Mini Paphiopedilum root trouble

[FairyFlower]

Brief intro: Hi! I’m very very new to orchid care after just saving these two from a friend’s windowsill (with her permission, she had these for a year with them seeming to be doing okay but qt probably led her to overwatering thanks to being home too much) earlier this week. Didn’t think the issues were as extensive until I started looking up info on how to properly water them this weekend.
I’m much more used to plants like pathos, spiderplant, and chamaedorea palms, but having experience with those had me thinking I could handle this. The info I got both overwhelmed and made me more lost on where to start including the pinned thread. These roots look terrible to my eye though and I want to help them as soon as I can so they don’t die before I understand what I’m even doing.

Photos: plants when I first got them, roots and leaves of plant one after I took it out of the mulch and just about all the roots came away with the chips (what remains are firm to a light squish though), aerial roots further up the stem (do I abandon the lower leaves and try to cultivate these?), better shot of the mulch (is it okay to reuse or do I go get some new stuff), original pot of plant one, and shots of the second plant I haven’t tried to tend to yet.

[Ray]

First of all, welcome to the Orchid Board.

That is not a paphiopedilum, it is a phalaenopsis. They prefer subdued lighting and warm temperatures. As far as watering is concerned, they like constant moisture, but must have plenty of air movement around their roots, as orchids do much of their respiratory gas exchange processes through the roots, rather than exclusively through the leaves, like the other plants you're usd to growing.

Do not reuse the old potting medium. Fresh would be the way to go.

The plant growing on the old flower spike is known as a "keiki" (Hawaiian for "baby"). It may be snapped off the spike and planted up separately. The mother plant is in somewhat worse shape, but if you keep it very warm, humid and shady, it should grow new roots and pick up where it left off.

[FairyFlower]

Oh, thanks for the correction! Admittedly I just looked up flower types and took the kind that had a similar patterning to the dried ones to try giving a specific to this thread.
Seeing as they need space, would keeping them in the tray once I have new potting medium do better than a pot? I looked on the site of my nearest hardware+nursery and they don’t seem to have ventilated baskets to put it in to do a double potting system, just drainage holes at the bottom.

[estación seca]

They'll do fine in a smallish plastic pot. Use the smallest pot you can fit the roots into. Use with large chunk bark or landscaping volcanic rock (scoria) or LECA clay balls from a hyrdoponics store. With large chunks you can ensure plenty of air at the roots and water more often. Shallow pots are probably easier for most people to manage than deeper.

The wrinkled leaves might not recover fully but new growth should be shiny and stiff.

The warmer you can keep them this winter they better they will do.