What To Do About Water Damaged LPs

[relyles]

This is somewhat of a horror story that I have ignored for too long now. During the severe storms that occurred in October, 2005 in the Northeast, about 18 inches of water hung out in my basement. Since we had only recently moved into the home, much of my music collection was still in boxes on the floor. Needless to say, many CDs and LPs got wet. As for the CDs, I basically trashed the booklets, removed any stuck paper from the discs and put the discs on spindles and in CD folders.

As for my LPs, I think I have been in denial. To this day, the LPs that were on the floor are still in the boxes they were in when the flood occurred. I never had the heart to even look in the boxes. Recently, I have had several occassions to look for specific LPs and I have been faced with the fact that many of my LPs have stuck together and some even seem to have mold growing on the covers. I suppose I need to just man up and get rid of the jackets, but I have to think the vinyl is salvagable?

I know I should not have waited 1 1/2 years to ask these questions, but does anyone have any recommendations on what I can (should) do to salvage some of the LPs?

[Teasing the Korean]

Assuming the LPs didn't warp (which is possible), they can be cleaned, but you'll probably need a heavy duty cleaner, such as a VPI or Nitty Gritty machine, to really do the trick. The cheapest Nitty Gritty goes for about $300, so you'll have to decide if it's worth it. I've cleaned LPs with heavy mold and god-knows-what on one of these machines and have been amazed by the results.

Edited May 15, 2007 by Teasing the Korean

[K1969]

This is somewhat of a horror story that I have ignored for too long now. During the severe storms that occurred in October, 2005 in the Northeast, about 18 inches of water hung out in my basement. Since we had only recently moved into the home, much of my music collection was still in boxes on the floor. Needless to say, many CDs and LPs got wet. As for the CDs, I basically trashed the booklets, removed any stuck paper from the discs and put the discs on spindles and in CD folders.

As for my LPs, I think I have been in denial. To this day, the LPs that were on the floor are still in the boxes they were in when the flood occurred. I never had the heart to even look in the boxes. Recently, I have had several occassions to look for specific LPs and I have been faced with the fact that many of my LPs have stuck together and some even seem to have mold growing on the covers. I suppose I need to just man up and get rid of the jackets, but I have to think the vinyl is salvagable?

I know I should not have waited 1 1/2 years to ask these questions, but does anyone have any recommendations on what I can (should) do to salvage some of the LPs?

I feel for you. Jeeez. I can't offer any practical help but I can offer therapy. It sounds like you have "latent shock syndrome" - you should check into the vinyl fuck-up clinic. They have a bed waiting for you. The link's here - click to share your pain

Vinyl fu@#-ups support group session is now open., Let's help each other cope.

[Jim Alfredson]

Just put 'em in the dishwasher.

But really, cleaning them in a mild dishsoap and water mix (with not much soap) will probably due the trick. Obviously the jackets are probably not salvagable.

[Hot Ptah]

If you had recently moved into the house, you must have had homeowner's insurance in place, or the bank or mortgage company would not have closed on the sale.

Did you notify your homeowner's insurance company at the time of the flood, about the flood and any damaged items? If so, they should pay for a new album collection for you. Usually with insurance claims involving loss of album collections, the problem is that the albums are destroyed in the loss event, and the owner has no list of what they were. Here, you do not have that problem. The albums are right there, for the insurance adjuster to make a list from.

If you did not notify your homeowner's insurance company of the flood at the time, I would do so now. They may say that you waited too long to notify them, but maybe they won't say that. It is definitely worth a try.

The homeowner's insurance carriers have companies which they hire regularly to repair and restore items damaged by water or fire. These companies have a lot of experience in evaluating whether something can be saved, and if so, how to do it. I would not start cleaning up your albums until you find out if your insurance company will provide coverage for the loss and will replace or repair your albums. The insurance company would want its own people to see the damaged albums and to do the repairs. The insurance company might say that you had given up your rights once you started working on the albums.

[Neal Pomea]

You have my sympathy. I had considerable flood damage to my own record collection.

Flood insurance is usually not included in home insurance. Home insurance usually will only cover flooding from within (broken pipes, etc.), not flooding from without (rain, levee break, etc). Flood insurance needs to be purchased separately through a federal government provider.

It's too bad you didn't open up your boxes and at least dry things off much sooner. But they may not be as damaged as you think. I have mold on the jackets of much of my vinyl lp collection but the records are still ok. I too should dispose of the jackets but I don't have the heart.

If I dispose of the jackets, can anyone here suggest how they should be stored?

Edited May 15, 2007 by It Should be You

[relyles]

I work for an insurance company and my homeowners' policy is through my company. I do not have flood coverage, but it was a nice idea. Thanks.

I do have access to a VPI cleaning machine of my father's. I think he told me it may need something fixed, but I will assume the price to do that is likely less than the price of a new machine. Besides, I will also have to invest in some replacement jackets to keep everything in.

[Hot Ptah]

I work for an insurance company and my homeowners' policy is through my company. I do not have flood coverage, but it was a nice idea. Thanks.

I will now remove my foot from my mouth.

[Teasing the Korean]

I do have access to a VPI cleaning machine of my father's. I think he told me it may need something fixed, but I will assume the price to do that is likely less than the price of a new machine. Besides, I will also have to invest in some replacement jackets to keep everything in.

This is the way to go when heavy duty cleaning is involved, believe me.

[sidewinder]

The VPI will do the trick. I've cleaned LPs with significant mold growth on this machine with good results. Good luck !

[porcy62]

I resurrected my dad's classical records, stored in a dump garage for twenty years, with a natural sponge and mild dish soap. Lately I used on them a VPI and Miracle Disc Doctor stuff and it was another great step ahead. Vinyl is always a surprise, not always a nice one, but it worths the job.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

why ive seen so many water dammaged blue notes i dont know-- i have a water dammaged (but the lp itself plays fine) copy of Holiday for Skins vol 1, and the other day i saw in the dollar bin a water dammged copy of Groovin' @ smalls vol 1 (but didnt get it- id rather save my dollar for big john patton thankyouverymuch) and ive seen others as well

[JohnS]

What a shame. The jackets are probably unsalvagable. I had a problem with mold through storing records unplayed for years in the damp cellar at my old house. I found that it comes off easily by washing with cold water and wiping dry with soft paper towels. I used kitchen towels. If really bad a second wash was sometimes needed.