Proper Storage
You did it! You've got a prized piece in your collection! But you can't just leave it on your dresser or nightstand. Improper storage can lead to sticky shed, mold, or further worsen an already damaged tape. It is important to take precautionary measures to prevent this from happening and this guide is here to help!
Drying a tape
When your cassette arrives at your home, it is important to thoroughly inspect the tape before doing anything with it. More information on tape inspection can be read here. If there is no mold on your cassette, take a whiff. If it has a smoky, slightly burnt scent or smells like your parents after they said they were "going outside for a second", your tape was either sold from a smoker's environment or the seller got it from said environment. This means that the tape is most likely with a severe case of sticky shed and must be thoroughly dried before use. Keep in mind that most domestic sellers of tapes do not properly store their cassettes so in general, it is best to dry them before playing even if cosmetically they look okay.
Fear not, there are two ways to dry a tape: the silica method (cheapest) and the dehydration method (most expensive).
Dehydrating by silica gel
This is the most accessible and cheapest way of dehydrating a tape: simply get a few packets of silica gel and an airtight container (preferably something like an OXO or Rubbermaid container) and store the tape. Similar to pickling kimchi or radishes, this process is unfortunately not instantaneous and will take some time. Store the container in a temperature-stable environment away from direct light. While there is no exact time limit for leaving the tape, you can take the tape out after a month or so and try playing it. If it phasing is present, store it back into the container of silica and leave it there for a longer period of time.
Dehydrating by food dehydrator
This is the most expensive and faster way of dehydrating the tape. In the States, the upfront cost for a dehydrator isn't too bad. However in other places in North America and Europe, it can get very expensive. If the cost of the dehydrator doesn't hurt your bank account, the energy bill certainly will. You don't have to go all out and purchase a food dehydrator with fancy buttons; a simple dial-operated dehydrator with a heating fan will do. You want to make sure this is done in an environment with good ventilation. You also want to make sure you keep an eye on the dehydrator so as not to risk not only destroying your tapes but also your house.
When dehydrating your tapes, turn on the machine and set it to 160°F (USA only) or 70°C. If you have the cheap dial operated dehydrators, this is the maximum temperature. Let it preheat for about a minute and the place your tapes evenly on the tray(s). You want to have the bottom or top of the cassette to face the hole in the center of the tray and layer the tapes on subsequent trays as if you're filling in the spaces in between the previous tray. Think of it like you're layering a brick wall with the tapes as bricks and the trays as the mortar. If you have the more sophisticated machines that can go higher in temperature, do not go higher than 160°F/70°C or you will risk permanently damaging the shell and rendering the tape unplayable. If your sophisticated machine uses a cooling rack with no circular hole in the middle, simply spread the tapes out evenly. If you are using a filament dehydrator, they too go up to 160°F/70°C, though you might have less real estate. I'm sure with that 3D printer of yours you can make some racks to effectively stack your tapes in them.
Here comes the long and arduous part: baking and cooling. A 2:1 ratio in baking time is recommended to ensure that a tape is fully baked and dried. If you play a tape directly after dehydrating, it will damage the tape and sound worse. You want to bake the tapes for a minimum of 8 hours, though you may want to bake it for a little longer if the tape has a bigger reel. Cooldown times will vary depending on how long your baking session is. If you baked the tape for the minimum amount of time, you will cool it down for 4 hours. If you baked a tape for 12 hours, you cool it for six and so on. You could also preferably let the tape cool overnight, let it sit in a controlled environment for a little longer than that, or until you want to play a batch of tapes.
While you may not be able to play moldy media, you can still effectively kill the mold within it by baking the tape. Because mold can get you sick if you do as much as to breathe it in, make sure you're doing this in a well-ventilated area and wait for the dehydrator to fully preheat before putting the tapes in. While the mold spores theoretically don't spread out from the shells, it's better to dehydrate these in a separate batch to ensure no particles some how end up in your clean cassettes.
Troubleshooting
But what if your tape still has sticky shed? You'll have to bake it again. Unlike the silica gel method, you don't necessarily need to let it stay longer than last time. As a matter of fact, you can just bake the tape for another 8 hours, cool down for 4, play the tape to check on its condition, and repeat the process. Before baking again, if you can remember which side you baked on, you can bake the tape with the heating element facing the other side or even flip the tape in the middle of the baking session. You can also reel the tape to the other side and bake it, though it is not recommended especially since it could potentially damage the reel if the sticky shed is severe enough. In some cases you will have to bake a tape numerous times, and unfortunately there there is no set amount as to how many times you have to bake a tape. For example, a tape with a runtime of less than half an hour could take at least 5 tries while a compilation that is nearly an hour long in length could just take a 12-hour session, each and every tape is unique just like you.
If you play a tape and phasing is present, sounds high/decent quality and then gets muffled, suddenly gets beeping and scrapping noises, or sounds bit-crushed with the spectrogram reading impossible frequencies for a cassette (this is a very rare case), the tape is still sticky and must be baked again.
If you notice that phasing is still present and your player head has some residue that's the same color as the reel as the tape you're playing, the media itself is degrading and it is advised to stop attempting to dry the media as it will only degrade further. Unfortunately there is not much one can do other than to keep it in a good spot or stick it in a box of silica.
If you play a tape and it sounds bad, this time with no phasing present, chances are that your tape was poorly duped. No further baking will magically increase its quality.
It is important to note that some modern ovens also have a "dehydrator" setting and some can even go as low as 150°F/65°C, though it is not recommended as not all ovens are reliable when maintaining temperature. This also goes for sophisticated air fryers with a "dehydrator" option and countertop convection ovens that are able to go as low as 150°F/65°C. If you would like to test this method out however, use a worthless or blank cassette to ensure the temperature remains stable or let the oven run and document the temperature via an oven thermometer.
What NOT to do when baking a tape
Do NOT set your temperature to double as the plastic used for the cassette shells can at most withstand up to 160°F/70°C. If you do this, you will end up permanently destroying your tape instead of drying quicker.
Do NOT stick your cassettes in a toaster oven or a toaster for that matter. Toaster ovens are known to be incredibly inconsistent with their temperatures and will most likely than not, destroy the tape. The toaster thing should be self-explanatory.
Do NOT plug your dehydrator into an extension cord. If you read manuals for heating units like space heaters, microwaves, and toaster ovens, you'll know that they say to always use the wall outlets. This is the same for dehydrators. This is because these take a lot of energy to use and when plugged in with other high-powered items, it becomes a fire safety hazard and can lead to electrical fires. In most cases the safety function of the extension chord will kick in and simply shut off all appliances when overloaded, but it's preferable to not attempt to test the limits of your poor extension cord and follow the manufacturer's instructions instead. Just keep in mind that if your tapes aren't on fire in the event of one, the smoke and the chemicals of the plastic burning will absolutely ruin your cassette.
Do NOT place the tape directly on the heating element. The machine needs airflow and this could potentially overheat the system if you do this. On the same note, if you have the cheap heating fan dehydrators, don't put tapes on the ventilation holes of the tray. If you do this with the more expensive machines, you will likely warp the shell. In essence, if you think a certain method will make a cassette dry quicker, don't do it.
Storing a tape
There are many ways to store a tape, though not all methods are created equally. For example, you may want to store your tapes in a cardboard box. It's the cheapest and most convenient method to do so. You may even want to create a shelving unit out of it. However, cardboard tends to collect moisture from the environment it's left in and as a result can develop mold.
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