Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Typically when I run into this problem for common stamps I simply soak the stamps off. However, I have three better early stamps from Portugal that are partially stuck down and I'm wondering if there is a way I can save the gum (and at least some of the value).
Thanks!
Eric
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Eric,
I don't think you will be completely successful at removing the stamps, without disturbing or losing some of the gum.
Do you happen to have a cheap mint stamp that is also stuck to the page? If you do, perhaps you might firstly try cutting the stamp out but leaving a large margin. Then, holding the margin with tweezers, steam the back of the 'cut-out'. Don't drown it and avoid steaming the front; it may have been printed with fugitive ink
This may liquify the gum enough to tease the stamp off the paper. This test run should help you to guage the amount of steaming that will be needed. You can then decide whether or not to try the others.
A second method which might work but is more risky, is to use a product called 'Stamplift'. I think Lighthouse make this. It's really a soak method, used to remove stamps from paper/envelopes.
Gently saturating the back of the 'cut-out' album paper,(again a test run on a cheap stamp is preferable) with a watercolour brush dipped in the solution. This may slowly release the stamp with some of the gum still in place.
Please don't do this without testing either method first.
Perhaps others will have an alternative method.
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03:42:43pm
You need to trim out the stamp and use a sweat box, followed by placing it in a professional drying book.
Done right the stamp will be almost like new.
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I know folks here don't like this product, but I've used it effectively for just that situation, where mint stamps are stuck to a page or to each other: Stamp Lift. It does leave a bit of residue but a little dab will work. You apply it to the back of the paper and let it soak through, then gently, slowly tease the paper up the see if it lifts off the stamp. I put the entire piece on a blotting pad (stamp drying page will do), stamp face down, cut out paper on top. Again, a little drop to start with one corner, and if it seems to work, do other sections.
This process retains the original gum, where I think steaming will destroy the original gum.
Peter
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Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, especially the one about trying whatever I do on a cheap stamp first! Will get back to this thread if I discover a method that is successful for me.
Eric
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I've had a bit of a shock today. I keep my stamps in stockbooks and today I decided to do some rearranging, moving some from one book to another. I found a few were stuck in the stock book to the black page. These are used and mint. I teased them out with the tweezers, but a little white mark is left in the stockbook - which is paper from the back of the stamp. Not good.
We live in a Victorian cottage (built 1870), so the place is a bit vulnerable to the elements - some odd holes in the roof. But we have central heating, and in the main part of the house it's warm and comfortable. I keep my stockbooks - about 10 of them - in our spare bedroom, which I use as a dressing room (on account of somehow all the wardrobe space in our bedroom is used by my wife ... odd that?). Anyway, it's a cool, dry room and I thought they'd be OK in there.
What should I do to avoid this happening in future? And if in the course of rearranging I discover any more stamps stuck in the stock book, how should I deal with this?
Is there a better way of keeping stamps - would it be wise to move them all into albums with hinges or those plastic see-through mounts? This would be an enormous job - I have little time for stamping as it is!
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Strider,
By what you describe, moving your collection into different types of album storage media may not resolve this issue at all.
I think you might have to tackle the source of the problem first. It sounds like you have an underlying damp problem in the house.
Central heating may be giving you a false sense of security. Warmed air is not necessarily dry air. Do you have working ventilation in that room, such as an open wall vent or vent slots in your double glazing (if you have that). Without ventilation, any damp in the air will just circulate round the room and once the heating goes off, you are back to square one.
If I were in your position, the first 'cheap' thing I would do is pop into Screwfix or wherever and get a temperature/hygrometer gauge and monitor the room. Screwfix sell one for £11.99.
If the gauge indicates high humidity, you may then have to dig deeper. You may have a damp course problem (rising damp). Your walls are probably nine inch thick solid brick, which can hold a significant amount of moisture, then a layer of (probably lime) plaster, which may in turn be under wallpaper. If you have wallpaper, have a look under any loose bits. If you have mould (mold), then you have damp.
