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Humidity Level for Storing Comics?

Started by mlovest,

82 posts in this topic

PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
Posted

 

Raven,

 

Great link. When a comic book with semi-brittle pages is restored can you also get the pages put through this Mass Deacidification process?

 

SS - the Mass Deacdification wouldn't be used with comic books. It is usually used in libraries etc where large quantities of paper will be deacified. Just think of it as deacidification.

 

Aside from that, while deacidification will greatly lessen the continuing brittleness, deacidification won't remove brittleness. The brittleness is a factor of the cellulose in the paper deteriorating. Deacidification won't put the cellulose back, just help stave off further deterioration.

 

Strengthening the paper is a lot of work and I honestly don't know of any techniques that would be practical for a comic book, beyong some wildly artifiial method such as laminating the pages individually just for the sake of preserving them (which may not be unheard of in something like an Action 1 that is too brittle to hold anymore. There have been methods used that cause a methyl cellulose solution to impregnate paper under vaccuum pressure, and then freeze-drying the result. This may work - it is an older twechnique and have not followed it - but it adds thickness to the paper (the freeze-drying part allows the wtted paper to be frozen and then dried by having the frozen liquid go directly from solid to gas without going through the liquid stage.)

 

I honestly doubt any restorer is going to have equipment like this though.

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FFB

FFB

Posted
Posted

 

Raven,

 

Great link. When a comic book with semi-brittle pages is restored can you also get the pages put through this Mass Deacidification process?

 

Most of the top comic book restoration pros will advise against deacidification because it is not yet a proven technique. There is some evidence and resulting concern that deacidification chemicals added to ground pulp paper actually speed up the absorption of atmospheric pollutants (sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which turn into sulphuric acid and nitric acid when exposed to moisture in the air) by the treated paper, and that the end result is that the paper may become acidic again on a more accelerated timeframe.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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Anyone out there know the best humidity level in which to store comic books?

 

What city and state do you live in? What is the relative humidity there during the different seasons? I've been trying to figure out the best way to use my dehumidifier on the East Coast of the US in Virginia for the last few years, and I've found that the average humidity level in your area makes a pretty big difference in the best technique to use to keep humidity at a managably low level.

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FFB

FFB

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Anyone out there know the best humidity level in which to store comic books?

 

What city and state do you live in? What is the relative humidity there during the different seasons? I've been trying to figure out the best way to use my dehumidifier on the East Coast of the US in Virginia for the last few years, and I've found that the average humidity level in your area makes a pretty big difference in the best technique to use to keep humidity at a managably low level.

 

James,

 

Didn't you say before that you had problems with maintaining lower temperatures when you ran your dehumidifier in the room where you keep your comics?

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PovertyRow

PovertyRow

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Most of the top comic book restoration pros will advise against deacidification because it is not yet a proven technique.

 

Deacidificaiton has gone through sopme tough times. In the old days the Vapor Phase Deacidification (VPD) process of inserting sheets of ppaer impregnated with a chemical was popular - until it was revealed it generally made things worse. The Russians devised a spray that held great promise until the newspapers they used for tests, whcih had remained pristine white for a few years, suddenly starting looking like old shellac.

 

The deacidification thing has gone on as a very commonplace thing in movie posters for many years. Magnesium carbonate seems to be the most popular deacidification agent. I remember first hearing about it close to 20 years ago - so wonder what kind of time studies have been done. I also wonder how many pro comic book restorers have spoken with the pro movie poster restorers for their insights into effects of deacidification. It would be an interesting and hopefully educational exchange.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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Didn't you say before that you had problems with maintaining lower temperatures when you ran your dehumidifier in the room where you keep your comics?

 

Yep, that's why I asked where he lives. Dehumidifiers don't work below 70 degrees, and they kick out a lot of heat, making it very difficult to achieve ideal conditions if you're living in a high-humidity region. It was quite frustrating my first year of using the dehumidifier...the unit was supposed to suck out the humidity, but in the process of doing that, I'd often find the temp in my comic room hovering in the mid-to-upper-80s when the rest of the house was 72 degrees!!! 893whatthe.gif893frustrated.gif

 

Low 70s temp and 45% to 50% humidity is about the best you can hope for on the East Coast unless you have a window unit installed SPECIFICALLY in the room where your dehumidifier is...but that's better than the normal 60% to sometimes 80% uncontrolled humidity we sometimes have here in Virginia.

