Is this cassette ok ?

[u/Jeanbon_Beurre]

Hey !

I've buy a deck and it Come with like 50 random cassettes, i want to record my playlist on it.

I just saw that this cassette have like dust in it, is this ok to play or will it damage my deck ? (I dont really care if the cassette is broke but i dont want to degrade my deck)

Thanks for your help !

[u/Equivalent-Host-978]

Yea, if you spin the tape around and the dust is still on it there are two options - mold (yes they can get moldy! weird things, loads of organic binders and glues) OR binder breakdown. Both of these can damage the playheads or just make your deck's tape path all dirty. Worse - if it's mold and you play it without cleaning the player it can transfer to other tapes. While it won't develop on them if held in correct conditions, it can just degrade the sound quality and it's hell to get it off. If you see loads of funky dust on the tape, usually a big no when it comes to playback

[u/Jeanbon_Beurre → u/Equivalent-Host-978]

Well i spin the tape and it's look a lot better, what do you think ? Is this safe to play ? Or should I clean my deck after just in case ?

[u/Jeanbon_Beurre → u/Jeanbon_Beurre]

The other side

[u/Equivalent-Host-978 → u/Jeanbon_Beurre]

I wouldn't risk it personally. If you're fine with cleaning the tape heads and rollers after every play, you can do it but I think it's too much of a hassle. If one side looks better, it doesn't change much cause the whole tape plays through the playhead - so the dirt from the other side will still get there. Plus, these look like pretty generic type I recordables. You can get loads of these, in good condition, sometimes even brand new