A common problem Iâve come across with decades-old analog media â particularly VHS â is mold that develops inside the cassette cartridge. The white fuzzy glaze on black magnetic tape often develops after being stored in damp basements and attics for years on end. Tapes like this, if run through a VCR, could do a lot of damage to the increasingly rare device.
Iâve been told to either throw tapes away when they get contaminated or open up a VCR to run a makeshift cleaning process. The latter solution is cumbersome, though, and risks damaging both the VHS and the VCR.
For VHS collectors, the mold situation has been a growing concern. And itâs what led Tony Crouch, of VHSisLife.com, to build his own solution for cleaning VHS tapes.
âIf you had a really moldy tape, there was mold flying everywhere,â Crouch told me about existing cleaning methods. âI just finally decided there had to be a better way. So I sat down and started figuring out designing what I would want for myself, for a tool that made it easier to clean mold off of the tapes.â
The VHS mold cleaner is a fairly simple machine. A 3D-printed case holds two spindles each attached to a motor, …
