Storing Comics in Warm Temperatures? 0

[tth2]

The problem is with the spring and summer coming up, the room is bound to increase in temperature. Not all that humid as I recall in years past, but certainly above what would be considered comfortable room temperature. I could easily install an air conditioner, but wouldn't plan on having it running 24/7. My other concern is that I wouldn't want the room temperature to rise and drop too much as I know that is not good for comics either.

 

This is gonna sound snarky but it's not. You must be living in a different Connecticut than I've lived in all my life. It gets humid as HELL here in the summer. No, not Florida humid or Louisiana humid but still pretty damn humid.

 

Yep, I can confirm that.

I have lived in florida for most of the last 40 years and I have NEVER felt any humidity here at all

Come spend a summer in Hong Kong and you`ll never think anywhere in the US is humid ever again.

[G.A.tor]

Texas>all

Washington is the most humid state in the US, after Florida, that is (thumbs u

[c-mack]

yeah but i was just say'in

[G.A.tor]

yeah but i was just say'in

I think Lousiana is third and Tx is 4th, if I recall... it was on the weather channel recently

[Hero Restoration]

I live in Oregon so naturely is was curious as well. The best way to protect comics has been a special interest of mine. Here are your highest and lowest.

 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

 

Sorry for the funky order.

 

Quillayute, WA 83.5

Yuma, AZ 22.5

Mount Washington, NH 83.0

Las Vegas, NV 30.0

Astoria, OR 81.0

Phoenix, AZ 36.0

Port Arthur, TX 80.0

Tucson, AZ 38.5

Lake Charles, LA 79.5

Bishop, CA 38.5

Corpus Christi, TX 78.5

El Paso, TX 41.5

Victoria, TX 78.5

Albuquerque, NM 43.5

Brownsville, TX 78.0

Winslow, AZ 44.5

Houston, TX 78.0

Mount Shasta, CA 47.0

Olympia, WA 78.0

Grand Junction, CO 48.5

 

[Vpcomix72]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

Where I live it gets up around 110 to 120 during the summer, I've always kept my books in the garage and they have always been ok.

 

But garages are cooler although car exaust can certainly be an issue.

 

I'm not worried about this room getting above 100, although I'm sure there will be humid days from time to time. Just trying to figure out the safest way to go about this.

 

I was just giving my experience with 35 years of my collecting. Just trying to help out. I don't park my cars in the garage ever, so fumes are never really any issue. It is cool and dark in there and since I live just outside of Palm Springs humidity is not an issue either.

The main thing I have noticed that effects PQ is how often you change your bags. I have noticed that if I change the bags every 3 to 5 years than the pages stay nice and white.

Thanks to rest of you for being you, it was just a matter of time before some of you crapped on me like you do so many others. I've been reading these forums for years now and really would not expect anything different from many of you. You guys sit back and the first person that does something different than what you think is correct, you jump down their throats.

Many of you have been very nice and its too bad that this hobby has so many people that just like to on so many others. I've read over the years so many of you just run people into the ground for not thinking like you, that's too bad. These forums are a good place to learn about a great hobby. I'm sure many people will never come back here just because of your treatment of them.

To the OP, I hope you find what your looking for and enjoy the hobby...........

Edited April 3, 2010 by Vpcomix72

[Vpcomix72]

Its real easy to come into a public forum and smack talk someone you've never met and books you've never seen. I put a lot of time,care and consideration into the preservation of my books. I will be gosh darned if I'm gonna sit here and except all your smack talking about my books or the way I keep my books. I have over 10,000 books that range from 1973 to 1993, I stopped buying in 1993 due to the amount of garbage being published. I would gladly put my collection up against anyone of you smack talking punks collections any day any time with regards to condition and quality. I guarantee that if I started slabbing my collection that many of them would be top census or tied with top census books. I take my collecting very serious and will defend how I collect any day of the week.

Sorry to the op for this sidetrack of your post.......................................

[Flaming_Telepath]

Its real easy to come into a public forum and smack talk someone you've never met and books you've never seen. I put a lot of time,care and consideration into the preservation of my books. I will be gosh darned if I'm gonna sit here and except all your smack talking about my books or the way I keep my books. I have over 10,000 books that range from 1973 to 1993, I stopped buying in 1993 due to the amount of garbage being published. I would gladly put my collection up against anyone of you smack talking punks collections any day any time with regards to condition and quality. I guarantee that if I started slabbing my collection that many of them would be top census or tied with top census books. I take my collecting very serious and will defend how I collect any day of the week.

