works great. Hoping to do 50 LPs over the next month. The glue might start to thicken in the jug as the level gets towards the bottom so you might want to use smaller bottles. Smaller size costs more per LP but they are easier to hold and pour. Ideally glue should come in squeeze tubes with no air inside (any ideas?).

What I need now are new clean inner sleeves. Who has the best deal?

 

I have no experience with them, but Mobile Fidelity (MFSL) sleeves are supposedly archival quality. I'm sure someone on these boards has used them and can either confirm or deny this.

 

+1. I have been using Vinylzyme for about 7 years or more and it works very well. Strongly concur with your recommendation!

 

I've got a 1960s Nancy Wilson LP, it looks VG+ (nice n shiny, faint hairlines) some would say NM...when I play it, it sounds like it's underwater and my needle picks a load of crud from seemingly nowhere. I've tried cleaning with water and a soft damp cloth, but still no good...assuming this is mould/fungus of some kind, any ideas?

 

Are you just using water or have you tried a little dish soap. Water by itself won't do much good.

 

Last time I had an LP with mold, an otherwise great copy of Van Morrison's St. Dominic's Preview, I got some cotton pads from Target (the round kinds used for make-up removal) and used one to spread isopropyl alcohol around it. I let that sit for a minute or two then used a fresh pad and more alcohol to scrub at it. I did that until there was no more gunk visible in the pads. The mold never came back and the LP got pretty clean.

 

If you miss one, tiny spot, it'll get onto your stylus and spread to you other records when you play them.

 

You need to use an aggressive clean with soap or surfactant and a good brush. I have had extremely excellent results with very dirty and moldy records doing as this fellow does:



You could use some Dawn soap and some alcohol as well. But don't be shy about getting mold out, and be especially sure you clorox-wipe whatever jacket came with the record very thoroughly because you don't want to spread mold around to your collection, and if necessary toss everything but the record.

 

Had loads of them two spins on my Loricraft, backwards and reverse with a good scrub perfect.

 

How do you clean the record label? I have some with mold on the label.

 

Plain clear ammonia. Been using it for 20 years.

 

Everyone has a formula, I've found Windex solution off the shelf works very well for removal of mold. Bounty paper towels are cheap and very absorptive. For the covers, the paper towel is very nearly saturated, not dripping wet. It needs to be quite saturated to glide over the cover "slick" without dragging. This is sort of a trick, as the towel is folded in such a way, the trailing edge is not as wet as the leading edge, so almost all of the Windex is mopped up right away, and causes absolutely no damage to the cover surface. Only the Matt cover must be cleaned nearly dry, as a saturated towel will lift the artwork.

The covers are cleaned inside and out. Mold resides on the inside too.

I have found the record paper label cleans up without damage by the above method, again a matt paper label does not tolerate a nearly saturated towel. (one pass will sometimes be ok)

The record is "surface cleaned" with Windex, then cleaned on a RCM. Two cleanings may give better results than just one.

The wood glue method may be effective in the removal of stubborn mold anchored deep in the groove, although I'v had no problem with noisy play by the method I use.

The record is placed in a new sleeve and stored separately.

The cleaned cover is quarantined in a separate box with dry shredded newspaper, and folded newspaper inside the cover.
After the first two weeks, the paper is changed, then again after the second two weeks.
The longer the cover is quarantined, the better the results.
I've had mildly musty covers completely cured of all bad odor using this method.

Dry newspaper acts like desiccant. Moldy covers retain a lot of moisture, which can be baked out in the sun (not recommended as the cover will curl) The newspaper "pulls" moisture and odor from out of the cover, which otherwise can remain in the cardboard for years, and could re-mold very easily.

Finally, the quarantined cover and clean record are slipped in a new outer poly sleeve and are ready to enjoy.

It is my usual policy to throw out a musty/ moldy record. I don't want that stuff anywhere NEAR my nice records.
Only an exceptionally special record and cover will be cleaned, a rare jazz title, or special stamper such as the famous "RL" Led Zep II

Steve VK

 

Will the recipe of isopropyl/distilled water/wetting agent kill mold? (200ml/800ml/5ml)

 

I would not not use isopropyl alcohol on vinyl. I used to back in the 1980s when I used a Keith Monks RCM. I think however, that things have moved on from alcohol which if over used can cause 'leeching' of vital vinyl additives. In my experience, all you really need to banish mold is an enzyme based cleaner. My preference is Vinyl-Zyme but there are others that are probably as good but I have not used them. Audio Intelligent comes to mind. It is best to order the Vinyl-Zyme as a concentrate (USD$50) from which you will be able to 'make up' gallons of cleaning fluid when you add it to distilled or deionized water. I don't know if you can get this in the U.K. but if you have a problem, pm me and I will give you details of an overseas supplier (U.S.A.) and I will also give you my 'recipe' to make up the cleaning fluid. Just recently, I pulled out a few records from my own collection that hadn't been touched since the mid 1980s. They were pretty badly soiled with mold all over. Once I cleaned them with the Vinyl-Zyme based cleaning fluid, the mold was completely gone, leaving a shiny and glossy surface. These are the kinds of records you want to play! As to my advocacy for Vinyl-Zyme, I am just a happy consumer of this excellent vinyl cleaner!

www.vinyllpcare.com

 

That's pretty much what I would do. I may even hit the real bad spots with straight 91% iso.

 

Thanks for the detailed feedback, there seems to be a lot of debate about the use of 99% isopropyl but I understood that the general belief is that it's OK for vinyl (mixed with distilled water) but not to be used on old 78s. I'll take look into vinyl-zyme though, thanks

 

Isopropyl is fine for vinyl in a 10, 15, 20, 25% soluion with pure water and a surfactant. And in fact, I prefer record cleaning fluids with isopropyl to those without because of the fast evaporation, though there are certainly plenty of solutions without isopropyl today if you'd prefer to go that way. The isopropyl is not going to leech plactiziers from the vinyl in the seconds basically that the vinyl is exposed to the diluted alcohol. I dunno how it will do with mold, however, maybe an enzyme cleaner is good for that. And you're correct, definite no to alcohol on shellac .