Unless we wanna wear the moon suits for kicks! ;)

Thanks all. After seeing the 2inch I'm also concerned about what the crystals will do to the tape path too. Lots of cleaning then!

Sent from my iPhone

> On 21 May 2015, at 07:28, John Haley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I'm not disagreeing with anybody, just pointing out that most mold is not
> particularly dangerous to human beings (assuming it is not ingested). It
> makes up a huge part of the biosphere and has been on the planet far, far
> longer than our little species, which has survived alongside it for several
> million years just fine. Mold spores are everywhere--in what we breathe
> and touch every day. There are a few people with a particular mold allergy
> that get a bad reaction, and there are different kinds of mold. The kind
> that invades the walls and ceilings of damp buildings in the Southern US,
> particularly with modern construction methods, is nasty but harmless to the
> vast majority of people. I did a legal article about mold infestations
> back in the 1990's when that was a very popular form of lawsuit, with
> class-action hoopla and big insurance implications. The wild assumption
> made by a number of juries, of course promoted like crazy by the
> plaintiffs' bar and based on junk science, was that mold was making
> everybody sick. I am not advocating living with mold infestations, just
> pointing out the facts. The chemicals in tape stock may be a different
> story, but cleaning gunk off a tape should not result in inhaling or
> ingesting them. I like the idea of good ventilation but I don't see the
> need for wearing moonsuits.
>
> Best,
> John Haley
>
>> On Thu, May 21, 2015 at 1:41 AM, Marie O'Connell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> I have had quite a few of these! In a safe zone and wearing a full mask as
>> described by Richard and latex gloves, I will dismantle the reel and have a
>> clean reel at the ready (this can only be achieved with reels using
>> screws). I soak these in a diluted mixture of hydrogen peroxide to kill
>> the mould and then leave then to dry.
>>
>> I vacuum both sides of the platter using a circular motion and a hepa
>> vacuum. After that I give the tape on both sides of the platter a wipe
>> using hydrogen peroxide and dampened cotton balls. Once the tape is clean
>> put it back on the cleaned reel and re-assemble.
>>
>> Then I will attempt the pellon wipe as the others have described. Then I
>> bake the tape for at least a week.
>>
>> I've had good results thankfully.
>>
>> And just remember to keep yourself safe as the spores are not good for our
>> health.
>>
>> Good Luck!
>> Marie
>>
>> On Thu, May 21, 2015 at 12:32 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I encountered this once on a couple reels of 456. I went about it pretty
>>> much as Richard describes, and I agree with all of his warnings. I took a
>>> further precaution of running the dehydrator in the garage (it was early
>>> fall, so the ambient temp wasn't that different from inside), and then
>>> opening the doors for a couple hours the next day to air the space out. I
>>> think I did a careful wipe on the outside of the tape pack with
>> isopropynol
>>> before baking, and I think that took off most of the little chunks like
>>> shown in Richard's photo. After baking, I ran the tape through my
>>> no-headblock wind-off transport gently pinching a pelon wipe to the tape.
>>> The wipe did end up with a good bit of crud on it, I changed which part
>> of
>>> it was touching tape often. The tapes then transferred just fine.
>>>
>>> The stuff on the tapes I dealt with was more crystalline powder than
>> gooey
>>> or fuzzy mold-type crud.
>>>
>>> -- Tom Fine
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard L. Hess" <
>>> [log in to unmask]>
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 5:38 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] White spores on Ampex 456
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I generally only handle 1/4 inch tape with mold and other crud and do
>>>> that in my garage wearing a NIOSH certified respirator (cartridge type),
>>>> but I make NO GUARANTEES that is safe. I'm still alive and my airways
>> are
>>>> doing better now that I'm out of LA and getting more sleep.
>>>>
>>>> Please be careful. None of this stuff is really good for you.
>>>>
>>>> Also be careful pulling apart a tape that needs baking (like 456) before
>>>> you bake it as you can pull the mag coat off in some instances.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> Richard
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On 2015-05-20 5:17 PM, analogue alec wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you Richard,
>>>>>
>>>>> I knew there had been some discussion over the years and possibly most
>>>>> recently on cassettes. The mess on your picture looks terrible... can
>>>>> you
>>>>> remember how it turned out?
>>>>>
>>>>> Ive now found some 2" that has more and on the oxide too. I'll
>> probably
>>>>> be
>>>>> taking these apart so will pass on anything out of the norm.
>>>>>
>>>>> I was wondering about health concerns over breathing any of this in
>> once
>>>>> it
>>>>> starts rewinding etc.
>>>>>
>>>>> All the best,
>>>>> alex.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 20 May 2015 at 21:52, Richard L. Hess <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi, Alex,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Peter Brothers's response to my 2005 query on ARSCLIST is here:
>> http://www.cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/arsclist/2005/12/msg00073.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My image is back up where it was, but because people had been
>>>>>> hot-linking
>>>>>> my images, you'll need to copy the URL and paste it into your browser.
>>>>>> It
>>>>>> didn't click for me from the cool website. Pasting the link into the
>>>>>> browser should allow you to see the image.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/tape_crystal.jpg
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Good luck!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Richard
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2015-05-20 3:42 PM, analogue alec wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've received 3 reels of Ampex 456 1/4" that have some white growth
>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>> seems more 'salty' than 'mouldy' and wondering if anyone has some
>>>>>>> ideas on
>>>>>>> whats going on here?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have posted a picture of tape on the reel here:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://plus.google.com/101414541131106448556/posts/5jXceWGa9nm
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The tapes were recorded in Dallas in 1977 and have been (i believe)
>>>>>>> non-environmentally controlled storage ever since. The boxes are the
>>>>>>> old
>>>>>>> 406 type and dont have any growths at all.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I look forward to reading your comments.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Many thanks,
>>>>>>> alex.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
>>>>>> Aurora, Ontario, Canada 647 479 2800
>>>>>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
>>>>>> Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
>>>>> --
>>>> Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Aurora, Ontario, Canada 647 479 2800
>>>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
>>>> Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
>>