The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I bought a C-19 Diamond Disc machine today for a very good price and included were about 30 discs in the cabinet. Everything needs a good cleaning, including the records. I've cleaned a few machines with GoJo, so no problem there, and I know to clean the record surfaces with alcohol, so again, no problem there.

However, the edges of the records - at least where they were sticking out of the cabinet - have a light mildew or mold on them. Given that the wood flour core of these will soak up anything wet, I'm at a loss as to how I can safely clean them. They are all post-war pressings with no edge numbers if that helps.

Any clever ideas?

Thanks,
Kevin

Maybe a light going over with 0000 steel wool? It would remove any surface dirt.

If I've made an insane statement, Mea Culpa.

Interesting question. I don't have an definitive answer, and if they were mine, I would just wipe the mildew off whenever it appeared.

Scott's idea my have some merit, though I would follow up with a blast from an air compressor to insure any metal bits were removed.

On idea that may be worth exploring: Book collectors will put books that have mildew in the microwave to kill any spores. I don't know how a diamond disc would react to microwaves, but maybe someone has a trashed disc and could give it a go.

I've sprayed some Lysol disinfectant on a cloth and wiped the edges of DD's with that. Repeat a few times until the cloth no longer picks-up dirt.

Maybe there's a better method ?

If cleaned but still discolored, how about a little black shoe polish?

Well, I got kind of lucky in that the mildew was pretty superficial. I used a cheap textured paper towel on the edges, and that wiped of 95%+ of the mildew. Then I used a dry soft paper towel (blue "shop towel") to wipe the surfaces, followed by a slightly damp shop towel on any stubborn spots. I followed this up with the usual alcohol cleaning, including a quick swipe on the edge. These were all direct pressings so after experimenting on 1 or 2, I was comfortable doing that, especially since 91% alcohol has only a small amount of water.

Thanks for the tips, I may some of them next time.