A damp detector (a cheap, two probe, battery powered device) can be useful testing specific areas of a wall or ceiling (or floor for that matter).
Rectify those holes in the roof, as moisture is probably penetrating the lath and plaster ceiling.
As an interim measure, the purchase of a trunk to house your collection will help. Just make sure you place one of those silica gel moisture collectors in with the collection; similar to those little sachets you get with new shoes or electrical equipment but much bigger. This will 'wick' any moisture in the trunk away from the albums.
My apologies to all for turning this thread into a DIY forum.
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You didn't mention how your books are stored. Make sure that they are standing up, and not lying down especially with something on top of them.
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Thanks to you both, Ningpo and Michael. I think I do indeed have a problem. Fixing this old house will take ages and will depend on our available funds - tight, needless to say, as we're living on a pension and a little part-time job. I'll definitely get a temperature/hygrometer - I'll need to bone up on how to read the humidity figures.
I think for the stamps my best bet in the short term is to get a couple of large enough plastic storage boxes with close fitting lids, and some silica gel. I've looked on line and there's quite a lot of info available - even some silica gel calculators. The problem I think will be where to keep the plastic boxes! I've measured the stockbooks, and shall begin lurking round shops with a tape measure today! Pity it's so close to Xmas - there's lots to be done at home without this.
I've checked my France used collection this morning - all is OK there. Not so the Sweden used book - three odd mint stamps in the back are stuck fast. I'm really mostly concerned about the many mint stamps in my engravers collections. I'll check through the books as soon as I can.
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Strider,
There's a lot of information about storing stamp collections on the web. Here's just a snippet I found on one site:
""Stamps and covers should be kept where humidity and temperatures are at safe and fairly consistent levels,†says Don Sundman, President of Mystic Stamp Company, which is nationally recognized as a philatelic leader.
Ideally, stamps should be stored at room temperature with a relative humidity of 50%,†adds Sundman. “High temperatures and humidity can activate the gum on the back of many stamps, which may cause them to stick to each other or to pages in stock books and albums.""
Another website states that humidity should range between 50% and 65% and room temperature should be between 15° to 21°.
Should you find that there is a problem with damp and you are in a financial position to rectify it, you may then have to draw out what moisture is already in the room, by either hiring or buying a dehumidifier; an excellent bit of kit.
Please feel free to contact me through the message system, if you need any information. I'll be happy to try to help.
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It's getting a bit better, but a bumpy road.
My first reaction yesterday was to buy an airtight plastic box for the albums and stockbooks. I ordered some silica gel on line. Got the box home and put the 10 albums in. Great fit. Then I found I could hardly lift it - hugely heavy. It seems it'll take a bit of management and where to put it?? It's in the bottom of a small wardrobe, but not easy to access.
Today I bought a couple of those plastic clothes storage bags that you suck the air out of with a vacuum cleaner. Like shrink wrap bacon. I can put silica gel in each bag and keep a couple of albums in each bag. Not sure what will be the ultimate destiny of the plastic box.
I checked my engraved stamps this morning before going to work. All OK. Phew!!
This evening I'm checking the older stockbooks with Newfoundland (only one sticker), Sarawak (OK) and used Finland - more than one sticker here. Dunno what I'll find in the remaining 6 stockbooks. Keep your fingers crossed!
The vacuum bags seem to be a good solution to me - each with some silica gel.
It's the monthly stamp club meeting tomorrow - I'll ask others if they've had this problem.
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"Today I bought a couple of those plastic clothes storage bags that you suck the air out of with a vacuum cleaner. Like shrink wrap bacon. I can put silica gel in each bag and keep a couple of albums in each bag. Not sure what will be the ultimate destiny of the plastic box."
You've made me nervous. I take it you're not going to suck the air out of those bags. I hope not. Please tell me you're just using these because of the convenience of their size.
