I hear he still lurks every now and then.
You’re better off allowing your items to breathe. Not that your conditions are this extreme but imagine the difference between putting hot Tupperware leftovers in the fridge with the lid on vs the lid off. The idea is you want to give any moisture in the material or contained air somewhere to go
Thank you. That makes sense. Now I’m deciding whether to get these protective cases, since they negate the breathing you mentioned.
If you don’t expose your collection to intense fluctuations of temperature and humidity changes, you will almost certainly be fine
I very much agree with @pfm here.
The concern with not letting it breathe is the moisture can be trapped and build. When moisture is trapped and the temperature has a shift, you can approach issues with storage because the RH will shift as the mosture from the item releases so to speak.
The issue with open and letting them breathe is it is often more difficult to control the humidity and temperature as a whole since you constantly have ‘new air’ but it isnt impossible at all. Hence why some use dry cabinets because it lets them breathe while also controlling the RH.
Personally, my main concern is sprinklers and water damage. I live in a location that has automatic fire sprinklers that would drench anything if they went off so a dry cabinet was out of the question. I need something sealed and water proof. Therefore, I needed a solution that couldnt let it breathe so I got a waterproof container and made sure to keep reuseable mini dehumidifer to fight any moisture buildup. Once I had a waterproof solution, the main concern was as @pfm said, what happens when I put things in and seal it? The RH would climb. There is a small monitor in there where I can open it and see the RH and it is very consistently at 17% RH. If that number ever changes significantly + 10% then I know my case needs to be replaced or something is wrong with the reusable dehumidifier . Sure that is lower than many people listing here but that is how sealed vs dry cabinet is. I say all this to show everyone will have a slightly different solution because their environment and concerns for storage are different. Some its humidity, temperature, theft, fire sprinklers, UV, display etc.
Of course nothing will stop our cards from curving very slightly for the holo, but @pfm is right. As long as you keep the RH and temperature relatively consistent, almost any temp and RH will work (within reason not 100F 100% RH lol). Feel free to correct me on anything above. I dont claim to be an expert in storage. Just someone who stressed wayyy too much about it a few years ago and had some wonderful people help me.
(also alot of this information is stolen from learning from @silversnorlax204 when they helped me with my collection concerns 2 years ago. Absolute legend.)
Thank you. To say that was helpful is an understatement. I have opened my acrylic boxes containing the slabs to allow them to breathe inside the dry cabinet.
I have another question with the breathing: should I let them out of the team bags? The sticky side of the team bag looks disgusting after it’s been opened a few times.
Happy to help.
This may be question for someone else since I am not sure. However, the teambags that I use arent air tight. I would imagine moisture isnt an issue in a team bag because the humidity isnt trapped because its not air tight similar to a top loader and penny sleeve. There is still a pathway for the moisture. They more protect against dust and are just an extra layer of plastic. Similar to a binder. You dont worry about binders and letting them breathe. @pfm or someone else, am I off base here? I would hate to give false information.
Thank you
What dry cabinet do you guys prefer using? Any suggestions on what I should look for when purchasing one? Im looking to get one that stores like 7 binders and some slabs as well.
How do I tell whats accurate between my Dry Cabinet and a ThermPro reading different temps and humidity?
Where is the thermopro reading from/mounted?
The dry cabinet is probably reading from inside the cabinet?
For all those in the UK a biscuit tin works fine.
I live in SoCal, so I just pay a sunshine tax, and nature handles it for me, most of the time.
The ThermoPro is on the inside of the cabinet. Not sure which ones right or calibrated correctly. I live in SoCal as well haha
well, some cities around here get downright muggy and then dry, so it was a general statement, but you probably know… Other places stay super consistent. Do you also not have AC?
That IS strange. Yes. One must be uncalibrated. Maybe take the thermopro out and see what it reads so you can tell how much the cabinet is actually doing.
Yeah, no AC atm but looking to get it in the future. I’ll take your advice and see what it reads outside the cabinet as well.
My Pringle holos beg to differ.
So this thread is somewhat old but I have another question to add to this onion layer…
…acid free storage!
So many tcg storage boxes and likely dry cupboards as mentioned in this thread are likely made in China and use chemicals that will release over time and could damage vintage cardboard.
I’m aware that museums and vintage document collectors use acid free storage boxes, within a temperature/ humidity controlled environment.
I may be scraping the bottom of the barrel but has anyone thought about this?
Graded slabs may not be impacted as they are in a slab, but always curious haha.
Also can anyone recommend an electric dry cupboard?
By the time storage boxes (made in China or not) physically deteriorate in interior conditions, I would say both you and me would no longer be around to cherish said cards
Regarding acid-free substances, the more important one would be the sleeves/binders you choose. Anything that physically touches the cards should be acid-free. Once your card is protected by this layer of plastic, the acidity of a cardboard box becomes irrelevant.