How to Clean a Mini Cassette

Mini cassettes are exactly like their big brothers, the standard cassette, except that everything on both the cassette and the recorder/player that goes with it has been downsized. That means it's a smaller overall package overall, including the drive and recording mechanism. The interior mechanism on both the actual cassette case and the unit itself are factory sealed and cannot be accessed. But, just like on standard cassette units, the critical parts, which are the player and recording heads, can be accessed and should be cleaned on a regular basis for optimum performance.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rubbing alcohol
• Cotton swabs

1. Flip open the top cover on your mini cassette player. Do this gently so that it does not snap back.

2. Access the recording heads. With the unit unplugged and with no cassette inserted, push the "Play" button. When you do that, the player heads will get pushed out forward to meet the cassette, even though the cassette is not in place. However, by doing this, it allows you access to the actual heads.

3. Clean the recording heads with the rubbing alcohol. Dip a cotton swab head into your rubbing alcohol and then, shake it a little to get the excess off the tip. Rub the wet tip over the top of the player head, back and forth, several times.

4. Dry off the cassette. Use a dry swab to remove any wetness left over on the cassette head.

5. Check the sound quality. Push the "Stop" button, insert a cassette, plug the unit in and press play. If the sound quality is still bad, repeat the cleaning process. If it is good, then you are finished.

References

• Cleaning recording equipment