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Oh dear. why not suck the air out? The aim is to get an airtight container, with some silica gel - the right amount by reference to the info on the web. Isn't it? So isn't sucking the air out a way of being sure that the bag is indeed airtight?
The silica gel hasn't arrived yet - due in a few days.
Or am I missing something?
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Your collection needs to breathe. Removing the air forcefully will probably result in all your stamps welding themselves either to each other or to the album page. Paper always has a tiny amount of natural moisture within it, which if put under pressure through a vacuuming process, will probably be squeezed out. If this moisture can't escape, it will cause the stamps to 'sweat'. This in turn could activate any gum and perhaps even cause mould spots to form.
A number of articles about stamp storage, recommend that albums are periodically opened page by page to allow air to circulate. My own experience bears this out. I use Hagner leaves within archival quality sleeves, stored in artist's ring binders. On a couple of Hagners in one of them, I noticed tiny moisture patches started to appear on the clear polyester strips.
I had in fact overloaded the ring binder (and the trunk where I store them), so all the pages were effectively tightly clamped together. It also happened to be an album which I had not touched for months. I relieved the pressure by taking out a number of pages and aired everything until the moisture dissipated.
You have to strike a balance here. If you choose to use the bags, store the albums upright with the silica gel pack but leave an opening in the seal (a bit like a vent) to allow air to circulate. Make sure you periodically, air the pages of each album.
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Hi Ningpo
I'm very glad to get that advice. Thank you very much for the trouble you've gone to in explaining this. I'll go up and open up the bags right now.
This storage question is turning into quite an epic!
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I've just found a post on another forum, from a highly experienced collector who lives in Kolkata, India. Collectors there can have a torrid time with their collections because of extreme humidity. The same can be said for certain parts of Australia; in fact any country within the tropics. This is his view:
"The ideal storage conditions for stamps are 45-55% relative humidity and 22-25 degree Celsius temperature with occasional (weekly or fortnightly) exposure to sunlight (not direct) and air and a hygrometer is an absolute necessity.
It is a great challenge to keep stamps resistant from foxing in Kolkata where the relative humidity during rainy season from June to early October is 80-85% on average and air-conditioning is not always helpful unless humidity, temperature and airflow are controlled rigidly.
I use silica gel (silicon dioxide) and calcium chloride crystals as hygroscopic agents though the latter is deliquescent in nature and if not placed in petridish or polycarbonate containers, can ruin the base surface.
Another important aspect of storing stamps is the use of stockbooks/albums/vario sheets made with acid-free paper for which pH testing pen is very useful. Deacidification sprays can be used if there is previous experience, otherwise not."
He must have a background in chemistry because he then expands further. I've only repeated it here to show how some collectors go to extreme measures (part of this is downright dangerous if you don't have the right knowledge):
"Another trick is using 1,4-dichloro-1,3,5-cyclohexatriene crystals (100gm/0.95cu.m) which primarily though a psocopterocide and thysanurocide but acts as an excellent dehumidifier. But this should not be used in proximity of scented stamps.
To treat foxing, an admixure of 4gm of mercuric chloride, 10gm 5-methyl-2-(propan-2-yl)-1,3,5-cyclohexatriene-1-ol, 200gm ethoxy ethane and 400gm 1,3,5-cyclohexatriene is useful, again if one has experience to deal with it."
Other collectors (usually based in the far east), use climatically controlled storage cabinets, such as wine coolers and camera dry cabinets, the latter of which has a 'peltier' device inside that transfers the moisture to the exterior. Such individuals of course have valuable collections, where the investment in these devices can be justified.
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Hi all;
@ Strider;
"Anyway, it's a cool, dry room and I thought they'd be OK in there.
What should I do to avoid this happening in future? And if in the course of rearranging I discover
any more stamps stuck in the stock book, how should I deal with this?
Is there a better way of keeping stamps - would it be wise to move them all into albums with
hinges or those plastic see-through mounts? This would be an enormous job - I have little time
for stamping as it is!"
