help! how to recover water logged floppies?

When I did this all of the disk jackets were still wet. I used a clean, lint free drying cloth from my collection of car-care products (I don't remember what they were called, exactly, but they are basically a synthetic lint-free chamois) and blotted each disk carefully. Once they were blotted as thoroughly as possible I let them air dry for an hour or two (as I extracted and removed the other wet media) and then checked for water spots. I buffed those very gently with the same cloth which was then slightly damp. I then slid the media into a fresh jacket and everything was fine to do a quick disk copy. If I remember correctly I used one of the more error tolerant aftermarket disk copy programs (CopyIIPC or something like it) just in case. Once I was done with the whole pile I'm pretty sure I used a head cleaner to make sure I didn't damage the drive. Of course, I then put the naked media in that same drive so how careful was I really? :) Erik -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Chandra Bajpai Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 10:56 AM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: RE: help! how to recover water logged floppies? How do you clean the media itself? Will a clean paper towel work or is some other procedure required? Thanks, Chandra -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Erik S. Klein Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 12:30 PM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: RE: help! how to recover water logged floppies? The suggestion to remove the disks from the damaged sleeves, clean the media carefully and then place them in a "new" sleeve for data recovery is good. I did the same with some PC disks a dozen years ago or more and had no difficulties with any of the media. When I was done I tried a little experiment and placed the media alone in the drive without a sleeve. It worked that was as well, although I wouldn't recommend it for more then entertainment value. I can imagine the flex on the disk isn't good for it. . . Good luck! -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-admin@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Chandra Bajpai Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2003 6:07 AM To: cctalk(a)classiccmp.org Subject: help! how to recover water logged floppies? I had a small accident in my basement a couple of days ago and in cleaning everything out I discovered an old box of 5.25 TRS-80/Heathkit floppies with all my old stuff on them were damp with water. I let them air dry overnight, but some of them still don't spin freely. What can I do to recover these disks - I hate to lose them. What sort of damage does water cause to floppies? Thanks, Chandra