drying agent for storage

Hi, I wish to store some books that are put in large plastic bags in
carboard boxes. What would be an inexpensive drying agent to put in with
them, to absorb any moisture that might be in there ? many thanks.

I'm posting this also to rec.collecting.books.

An old post discusses the issues involved with such
preservation: http://snipurl.com/ngoi
Kris

Many thanks. very interesting. I did some searches on 'Silica Gel' and it
seems quite expensive to buy. Somebody suggest ordinary cooking salt
since we know it absorbs moisture if left unopened. Is this a
possibility?

I wish to store some books that are put in large plastic bags
in carboard boxes. What would be an inexpensive drying agent
to put in with them, to absorb any moisture that might be in
there ?

Take them out of the bags, punch holes in the boxes and get
a dehumidifier for the room.

Silica gel can only deal with a limited amount of moisture.
If you don't use enough, or if more moisture gets in, you
won't fix the problem.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 09:50:54 GMT, "jw 1111"
wrote:

Hi, I wish to store some books that are put in large plastic bags in
carboard boxes. What would be an inexpensive drying agent to put in with
them, to absorb any moisture that might be in there ? many thanks.

I'm posting this also to rec.collecting.books.

An old post discusses the issues involved with such
preservation: http://snipurl.com/ngoi
Kris

Many thanks. very interesting. I did some searches on 'Silica Gel' and it
seems quite expensive to buy. Somebody suggest ordinary cooking salt
since we know it absorbs moisture if left unopened. Is this a
possibility?

Dependant upon the type, age and/or value of those books, and the
amount of time you plan storing them (years?), you might wish to
invest in archival supplies (bags and boxes).

Michael

"mdobson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 09:50:54 GMT, "jw 1111"
wrote:

Hi, I wish to store some books that are put in large plastic bags in
carboard boxes. What would be an inexpensive drying agent to put in
with
them, to absorb any moisture that might be in there ? many thanks.

I'm posting this also to rec.collecting.books.

An old post discusses the issues involved with such
preservation: http://snipurl.com/ngoi
Kris

Many thanks. very interesting. I did some searches on 'Silica Gel' and it
seems quite expensive to buy. Somebody suggest ordinary cooking salt
since we know it absorbs moisture if left unopened. Is this a
possibility?

Dependant upon the type, age and/or value of those books, and the
amount of time you plan storing them (years?), you might wish to
invest in archival supplies (bags and boxes).
Michael

thanks to all. with ref to above post what is different about these bags
and boxes from ordinary carboard or plastic boxes and plastic bin liners,
please?

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:14:56 GMT, "jw 1111"
wrote:

thanks to all. with ref to above post what is different about these bags
and boxes from ordinary carboard or plastic boxes and plastic bin liners,
please?

For archival durations, polythene is permeable to moisture. If you
really want to keep moisture out (which you don't anyway) then it needs
to be lined with an aluminium coating. Just look at a crisp bag.

There are also issues of plasticiser leachout. There are no "archival"
polythene bags (for direct contact with artefacts) because the additives
that make the plastic flexible can transfer into the book over time,
discolouring or damaging the surface. For things like transparent
jackets in close contact with the book, use polyester (Mylar), not
polyethylene.

It's all relative though. If you're just putting "typical" books into
the garage for storage over winter and you're worried about risk of
leaks, then a couple of layers of black bin liner are fine. Personally I
use builder's merchant rubble sacks (£3 / 10) because they're heavier
gauge polythene and less likely to rip.

--
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