NEVER store stamps in a spare room in a heated house, unless the spare room is kept at the same
temperature as the rest of the house!!! If the spare room is kept cooler than the rest of the house,
it will get very damp! You may not be aware of this until your stamps are ruined.
This happened to me and after several months of Winter the whole room smelled moldy and all my
clothes were ruined and had to be thrown in the trash!!
When warm air in a living space is cooled it contracts, but the moisture does not, so the humidity
will increase and do damage to anything that is sensitive to high humidity.
I always keep my stamps in a well heated in Winter, and air-conditioned in Summer space.
Just chillin'....
TuskenRaider
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"NEVER store stamps in a spare room in a heated house, unless the spare room is kept at the same temperature as the rest of the house!!! "
Every room is this partial log house is a different temperature. One end of the house where the wood stove is used for heat is HOT and as you move through the house you walk into different temperature zones.
I live in a rainforest area where moss & mold grows like wildfire & excess moisture always seems to be a problem.
I use DampRid High Capacity Moisture Absorber products (non-toxic & fragrance free). They also have bags that you can hang in your closets. I even keep one of the containers in my car and am amazed at the amount of moisture that is collected in a very short period of time. Check out their products on their website http://www.damprid.com/
My mint stamps are stored using Vario sheets in binders and stand upright on shelves in a spare bedroom. I keep that room's baseboard electric heater turned on low 9 months of the year with the ceiling fan turned on low. During the summer we seldom see rain so humidity during July & August are not a problem here. Last summer we didn't see rain for 4 months!
I have not had a problem with my mint stamps YET, but over the past few years I have slowly been disposing of my mint collection. I use the proceeds from my stamp sales to pay my living expenses rather than have them collecting dust & knowing that they will probably go to the recycling depot or get burned in my incinerator.
SO in my case I have found a solution on how to store mint stamps - Sell them to someone else and the problem goes elsewhere
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Hi Patches;
That's exactly what I do as well. I also heat a cabin with only wood, no furnace! I have a cat and
so must work on my stamps with the front bedroom door always closed. I also use a small electric
ceramic heater that has a built in fan. I also use the silica gel. Mine is the kind that have Tyvek
bags that can be recycled in the oven at 250F for several hours.
I make it up to my kitty (Pacey) by taking her outdoors whenever I'm outside to cut, split, or pile
wood, shovel snow or just go for a walk. We both have a lot of fun outside together.
Getting back on topic, whenever you heat air it expands, and so humidity decreases greatly.
Thanks for sharing your ideas with other members.
Keep on stampin'....
TuskenRaider
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It would seem that in the US of A and perhaps Canada too, silica gel is more readily available than over here in the UK.
I have only ever found one shop outlet that sold it in any form and that was in a small plastic trough with plastic domed grill.
I've just checked online for 'bulk' purchasing silica gel, as opposed to those silly little sachets. One seller in particular sells in quantities from 0.5 to 25 kilos (that's about 1 pound to 52.5 pounds). The prices for these amounts range from £8 to £123 (thats US$12 to US$187).
How is availability your way and how do our prices correspond with yours?
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Hi Ningpo;
Mine were sent to me as samples from a company that wholesales large amounts of it for industrial
uses. My Tyvek bags are 2 oz. & 4 oz. sizes. That size is more convenient to use and easy to recycle.
Sometimes I recycle on top of wood stove. My wood stove has an outer sheet metal shell and only
gets to 200-250 F.
If you Google Silica Gel packs, you should find several firms that will gladly send out samples.
Just stayin' dry....
TuskenRaider
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Thank you for your response TuskenRaider. I personally don't need any as I was lucky enough to have been given a small sackful of one pound bags (coincidentally Tyvek), when I was working for a US pharmaceutical company, last year.
I was really just probing such availability to the US/Canadian public out of curiosity. It seems that we in the UK do not find it easy to get hold of a lot of products. Not just this one but philatelic supplies generally. Reading other posts here, you seem to have an array of department store outlets which stock albums, album pages, protective sleeves, packets etc. etc.