Sorry to the op for this sidetrack of your post.......................................

 

'Smack talking'?

 

'Smack talking punks'?

 

I think somebody needs to chill.

[Flaming_Telepath]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

 

And as an aside, you were simply wrong.

 

Pointing this out is not 'smack talking'...it is simply pointing that, er, you were wrong.

[mystrymachine]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

 

And as an aside, you were simply wrong.

 

Pointing this out is not 'smack talking'...it is simply pointing that, er, you were wrong.

 

 

I think he might be refering to comments like this:

 

"For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to"

 

It's fine to correct someone if they're wrong about something but in my humble opinion comments like that aren't necessary to the topic are they?

 

[Flaming_Telepath]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

 

And as an aside, you were simply wrong.

 

Pointing this out is not 'smack talking'...it is simply pointing that, er, you were wrong.

 

 

I think he might be refering to comments like this:

 

"For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to"

 

It's fine to correct someone if they're wrong about something but in my humble opinion comments like that aren't necessary to the topic are they?

 

It was an amusing rant and it wasn't directed to anybody in particular and it wasn't 'smack talking' about anybody's collection.

 

If you can't take this sort of thing, you shouldn't be on the internet.

[mystrymachine]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

 

And as an aside, you were simply wrong.

 

Pointing this out is not 'smack talking'...it is simply pointing that, er, you were wrong.

 

 

I think he might be refering to comments like this:

 

"For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to"

 

It's fine to correct someone if they're wrong about something but in my humble opinion comments like that aren't necessary to the topic are they?

 

It was an amusing rant and it wasn't directed to anybody in particular and it wasn't 'smack talking' about anybody's collection.

 

If you can't take this sort of thing, you shouldn't be on the internet.

 

But the comment wasn't really necessary and that was my point. I'm not choosing sides on the subject as there are more important things in life .I was just showing an example of what may have offended him.

[Hero Restoration]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

 

And as an aside, you were simply wrong.

 

Pointing this out is not 'smack talking'...it is simply pointing that, er, you were wrong.

 

 

I think he might be refering to comments like this:

 

"For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to"

 

It's fine to correct someone if they're wrong about something but in my humble opinion comments like that aren't necessary to the topic are they?

 

It was an amusing rant and it wasn't directed to anybody in particular and it wasn't 'smack talking' about anybody's collection.

 

If you can't take this sort of thing, you shouldn't be on the internet.

 

But the comment wasn't really necessary and that was my point. I'm not choosing sides on the subject as there are more important things in life .I was just showing an example of what may have offended him.

 

 

 

 

[VintageComics]

And I'm with Sal and FFB on this one...too often it appears that we've morphed into 'The Land Of The Stupid' around here.

 

The collective IQ here is sad...oh how I used to enjoy real conversation here. It's not much more than a place for people to fart and burp...really.

 

Also, keep in mind that temperature CONSISTENCY matters too.

 

From what I understand, consistency is the biggest factor in the forming of acids and the deterioration of paper.

 

If you cannot control the heat and humidity, the best thing you can do is not allow those two to vary...or minimize it as much as possible.

 

What are your options?

 

Closet was suggested (a micro environment, if you will) but I'd add that it would be best NOT to store a book next to an outside wall if you live in a climate that changes temperature a lot as the wall will change temperature.

 

Micro chamber paper was mentioned and is available from some suppliers.

 

Mylar and Mylites (enclosed, not open top) are great.

 

Put all of these together and you might just have books that will outlast several generations.

 

 

 

[TheDanimal]

People worry about this too much. I keep my comics in a cool dark closet, smoke free, and my good stuff in mylars and mylites boxed. Best I can do and I'm sure my comics are going to outlive me.

 

Comic paper longevity is crazy long compared to other hobbies. Try collecting foam latex movie props as I used to do. This stuff starts rotting in a decade no matter what conditions you keep them in.

 

In comparison, I just don't worry about my comics. I do the best I can for them and everything is in great shape.

Edited April 4, 2010 by TheDanimal

[Moondog]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

Where I live it gets up around 110 to 120 during the summer, I've always kept my books in the garage and they have always been ok.

 

Come on, really? Do the Library of Congress's accelerated aging tests performed in high temperatures mean nothing to you?

 

This thread has some of the worst advice I've ever seen on the CGC forums and that's saying something.

 

There are three musts in comic storage: COOL, RELATIVELY DRY, DARK. These are not hard to remember.

