Editing Cassette deck (section)

== Maintenance ==
Cassette equipment needs regular maintenance, as cassette tape is a magnetic medium that is in physical contact with the [[tape head]] and other metallic parts of the recorder/player mechanism. Without such maintenance, the high-frequency response of the cassette equipment will suffer.

One problem occurs when iron oxide (or similar) particles from the tape itself become lodged in the playback head. As a result, the tape heads will require occasional cleaning to remove such particles. The metal [[Capstan (tape recorder)|capstan]] and the rubber pinch roller can become coated with these particles, leading them to pull the tape less precisely over the head; this in turn leads to misalignment of the tape over the head azimuth, producing noticeably unclear high tones, just as if the head itself were out of alignment. [[Isopropyl alcohol]] and [[denatured alcohol]] are both suitable head-cleaning fluids.

The heads and other metallic components in the tape path (such as spindles and [[Capstan (tape recorder)|capstans]]) may become magnetized with use, and require demagnetizing (see [[Cassette demagnetizer]]).