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tth2

tth2

Posted
Posted
Didn't you say before that you had problems with maintaining lower temperatures when you ran your dehumidifier in the room where you keep your comics?

 

Yep, that's why I asked where he lives. Dehumidifiers don't work below 70 degrees, and they kick out a lot of heat, making it very difficult to achieve ideal conditions if you're living in a high-humidity region. It was quite frustrating my first year of using the dehumidifier...the unit was supposed to suck out the humidity, but in the process of doing that, I'd often find the temp in my comic room hovering in the mid-to-upper-80s when the rest of the house was 72 degrees!!! 893whatthe.gif893frustrated.gif

 

Low 70s temp and 45% to 50% humidity is about the best you can hope for on the East Coast unless you have a window unit installed SPECIFICALLY in the room where your dehumidifier is...but that's better than the normal 60% to sometimes 80% uncontrolled humidity we sometimes have here in Virginia.

 

I keep 2 dehumidifiers PLUS the airconditioner going in my comic room for about 8 months of the year, and the dehumidifiers at all times. HK's summer climate is like Virginia/DC, a few degrees cooler but a few percentage points more humid. If you buy one of the newer ultra-quiet dehumidifiers, it should work even below 70 degrees, mine still work into the high 50s. Of course, the winters here are still very damp. Perhaps yours don't work so well below 70 because the humidity has dropped off quite a bit by then?

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Silver Surfer

Silver Surfer

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Pv, some good information and very well written, no typo's. Did you get your secretary to type it? tongue.gifstooges.gifthumbsup2.gif

 

Thanks. But no, that was me. The fifth word, "sopme", tends to give it away. crazy.gif

 

27_laughing.gif How could I miss that. I am notorious with typo's myself and I usually have to reread my stuff 3 or 4 times and I still miss mistakes. flowerred.gif

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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I keep 2 dehumidifiers PLUS the airconditioner going in my comic room for about 8 months of the year, and the dehumidifiers at all times.

 

I really do need to get a window A/C unit to accompany the dehumidifier. That's about the best holy grail environment I can think of achieving in one's house in high humidity regions. I collect about a gallon a day in mine set to about 40% power; if I set it up to 100% power, it would suck 2-3 gallons a day in the summer and the humidity would go down to 30% to 35%, but the temp would shoot up to 85-90 degrees with no extra A/C! frown.gif

 

 

If you buy one of the newer ultra-quiet dehumidifiers, it should work even below 70 degrees, mine still work into the high 50s. Of course, the winters here are still very damp. Perhaps yours don't work so well below 70 because the humidity has dropped off quite a bit by then?

 

The humidity seems to drop off when late fall hits and the temperature goes below 50 degrees consistently. The time period I have the trouble with is mid-fall and mid-spring, when the temp is in the mid-to-high 60s. At that temperature, humidity can get up to 60% here, yet the dehumidifier does nothing about it.

 

Where'd you get your "newer ultra-quiet" dehumidifier? How would I identify such a thing? I bought the highest-capacity one I could find from Home Depot sometime in 2001 or 2002. I tried to look for features on them prior to purchasing one, but I couldn't figure out how any brand differed from another other than the amount of water the container holds until it fills up.

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blowout

blowout

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If you buy one of the newer ultra-quiet dehumidifiers, it should work even below 70 degrees, mine still work into the high 50s.

 

Does anyone have any further information and/or links about the best dehumidifiers on the market?

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mlovest

mlovest

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I'm living in the LA area now toward the beach areas. I don't have central A/C anymore, and I bought a de-humidifier. The trouble is since my collection is in a closed room, the de-humid actually heats up the room. I can get the humidity to 50% easy, but the temp goes up to around 80 degrees.

 

V/R,

Mike

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