R.F.F. wrote:Holy shit. Flooded basements suck. Luckily, I escaped with only a little water getting into the basement and nothing was ruined. So sorry to hear about your record collection and books.

BTW- the Tribune is reporting that another similar storm might be heading our way late afternoon.

John, get the ones not yet damaged out of the basement NOW.

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If you remove the records from the sleeves, you should be able to clean them and they'll be fine. The sleeves, well, you'll have to figure something out.

In any case, I have a VPI record cleaning machine that you should borrow and use. Your records are not lost. They are fine. The covers, well, maybe some wax paper/blotter paper/brick sandwich contraption will work.

1) Insert plastic inner sleeve into wet jacket (use unwanted record as mandrel to do this). This will keep the inner faces of the jackets from sticking together.

2) In a warm, dry part of the house, make a stack of layers: blotter paper or heavy paper towel / wax paper / sleeve / wax paper / blotter paper, and top off the stack with a piece of masonite or plywood, covered with a brick or two. For gatefolds, put wax paper and blotter between any two paperboard faces.

Leave in place for a week or so and see how it works.

I know your insurance guy says it isn't covered, but it's worth it to speak to an independent adjuster, who does not profit from getting you to drop your claim like the insurance guy does.

I'm sorry to read about your loss, John. I would cry.

All the best!

I live on Paulina and Wilson. I watched 5 or 6 cars try to traverse the waters under the Metra tracks for about an hour.

Question:

If three other cars are up to the windows in a huge pool of water, why wouldn't your car become the forth if it was in said pool of water?

Answer:

Fuck it man, I'm going for it... SPLASH!!!

My apartment is dry, I was worried about my scooter though.

Dunno if this is reasonable, but it seems like it would be... if there's any more flooding, what about using one or more garden hoses to syphon the water from the sump pump area out a window and away from the house? I realize this does nothing to stop flooding, but could it maybe help keep the severity in check and get the water out faster?

John, I'm really sorry to hear about your loss. Frick.

steve wrote:If you remove the records from the sleeves, you should be able to clean them and they'll be fine. The sleeves, well, you'll have to figure something out.

In any case, I have a VPI record cleaning machine that you should borrow and use. Your records are not lost. They are fine. The covers, well, maybe some wax paper/blotter paper/brick sandwich contraption will work.

1) Insert plastic inner sleeve into wet jacket (use unwanted record as mandrel to do this). This will keep the inner faces of the jackets from sticking together.

2) In a warm, dry part of the house, make a stack of layers: blotter paper or heavy paper towel / wax paper / sleeve / wax paper / blotter paper, and top off the stack with a piece of masonite or plywood, covered with a brick or two. For gatefolds, put wax paper and blotter between any two paperboard faces.

Leave in place for a week or so and see how it works.

I know your insurance guy says it isn't covered, but it's worth it to speak to an independent adjuster, who does not profit from getting you to drop your claim like the insurance guy does.

This sounds good. Though I would amend the "warm, dry" to "cool, dry". If the covers are still damp, warm temps + lack of circulation from compression will encourage mold.

John -

If by any chance one of the records you're missing is "Phantom Itch" by Antimony, let me know and I'll send it to you. For some reason I have two.

Fuck,

= Justin

steve wrote:VPI record cleaning machine

These things are cool... work really well. I've seen them in action or at least a cleaning machine similar to it.

Crazy downpour right now in Roscoe Village.