When was the last time you looked at your home movies from the 90’s/00’s? Remember those old VHS video tapes with their library book covers that you would get out at Christmas and look at when the family came round on Boxing day. We have a shop that convert VHS to DVD and sadly it is becoming more frequent to see tapes with a snow like substance inside them. What is it? Unfortunately you should have been watching your VHS tapes more often and not leaving them in the attic or garage as that white snow substance on your video tape is a mould. To be more specific it is a fungus that is feasting on the mould in your VHS tapes.
Over the last ten years we have observed a change in the weather of the United Kingdom. Our data analysis of the last century of rainfall in the United Kingdom shows an interesting recent trend developing. The amount of rainfall has been increasing in certain parts of the United Kingdom. This chart shows how much rainfall there has been in the South-West of England since 1860.
The first chart shows 1880 to 1910, when rainfall increased over that period. In the years 1910 to 1950 and the years 1990 to 2018 rainfall also increased. Only between 1910 and 1950 did rainfall fall. The last twenty years has seen a significant increase in the average annual rainfall in the South-West of England.
This chart shows the average rainfall of the last 10 years in Cornwall. The trend is upwards and this is having a bad affect in increasing the amount of moisture and hence dampness in our homes. The average amount of rainfall in Cornwall annually is approximately 560mm. This compares to the United Kingdom average of around 870mm. Cornwall enjoys less than the UK average annual rainfall. Storing your VHS tapes well is important in preserving them for your children and grandchildren to enjoy. We recommend you convert VHS to DVD as soon as possible to prevent any further deterioration of your VHS tapes.
These moulds produce spores which can spread all over your VHS tapes. Leaving your VHS tapes in the garage or kitchen cupboard can cause moisture to build up behind the little bit of clear plastic that houses your precious video tape. This moisture can then lead to mould growing, just like mould will grow in any damp, high moisture environment. The mould then grows inside your VHS tape, and leaving them lying untouched for years and years causes the mould to cover most of the surface of the VHS tape. This invites an organism to feast on the thing it loves most, mould. So that white powdery substance on your VHS tape is a spore-producing fungus.
Over time the VHS tape can become dry and hopefully the mould will stop growing and the fungus will stop feasting. However in our ten years of experience we have seen an unfortunate outcome. The VHS tape becomes sticky and when you try to play the tape it will tear into two pieces, making your VHS tape unplayable. At Orion Media we have ten years of experience dealing with literally tens of thousands of VHS tapes and all types of camcorder tapes. Our experience with such large numbers of tapes means we are proficient in opening up VHS tapes and cleaning up the mould and fungus that appears on these moisture damaged tapes. We clean them in an environment that will avoid contamination as a fungus is spore-producing so will be highly infectious and likely to try and spread further.
Orion Media have ten years experience so we can convert VHS to DVD for you and give those memories a new lease of life. The best way to preserve your content is to put your VHS to DVD and enjoy them once more without further deterioration.
