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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000082.txt from 2004/09

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [DR-L] mildew on records
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:09:39 -0400

<<<Someone with a moldy basement recently gave me a dozen=20
excellent LP records from the 1960s: major orchestras, great=20
symphonies and concertos, etc. Both the jackets and records=20
themselves reek of mildew. I will probably have to discard all the=20
boxes and jackets. Is there any way of cleaning records to remove=20
mildew without causing other damage?>>>

You actually can wash LP records. I have done it many times. Use
luke-warm water from the tap and a mild, non-detergent soap such as
Ivory dishwashing liquid. Don't apply any abrasive scrubbing to the
record, but use a very soft cloth, moving it gently in the direction of
the grooves. Then, wipe the record with another clean, dry soft cloth
and let it air dry, or. If you want to be doubly sure that the record
is clean, after washing it, clean it again using denatured alcohol.

You have to be careful - some records have labels that aren't color
fast, so washing the labels may remove some of the ink from them. I
avoided this by holding the records under the stream of water in such a
way that not much water or soap would get on the label. I also would
avoid getting the alcohol on the label.

I used to go through this procedure before transferring old LP's to tape
in order to reduce the noise caused by dust and debris in the grooves,
and I think I would do it again if I had old LP's that I wanted to
transfer to CD.

Ed Lacy
University of Evansville

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