You dropped the cash on the stored so they stand the test of time is the next challenge. Without proper care and storage conditions, photographs can fade, discolor, accumulate mold and even crack into bits. Here are some tips to assure your photos will last for generations as well as ways to store and display them on your own.
Keeping Your Photos
* Always store your photos in climate-controlled environments; areas such as the basement or attic are not good places. Humidity encourages mold growth and dryness causes cracking and brittleness. The first floor of your house is a good location for storing as it tends to be the coolest and most stable in temperature.
* Keeping stored photos against an inside wall helps as outside walls tend to fluctuate in temperature.
* A relative humidity (RH) level of 30%-50% is ideal.
* Protect photos from deterioration by storing them only in file folders.
* Make certain your photo albums do ''not'' have magnetic pages. Those pages are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is a softening agent and may discolor your photos.
* If mounting your photos in a scrapbook, do not use rubber cement. It is made with a sulfur compound and may turn your photographs yellow.
Monitor Humidity
Storage Items
Storage Recommendations
Use any of the items below for stylish and effective storage of your photographs.
