Mouldy Speakers. MOULDY PULSONIC CONES. Bad.

[Cirrus]

I cleverly left my AC30 sitting for 6 months in the corner of the room my stupid wife dries our laundry in. The speakers might have already been mouldy from 3 years in a poorly heated practice room before that, I dunno.

At any rate. I was recording with the amp last week and shone a light through the grill cloth while positioning mics. Little specs of white mould smiled back at me. Both speakers affected - Celestion Alnico silvers with Pulsonic Cones, a '67 and a '73. I'm gutted. I've taken them out the cab hoping that in the open air the cones can dry out while I work out what to do.

If anyone has any informed suggestions they're welcome. I've been reluctant to spray mould killer on the cones in case that somehow destroys them. They both sound great still, but particularly on the '67 the mould looks to have pretty well impregnated both sides of the cone. The '73 has a bunch of spots but they look a lot more localised. I might even try scraping them off with a pen knife or something.

 

[Chocol8]

90% plus isopropyl alcohol will usually work on the paper. It will evaporate quickly and not leave any residue. Dab it on or use a fine mist sprayer. You don't want to soak it, but the mold goes deeper than what you can see, and you want to get both sides. Be VERY careful wiping, especially when damp. Probably better to just let it dry and fall off. I would give it a full overnight to dry before playing.

 

[dignlivn]

Not a informed idea.

How ever, I use distilled vinegar on a used speaker cabinet I bought that had mold on it.
Fwiw.

 

[Orvillain]

Wembley Loudspeaker Co Ltd. Take the trip there, and they can get them back to health.

 

[Chocol8]

Not a informed idea.

How ever, I use distilled vinegar on a used speaker cabinet I bought that had mold on it.
Fwiw.

Not good for the paper. Too much water and will leave residue.

 

[newholland]

id lightly spray a towel with alcohol and swab em- maybe not spray them. that paper is pretty tough. i seriously wouldnt worry too much about it unless the coils are fouled and youd basically need to submerge them for that.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Replace the wife

 

[la szum]

I'd be leery of using any kind of liquid to try and remove the mould.

Can you take it outside and crank the piss out of it so you get that ultrasonic cleaning???

Oh, and can't help but do this here.

 

[dignlivn]

What about using Sunshine??
I believe the sun light kills mold.

 

[Someoldqueenorother]

What about using Sunshine??
I believe the sun light kills mold.

The Midlands in the UK only gets four hours of sunshine all year.

 

[Cirrus]

Yep, and they were last week.

To be honest, there's nowhere I could put them outside where they'd be safe. Knowing my luck a bird would shit on them and that'd be that.

 

[Cirrus]

I like the idea of using alcohol tbf - if it all just evaporates quickly rather than making the cone soggy I can't really see what could go wrong, unless somehow it destroys the cone due to some chemistry I'm unaware of

 

[newholland]

I like the idea of using alcohol tbf - if it all just evaporates quickly rather than making the cone soggy I can't really see what could go wrong, unless somehow it destroys the cone due to some chemistry I'm unaware of

beer has been integrating with pulsonic cones as long as theres been pulsonic cones.

 

[FuzzyAce]

beer has been integrating with pulsonic cones as long as theres been pulsonic cones.

Yep. That's when the bottom end gets a bit loose and the highs a bit slurry. Tone magic happens.

 

[Cirrus]

I just used a lightly damp cloth and a light touch in a room that's had a dehumidifier running all evening so the moisture would evaporate quickly. Think I've got everything visible except that on one of the speakers there's mould right on the inside corner where the cone meets the voice coil - I can't get a cloth in there without putting force in and I don't want to put lateral force right where the voice coil connects. I'll let my subconscious ruminate on how I can get right in there safely for a day or two, but I'm feeling more positive than I was over the weekend.

 

[CorrosiveMatter]

Replace the wife

Cheaper to keep her.

 

[FuzzyAce]

I just used a lightly damp cloth and a light touch in a room that's had a dehumidifier running all evening so the moisture would evaporate quickly. Think I've got everything visible except that on one of the speakers there's mould right on the inside corner where the cone meets the voice coil - I can't get a cloth in there without putting force in and I don't want to put lateral force right where the voice coil connects. I'll let my subconscious ruminate on how I can get right in there safely for a day or two, but I'm feeling more positive than I was over the weekend.

Maybe try a q-tip with alcohol and lightly rub around the coil area.

 

[Chocol8]

I just used a lightly damp cloth and a light touch in a room that's had a dehumidifier running all evening so the moisture would evaporate quickly. Think I've got everything visible except that on one of the speakers there's mould right on the inside corner where the cone meets the voice coil - I can't get a cloth in there without putting force in and I don't want to put lateral force right where the voice coil connects. I'll let my subconscious ruminate on how I can get right in there safely for a day or two, but I'm feeling more positive than I was over the weekend.

What you see and what wipes off easily is just the part that spreads spores, basically the fungal version of fruit. The meat of the infestation is the mycelium that is slowly eating the wood pulp throughout the paper. You need to kill that, hence the rubbing alcohol. Other things work great and leave a preventative behind, (borax!) but you have to be careful adding stuff like that to old paper, especially with water as the carrier.