LP Disaster


I built a shelf for my LPs in my storage closet. I was in there last night looking for something I hadn't listened to in a while and the record was damp, and saw more near it that were. Then I started looking deeper into the situation. Turned out that 3/4 of a gallon of VPI fluid (which I had not so brightly placed on the TOP shelf, over all the records) had leaked out of the jug at the bottom through a tear in the jug, down three shelves and then through about 50 LPs. Some were dripping wet, where the fluid had collected in the plastic wrap. Ugh. A few hours later I have salvaged the wet ones, and put them all out to dry and have been using Clorox wipes to disinfect everything. There is already some mold and I will be remediating the mold as everything dries out. The jackets on many of these are going to be rough but the vinyl should be OK after I clean it again. What a pain, but I think I caught it early enough and the bulk of the collection is safe. The moral of the story--I am going to keep the cleaning stuff separate and leak proof from here on out. Physical media can be frail due to our own negligence. Be safe everyone!
swanny76109
Swanny,
Sorry to hear about that mishap. I hope no permanent damage was done to any of the records. I have to say I am surprised there was mold since record fluids contain so many chemicals I'd think live organisms could not really replicate in that environment.
All of my LP cleaning liquids are in gallon ziplock bags and then in a plastic container. Thanks for sharing your story.
Actus, For nearly any substrate you can imagine, there is a bacterium or fungus that can live on it or in it. Vinyl is delicious and nutritious to some of them.
Swanny, sorry to hear of your mishap. Hope everything is salvageable.

Actus, in addition to Dr. Lewm's comments, there've been postings on vinyl sites for years that VPI's fluids are mold-prone when stored for long periods.

I have AIVS and MoFi fluids that have been on my shelf for several years with no signs of such (so far!).