Our bigger department stores like Staples (I think you have these in the States?) just don't seem to have these. Everything has to be sourced online (or through dealers at top prices); which isn't always successful. For instance, I can no longer find a certain make of archive quality protector sleeves.
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I recently started a post about moisture control inside the safe where I keep my stamps. I ended up going with a product called Damp Rid. I believe it is calcium chloride. It was inexpensive, but the convenience is the best part. It comes in a small plastic container that you dump a bag of product into. When it is used up, it is all liquid. Dump it down the toilet, dump in a new bag and that's it.
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08:03:40am
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Hi Everyone
Typically when I run into this problem for common stamps I simply soak the stamps off. However, I have three better early stamps from Portugal that are partially stuck down and I'm wondering if there is a way I can save the gum (and at least some of the value).
Thanks!
Eric
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Eric,
I don't think you will be completely successful at removing the stamps, without disturbing or losing some of the gum.
Do you happen to have a cheap mint stamp that is also stuck to the page? If you do, perhaps you might firstly try cutting the stamp out but leaving a large margin. Then, holding the margin with tweezers, steam the back of the 'cut-out'. Don't drown it and avoid steaming the front; it may have been printed with fugitive ink
This may liquify the gum enough to tease the stamp off the paper. This test run should help you to guage the amount of steaming that will be needed. You can then decide whether or not to try the others.
A second method which might work but is more risky, is to use a product called 'Stamplift'. I think Lighthouse make this. It's really a soak method, used to remove stamps from paper/envelopes.
Gently saturating the back of the 'cut-out' album paper,(again a test run on a cheap stamp is preferable) with a watercolour brush dipped in the solution. This may slowly release the stamp with some of the gum still in place.
Please don't do this without testing either method first.
Perhaps others will have an alternative method.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
08 Jul 2014
03:42:43pm
re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
You need to trim out the stamp and use a sweat box, followed by placing it in a professional drying book.
Done right the stamp will be almost like new.
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04:06:09pm
re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
I know folks here don't like this product, but I've used it effectively for just that situation, where mint stamps are stuck to a page or to each other: Stamp Lift. It does leave a bit of residue but a little dab will work. You apply it to the back of the paper and let it soak through, then gently, slowly tease the paper up the see if it lifts off the stamp. I put the entire piece on a blotting pad (stamp drying page will do), stamp face down, cut out paper on top. Again, a little drop to start with one corner, and if it seems to work, do other sections.
This process retains the original gum, where I think steaming will destroy the original gum.
Peter
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03:31:53pm
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, especially the one about trying whatever I do on a cheap stamp first! Will get back to this thread if I discover a method that is successful for me.
Eric
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
I've had a bit of a shock today. I keep my stamps in stockbooks and today I decided to do some rearranging, moving some from one book to another. I found a few were stuck in the stock book to the black page. These are used and mint. I teased them out with the tweezers, but a little white mark is left in the stockbook - which is paper from the back of the stamp. Not good.
We live in a Victorian cottage (built 1870), so the place is a bit vulnerable to the elements - some odd holes in the roof. But we have central heating, and in the main part of the house it's warm and comfortable. I keep my stockbooks - about 10 of them - in our spare bedroom, which I use as a dressing room (on account of somehow all the wardrobe space in our bedroom is used by my wife ... odd that?). Anyway, it's a cool, dry room and I thought they'd be OK in there.
What should I do to avoid this happening in future? And if in the course of rearranging I discover any more stamps stuck in the stock book, how should I deal with this?
Is there a better way of keeping stamps - would it be wise to move them all into albums with hinges or those plastic see-through mounts? This would be an enormous job - I have little time for stamping as it is!
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Strider,
By what you describe, moving your collection into different types of album storage media may not resolve this issue at all.
