kulu se mama Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 bad news on the lp front. i've only kept 2 crates of records once i switched to cd's. since the wife and i moved into our house, iv'e had them stored in the basement. well, our sewer line has clogged and i know have 4 inches of water in my basement (we've lived here 10 years and have never had a problem). luckily 1 crate was on top of the other, but the bottom crate is ruined. i haven't gone through them all (there is still 4" of water in the basement), but it appears that i've lost ascension - john coltrane - 1st and 2nd editions infinity - john coltrane cosmic music - john coltrane live at the marble arch - graham parker live sparks - graham parker - autographed too tough to die - ramones - autographed by all 4 (joey r.i.p.) some rare sun ra records and many others. needless to say, i am heartbroken. Quote
Peter Johnson Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 I'm really sorry to hear this. I know how attached one can get to the vinyl. Hang in there. Quote
jazzbo Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 I lost a lot of records to a similar basement wet nightmare about twenty-five years ago. I feel your pain! Quote
patricia Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 bad news on the lp front. i've only kept 2 crates of records once i switched to cd's. since the wife and i moved into our house, iv'e had them stored in the basement. well, our sewer line has clogged and i know have 4 inches of water in my basement (we've lived here 10 years and have never had a problem). luckily 1 crate was on top of the other, but the bottom crate is ruined. i haven't gone through them all (there is still 4" of water in the basement), but it appears that i've lost ascension - john coltrane - 1st and 2nd editions infinity - john coltrane cosmic music - john coltrane live at the marble arch - graham parker live sparks - graham parker - autographed too tough to die - ramones - autographed by all 4 (joey r.i.p.) some rare sun ra records and many others. needless to say, i am heartbroken. I weep, truly weep for you. It's like a death in the family. Damn!!! Quote
sidewinder Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 Sorry to hear this - I can truly sympathise and hope that some of this is salvageable. Quote
Dan Gould Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 Terrible news. Makes me glad the new music room is on the second floor. Quote
Hardbopjazz Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 A bottle of jack came help ease the pain for a while. Sorry to read this. Quote
brownie Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 I have nightmares like this Feel relieved when I wake up. Feel terrible for you. There seems to have been a lot of interesting vinyls in your list! Quote
Dmitry Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 Sad, but not uncommon story. Let us now when the problem is fixed. It might be possible to save the vinyl, if the water was not steaming hot. Jackets, on the other hand ... Quote
mikeweil Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 Irony has it I mentioned how rare Cosmic Music is on a thread about a new Coltrane release ... Oh my God ... Quote
garthsj Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 (edited) As a former great political leader of this country often said: "I feel your pain". In 1983, I sat through Hurricane Alicia here in Houston with my large collection of LPs wrapped in several layers of thick plastic sheeting. If the roof was going to come off, those albums were going to be the only things that were going to stay dry. 19 hours of most harrowing experience I have ever had later, the roof remained intact, and the albums were saved. In 2001 I eventually sold the entire collection. Over the years, digging into used record bins, I acquired some amazing albums with water damaged covers ... I often wondered what people did with their records, some clearly had had food served on them, or I often encountered the Harvey Pekar "cat piss" problem ... why do cats love peeing on LPs? Mine used to use the albums on the lowest shelves as a scratching post ... I worked hard to stop that! Garth. Edited April 2, 2004 by garthsj Quote
Jazzmoose Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 I went through this as well, back in the late 80s. The vinyl is still fine and playable, but the jackets were gone of course. I didn't lose anything like Sun Ra records though. Wow. Quote
kulu se mama Posted April 2, 2004 Author Report Posted April 2, 2004 thanks for all the support. i'm waiting on the plumber now. the county just did a major road improvement on our road (new curbs, sidewalks, storm sewers, gas main). i'm hoping they're at fault, so i can try to get something back. but the financial value of an autographed ramones lp and the sentimental value are 2 very different things. i guess i've lived a pretty sheltered life - i'm pretty bummed right now - out of context with the situation. i couldn't imagine losing my entire house or a loved one. Quote
AmirBagachelles Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 Get your checkbook out and get back out there. You need to compensate yourself for your loss, and to get over the anger. Quote
Eric Posted April 2, 2004 Report Posted April 2, 2004 What a bummer ... I once had a hot iron land right on top of a bunch of my lps. Melted the record edges so that it was impossible to play the first cut on either side. Eric Quote
ralphie_boy Posted April 3, 2004 Report Posted April 3, 2004 some rare sun ra records That's gotta hurt! Quote
brownie Posted April 3, 2004 Report Posted April 3, 2004 Hope the 'Cosmic Music' album was not the original one on the John Coltrane label. That would be a sort of jazz nation disaster! Quote
chris olivarez Posted April 4, 2004 Report Posted April 4, 2004 Oh man that sucks!!! There are worse things in life but that is one of the bad ones.When I lived in California I lived in a downstairs apartment.In the upstairs apartment was a family and kids being kids do find ways to clog up the plumbing or run too much bathwater. The upstairs people flooded my place TWICE right on top of my albums. It still pisses me off to think about it. Quote
Dmitry Posted April 14, 2004 Report Posted April 14, 2004 Hey, mama, how are those LPs? What was the outcome? Quote
Bill Nelson Posted April 15, 2004 Report Posted April 15, 2004 Can the rest of us learn from this? Yes! 1. Never store records in a basement. Even without a flood or busted pipes, the moisture accelerates the growth of mildew and mold, starting inside the jackets and paper inner sleeves. If you've have absolutely no choice, then store 'em off the floor and close to any source of light. Randomly check them every month to catch the first signs of mildew. No cardboard boxes! 2. Storage in a dry, spacious attic that permits light is acceptable. Dark closets or other enclosures will eventually lead to mildew formation. Your LPs need to breathe and be seen, admired, and enjoyed. Boxing and 'deep-six' storing in funky spaces is the kiss of death. Quote
LAL Posted April 15, 2004 Report Posted April 15, 2004 Dark closets or other enclosures will eventually lead to mildew formation. Your LPs need to breathe and be seen, admired, and enjoyed. Boxing and 'deep-six' storing in funky spaces is the kiss of death. Is this also true for CDs? Thanks. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted April 15, 2004 Report Posted April 15, 2004 A friend of mine once left an LP in the backseat of his car on a hot day- when he returned, he had a vinyl bowl! Kulu Se Mama, my sympathies to you- I hope you can recover at least some of those LPs. Quote
Bill Nelson Posted April 16, 2004 Report Posted April 16, 2004 LAL: "Is this also true for CDs?" Answer(s): "No." "Not nearly." It's the apples/oranges equation. LPs have cardboard jackets and paper inner sleeves which act as sponges in attracting moisture from damp environments. Even the paper label around the LP spindle hole can serve as a 'host' for mold. CDs are much more resistant. They're finished with a protective coating and are much easier to clean. Also, there's no grooves for the mold to seep into. And there's only a paper booklet nearby (not in direct contact) which might possibly serve as an 'agent provocateur'. Of the two, CDs will emerge from a dark closet in better shape. during manufacture. Quote
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