Spent $50 on a stack of classical records that turned out to be water damaged

I was at a garage sale in Elmhurst last Saturday and saw a pile of Deutsche Grammophon vinyls for $2 each. Grabbed about 25 of them thinking I scored big on some classical rarities. Got home and pulled the first one out, a Beethoven symphony, and noticed the sleeve was crinkled on the bottom edge. Pulled the record out and there were visible water stains and some warping along the last track. Checked the rest and about half were in similar shape, must have been stored in a damp basement for years. I tried cleaning one with distilled water and a microfiber cloth but the warp was too bad, it skips on my turntable. Now I'm stuck deciding if I should try to return them to the seller (who was an old lady, feel bad) or just eat the loss and trash the bad ones. Has anyone else dealt with buying a bulk lot and finding hidden water damage? How do you check for that at a garage sale without opening every sleeve?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_thomas25d agoTop Commenter

Jump in with a different take here. I actually think distilled water is fine for a basic rinse, it won't leave spots like tap water does in hard water areas. The real issue with that stack is the warp though, no amount of cleaning will fix a bent edge. For checking at garage sales, I just squeeze the sleeve corners gently to feel for dampness or crinkle, and if I see any brown staining on the paper I skip it. Those Deutsche Grammophon pressings are usually pretty tough, but once water gets in the grooves they're toast. You might get lucky with 3 or 4 of the better ones if you play only the first few tracks and ignore the last 30 seconds.

paul23325d ago

Jump in with a small correction here. Just a heads up, distilled water is actually not great for cleaning vinyl because it can leave behind minerals and cause more problems down the road. In my experience, a mix of a few drops of dish soap in some regular tap water works better for getting grime off, but you gotta rinse it well and dry it fast with a soft cloth. The warp though, that's a different story. Once a record is warped, especially along the edges, there's really no fixing it without a record flattening machine which costs way more than $50. Your mileage may vary, but I'd say cut your losses and toss the bad ones.