How To Care For Your Cassette Decks

Cassette decks were popular at a time when compact cassettes were the best tools that let people play music. Today, as that is not the case anymore - cassette decks have been kept in attics and in basements as people have found better music players that provide them their much needed music fixes.

But, there are those who stay loyal to cassette decks - not because they are the most updated music players in the world as of now, but because they connect people to a time when simplicity brought in so many reasons to be happy.

Tips On How Keep Cassette Decks Clean And In Good Condition
For this sentimental reason, it is important to know how to keep your cassette decks functioning perfectly. One good way to achieve that is to know how to clean your cassette decks. This would certainly bring in more reasons for you to play your music in a more pleasant way. Below are some to mention:

1. Make sure the cassette decks are empty. This may seem like a very obvious first step, but there are people who end up forgetting to do this. Thus, they go putting their Q-tips into the decks - without realizing that the process would not be done properly because of the presence of the cassette tape inside the deck. To make sure that you would not end up committing the same mistake, open the decks first to check if they hold any tapes inside.

2. Get your cleaning materials ready. Cleaning materials would include Isopropyl alcohol (in the 70% to 80% solution), Q-tips, and a cleaning cloth. Gather the materials that you need and place them somewhere close (but not dangerously so) to your cassette player - so you can immediately reach for them when you need to.

3. Clean the heads. After soaking the Q-tip in alcohol, get set to clean the heads of your cassette decks. To do this effectively, press the buttons fast forward and rewind. This would present you with a better and clearer view of the cassette heads, and would allow you to clean them more properly. An even coating of the alcohol from the Q-tip would also be nice.

4. Clean the pinch roller. Another part of your cassette decks that need attention through cleaning is the pinch roller. Press the button play on your cassette player. This would make the pinch roller spin, and you would have your chance at stripping it clean from dust and other bits and bobs of dirt. It is imperative that you do this properly as the pinch roller is the part of the cassette deck that gets the most dirt.

5. Clean the capstan. Pressing play on your player would also make this part of the deck move. The capstan is situated to the left of the pinch roller - it is the thin metal spindle. Along with the pinch roller, this part of the cassette deck guides the tape, so this part of the deck deserves the best possible cleaning that you can give. Clean until the top of the Q-tip comes up clean and free from dirt.

6. Clean the other parts of the decks with the cloth. The other parts that you can reach and see would function better if you pass your cloth through them, too. Also, this would ensure a total cleaning process that will contribute a lot to the better functionality of the whole cassette player.

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Other helpful cleaning tips include the following:
- Clean the tape path after you clean the tape heads.
- Clean the deck heads only after 30 hours from the last time you used the cassette player
- Only demagnetize the tips if you are sure that the tip is coated in plastic.
- Take care when using a demagnetizer as it can damage the tape, the speaker and the other audio equipment of the cassette player.
- Read the manual of your cassette recorder to find the parts properly.
- Always remember that the wrong chemical would end up harming your cassette player.

If you want to be more certain of your cassette decks cleaning, you can take your cassette player to a hi-fi shop. Of course, this would mean the shelling out of your money to pay the shop for its services. If you take great caution in cleaning your cassette decks, you’ll end up saving a lot of money.

Cassette decks are rare finds today. That means that if you still have them, hold on to them. They are not only great instruments of music playing, they can also be great possessions that speak of a simpler, better time.