Old amps and mold

[cjlectronics]

Recently, a '67 Fender Vibro Champ was brought to my repair bench that was not working. The chassis is rusty, the tolex on the cabinet is peeling away, and cosmetically it looks like it sat in a humid environment for many years. I don't see any clear signs of mold growing in the wood but that's not to say there isn't any. As a result, I am now battling a serious sinus and head cold after opening this amplifier and trying to solve the no output problem. Now I'm asking how can I prevent this from happening in the future? I don't want to scrub in with latex gloves and surgical mask every time I open an amp or guitar pedal and I don't want to spray Lysol disinfectant spray inside the unit. Has anyone else experienced this... if so, what do you do?

[Leo_Gnardo]

We've had this sort of question before. I don't remember any definitive answer for all cases. Although it's a lot of extra work, disassembling the amp, washing down every nook & cranny with bleach & detergent, hosing down with Lysol, that sort of thing is a good step in the right direction. Texas? Yes set that disassembled amp out in the hot Texas sun for as long as you can. Try to keep the armadillos from moving in. There's still mold worked into the grill cloth, into the wood, speaker etc, hard to get rid of all of it. Unfortunately when you deal with old amps mold is one of the problems you can't avoid encountering. Even worse when complicated with the amp having been used as a mouse condominium. Yes it might mean having to put on rubber gloves & dust mask.

I had a similar Champ here maybe 10 years ago. It was stored in a shed, upstate New York. Moldy as could be. Its owner was an "artist" who claimed he would make an entirely new box for it in his arty style. Once he got it back, working well, and somewhat treated for its moldy condition, a mutual friend said he gave up on building that arty cab. I s'pose he either got along with the little stinker, or soaked it with enough Lysol and incense fumes that eventually it was - sort of - acceptable.

Play that funky music, with that funky amp!

[mozz]

409w/bleach.

[glebert]

Maybe Moldex or Wet and Forget Mold Remover? When I had a water leak that gotten into (but not ruined) drywall my contractor/neighbor had me spray the area that had gotten wet with that to prevent any mold from growing.

[olddawg]

Hazards of the trade. I had a fellow tech where I worked get Valley Fever, ostensively, from working on a dusty stereo back in the day. To me the worst is roaches.. especially in large units. I wonder if the arthritis I have in my hands is due to constant and daily exposure to TF solvents back in the vcr days. I’m sure decades or soldering in a confined space isn’t great on us either. I remember my first day at a “Real” shop. I was issued an ashtray and a coffee cup. Everyone smoked.. sweatshop environment... fools next to me blowing up caps (and other components) left and right. Good times! Lol. It all adds up. Mold is probaby the least of your worries. Ever had to mess with a bad selenium rectifier?

[TomCarlos]

All kidding aside, It sounds like we should have dust masks and latex gloves on our workbench for situations like this. A Second idea is to have a filtered bag shop vac in the garage for the initial cleanup and to be careful of coming in contact with the dust and leftovers from our crawler friends.

[J M Fahey]

I very much hesitate on suggesting what I do, which is an improvised mini gas chamber where I lock up overnight moldy stuff, plus peed on/nicotine and tar covered stuff/plain musty cabinets or any part made out of wood together with a chlorine gas producing cup full of evil chemicals, basically hypochlorite and ammonia or acid, which kills and deodorizes everything, but I guess a safer version can be made, using a bathroom style ozone generator instead.

Problem with wood and most cloth is that those are porous materials, which retain bad smells deep inside, hard to be neutralized, and let them leak out for weeks, so you must also let gas seep in so as to be effective.

Now if you live in a very dry very sunny place, think Arizona or Nevada , I guess a couple days outside under direct Sun and rotating a couple times should make most nasty stuff evaporate harmlessly.

[Helmholtz]

I once had success using a (UV) sunlamp for a couple of days. I like the idea with the ozone generator.
Would be very hesitant using chlorine gas, though, because of possible long term corrosive effects.

[glebert]

I like the idea with the ozone generator.

This works well for me for odors: https://music-electronics-forum.com/...ad.php?t=45883

[Leo_Gnardo]

This works well for me for odors:

I knew we had addressed this problem at least once before. glebert you just earnt yourself two thumbsup, for then and for now. Ozone is the answer! Thanks for the reminder.

[nosaj]

I knew we had addressed this problem at least once before. glebert you just earnt yourself two thumbsup, for then and for now. Ozone is the answer! Thanks for the reminder.

Be careful an ozone generator can take your breath away if you have breathing issues.

nosaj

[TimmyP1955]

From my experience at home, it would seem that long term exposure to an ozone generator can promote rust and cause some rubber-like compounds to break down.

[Leo_Gnardo]

From my experience at home, it would seem that long term exposure to an ozone generator can promote rust and cause some rubber-like compounds to break down.

Sure enough. And when I switch on my ozone generator, it seems to have some, errr, mild psychoactive properties besides. Heck, I seem to get lost. But only for 2 minutes or so. C'mon evvabody, let's get lost in the ozone again!

You knew it had to happen sooner or later.