 

These three things are more important than the "mylar vs. polybag" debate or the "shiny side vs. dull side of the backboard" debate. This is because HEAT, HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY, AND EXCESSIVE EXPOSURE TO UV RAYS DESTROY COMICS.

 

Polluted air also destroys comics. You can alleviate the effects of pollution by using boxes made of Microchamber paper or by inserting Microchamber paper into the books themselves.

 

To the original poster: Don't store your books in the attic, or in the :censored: basement. Store them in an interior closet in an air-conditioned room in the house where there is not a lot of variation in the three musts. If the books are junk that you don't care about, then why ask the question? Just set the damned books on fire and save yourself the storage problem.

 

There, you have the best advice you're going to get on the topic. Listen to it or ignore it, but my work is done here.

 

For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to.

 

And me, for that matter - you've made me end a sentence with a preposition, I'm so worked up!

 

This the best advice you can get on this topic. I sold over 800 million ComiCovers and none of them prevented the aging of the book inside.

 

Plastic bags prevent handling and storage damage only.

[Vpcomix72]

High temps are not really much problem. Humidity is the only worry you should have.

Where I live it gets up around 110 to 120 during the summer, I've always kept my books in the garage and they have always been ok.

 

Come on, really? Do the Library of Congress's accelerated aging tests performed in high temperatures mean nothing to you?

 

This thread has some of the worst advice I've ever seen on the CGC forums and that's saying something.

 

There are three musts in comic storage: COOL, RELATIVELY DRY, DARK. These are not hard to remember.

 

These three things are more important than the "mylar vs. polybag" debate or the "shiny side vs. dull side of the backboard" debate. This is because HEAT, HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY, AND EXCESSIVE EXPOSURE TO UV RAYS DESTROY COMICS.

 

 

Polluted air also destroys comics. You can alleviate the effects of pollution by using boxes made of Microchamber paper or by inserting Microchamber paper into the books themselves.

 

To the original poster: Don't store your books in the attic, or in the :censored: basement. Store them in an interior closet in an air-conditioned room in the house where there is not a lot of variation in the three musts. If the books are junk that you don't care about, then why ask the question? Just set the damned books on fire and save yourself the storage problem.

 

There, you have the best advice you're going to get on the topic. Listen to it or ignore it, but my work is done here.

 

For the love of christ, now I understand why Sal is starting nonsense threads with allcaps and no punctuation. Not that his threads before had any great comic topics being discussed, but at least they were written in proper English. Look what you've driven him to.

 

And me, for that matter - you've made me end a sentence with a preposition, I'm so worked up!

 

Absolute ing class!

 

 

And I'm with Sal and FFB on this one...too often it appears that we've morphed into 'The Land Of The Stupid' around here.

It was the comment about "Land of the stupid" that offended me.

FFB's post was informative and for the most part what the op was looking for.

If what I'm doing is considered wrong in the general consensus then by all means I would love to hear about better ways to protect my books. Making comments like these dont really help anybody. I'll "chill" when people stop making stupid unneeded comments..........................

Edited April 6, 2010 by Vpcomix72

[fantastic_four]

If what I'm doing is considered wrong in the general consensus then by all means I would love to hear about better ways to protect my books.

 

Don't advise people that high temperature is irrelevant nor that the garage is a good place to keep them as it runs counter to every bit of professional conservation opinion to be found in any library or paper-related hobby. I'm assuming here that your garage isn't temperature controlled since most aren't and you didn't explicitly say yours was.

[G.A.tor]

http://www.videojug.com/expertanswer/preserving-comic-books-2/how-can-light-and-temperature-damage-my-comic-books

[Vpcomix72]

If what I'm doing is considered wrong in the general consensus then by all means I would love to hear about better ways to protect my books.

 

Don't advise people that high temperature is irrelevant nor that the garage is a good place to keep them as it runs counter to every bit of professional conservation opinion to be found in any library or paper-related hobby. I'm assuming here that your garage isn't temperature controlled since most aren't and you didn't explicitly say yours was.

 

You are absolutely right in assuming that my garage is not temp controlled, it is not.

I was just relying on 35 years of storing my books in my garage and the fact that they are as crisp and bright as the day I bought them. Education is always welcome by me and anything new that I can learn from the many knowledgeable people here is too. What is not welcome is ignorant and blatant name calling and putting people down just because they think their way is better. People are always welcome to explain different methods that they use in a civil manner. I have never straight out called anybody stupid just because my way differed from theirs.