Remove White Mould from VHS & Camcorder Tapes (Safely)

Seeing a fine white dust on your cassette reels? That’s tape mould. It can block the tape path, make your VCR “chew”, and permanently reduce the chance of a clean VHS to digital transfer. The good news: we remove mould free of charge and successfully convert around 95% of mould-affected tapes using specialist techniques.

Why mould is urgent

• Mould spreads across the tape pack and into cases—especially in warm, humid spaces (lofts/garages).
• It clogs heads, causing no picture, heavy noise or tapes getting pulled/chewed.
• The longer it’s there, the less likely it is to convert cleanly. Act early.

What not to do

• Don’t play the tape “to see if it works”. You’ll contaminate the player and risk creasing the tape.
• Don’t wipe the tape with household cloths or alcohol—fibres and liquids make things worse.
• Don’t rewind/fast-forward repeatedly on a domestic VCR; it grinds mould into the oxide layer.

What we do (free mould removal)

• Isolate, open and mechanically clean the cassette path and visible layers.
• Stabilise the tape pack and test on serviced decks with time-base correction.
• Proceed to convert VHS to digital (MP4), or to VHS to DVD or VHS to USB as requested.

Does this apply to camcorder tapes too?

Yes. We regularly clean Hi8 to digital, Video8 to digital, VHS-C to digital, and MiniDV to digital before transfer. Mould looks similar across these formats.

Storage tips after conversion

Keep tapes and the new USB/DVD in a cool, dry place. Back up your MP4 files to two locations (e.g., cloud + external drive) for long-term safety.