I am testing vacuum sealing cards for water protection

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Preliminary results were positive. May get a small sealer to try more tests frequently (this one was my brother’s). My goal was to recreate the BGS inner sleeve without having to laminate the card. [to clarify: said BGS inner sleeves are not waterproof. I am trying to create a waterproof seal that takes up as little space as possible and does not obstruct card view. Basically a perfect fit sized clear sleeve that is sealed on every side. This will ideally protect cards from humidity damage and flooding]

I’m keeping an eye on the sealed cards to see if any water slowly leaks in over time but 4 hours post test both cards are looking solid after 10 second submerge.

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Did you just sous vide a PSA card

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Technically, yes

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I prefer mine cooked medium rare

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After no signs of damage 5 hours after the 10 minute submerge, I submerged for an hour, including running water over the cards. I’ve just removed them from the bowl of water and am letting air dry.

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I have a foodsaver that I use to vacuum seal things for the freezer. Those hold up well for up to a year (and rarely over when they get too buried and get lost in there).

I’ve also vacuum sealed various items years ago that are still holding vacuum well (which would also be watertight). I’ve contemplated vacuum sealing bricks of certain cards I don’t intend to do anything with anytime soon, but just haven’t done it. Could definitely provide some added peace of mind in certain storage areas/setups.

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So is a PSA slab on it’s own not waterproof? How long until the water comes in? Sometimes I notice the label is wavy as if moisture has got in but the card is fine.

I remember reading that someone’s slabbed sports cards were ruined because moisture from the air got into the slabs whilst being stored in their basement or something. Also someone on here said they tested a slab by boiling it in water and it was fine but that contradicts another thread about testing how resistant to heat slabs are, I believe they started warping at temperatures below the boiling point of water

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@gottaketchumall, neat! maybe we can coordinate a test

@shinycards, no, not on its own, if fully submerged in water it will get drops of water in fairly quick

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Boiled Pokemon Cards taste great.

The more expensive they are, the better they taste.

Holo’s are also good when they are slow cooked.

When the economy tanks, and I can’t feed my family.

I am going to force feed them some ‘Base-Set Noodle Soup’.

It goes good with some chunks of E4 Promo garnish.

Whatever you do, don’t add a Vileplume to it, otherwise you will end up with food poisoning.

Other than that it’s Delicious.

I’m waiting on Gordan Ramsey to do a Charizard Hot Pot.

Boy… all this talk is making me hungry.

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It’s now a day later and they look great . No signs of damage. I think this is super promising for anything you keep in storage especially and don’t open too often as the seal is single use. Even a full binder could likely be preserved with the right method.

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Water submerge:

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Results after overnight air dry of exterior plastic seal:

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I am now submerging again for a full day (approx 18 hours) and then will move on to other tests.

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i sous vide and food save and im gonna guess it should hold forever as long as the seal is good (which is 99% of the time)

you should double seal both sides of that bag imo. basically vac+seal, then slide it down half an inch, and hit seal again

there will be four seal lines in total.

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Haha love it :grin:

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My biggest fear would actually be trapped humidity inside the case long term. I’ve seen people’s cards from inside sealed safes get wrecked long term by trapped humidity through cases.

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Oh god, a new anxiety to worry about

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If you aren’t storing your collectibles somewhere humidity controlled, definitely use desiccant.

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What if you vacuum sealed it along with packs of desiccant on the back of the case?

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Dessicant requires periodic reactivation. This would also disrupt the visual appeal.

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I had the understanding that it only requires reactivation if it gets saturated with water/moisture. In this scenario it’s there to get rid of any existing moisture already on/inside the case, then it won’t need to absorb any more afterwards. Just curious whether this would work. The visual appeal aspect I totally get.