I think you might have to tackle the source of the problem first. It sounds like you have an underlying damp problem in the house.
Central heating may be giving you a false sense of security. Warmed air is not necessarily dry air. Do you have working ventilation in that room, such as an open wall vent or vent slots in your double glazing (if you have that). Without ventilation, any damp in the air will just circulate round the room and once the heating goes off, you are back to square one.
If I were in your position, the first 'cheap' thing I would do is pop into Screwfix or wherever and get a temperature/hygrometer gauge and monitor the room. Screwfix sell one for £11.99.
If the gauge indicates high humidity, you may then have to dig deeper. You may have a damp course problem (rising damp). Your walls are probably nine inch thick solid brick, which can hold a significant amount of moisture, then a layer of (probably lime) plaster, which may in turn be under wallpaper. If you have wallpaper, have a look under any loose bits. If you have mould (mold), then you have damp.
A damp detector (a cheap, two probe, battery powered device) can be useful testing specific areas of a wall or ceiling (or floor for that matter).
Rectify those holes in the roof, as moisture is probably penetrating the lath and plaster ceiling.
As an interim measure, the purchase of a trunk to house your collection will help. Just make sure you place one of those silica gel moisture collectors in with the collection; similar to those little sachets you get with new shoes or electrical equipment but much bigger. This will 'wick' any moisture in the trunk away from the albums.
My apologies to all for turning this thread into a DIY forum.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
You didn't mention how your books are stored. Make sure that they are standing up, and not lying down especially with something on top of them.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Thanks to you both, Ningpo and Michael. I think I do indeed have a problem. Fixing this old house will take ages and will depend on our available funds - tight, needless to say, as we're living on a pension and a little part-time job. I'll definitely get a temperature/hygrometer - I'll need to bone up on how to read the humidity figures.
I think for the stamps my best bet in the short term is to get a couple of large enough plastic storage boxes with close fitting lids, and some silica gel. I've looked on line and there's quite a lot of info available - even some silica gel calculators. The problem I think will be where to keep the plastic boxes! I've measured the stockbooks, and shall begin lurking round shops with a tape measure today! Pity it's so close to Xmas - there's lots to be done at home without this.
I've checked my France used collection this morning - all is OK there. Not so the Sweden used book - three odd mint stamps in the back are stuck fast. I'm really mostly concerned about the many mint stamps in my engravers collections. I'll check through the books as soon as I can.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Strider,
There's a lot of information about storing stamp collections on the web. Here's just a snippet I found on one site:
""Stamps and covers should be kept where humidity and temperatures are at safe and fairly consistent levels,†says Don Sundman, President of Mystic Stamp Company, which is nationally recognized as a philatelic leader.
Ideally, stamps should be stored at room temperature with a relative humidity of 50%,†adds Sundman. “High temperatures and humidity can activate the gum on the back of many stamps, which may cause them to stick to each other or to pages in stock books and albums.""
Another website states that humidity should range between 50% and 65% and room temperature should be between 15° to 21°.
Should you find that there is a problem with damp and you are in a financial position to rectify it, you may then have to draw out what moisture is already in the room, by either hiring or buying a dehumidifier; an excellent bit of kit.
Please feel free to contact me through the message system, if you need any information. I'll be happy to try to help.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
It's getting a bit better, but a bumpy road.
My first reaction yesterday was to buy an airtight plastic box for the albums and stockbooks. I ordered some silica gel on line. Got the box home and put the 10 albums in. Great fit. Then I found I could hardly lift it - hugely heavy. It seems it'll take a bit of management and where to put it?? It's in the bottom of a small wardrobe, but not easy to access.
Today I bought a couple of those plastic clothes storage bags that you suck the air out of with a vacuum cleaner. Like shrink wrap bacon. I can put silica gel in each bag and keep a couple of albums in each bag. Not sure what will be the ultimate destiny of the plastic box.
I checked my engraved stamps this morning before going to work. All OK. Phew!!
This evening I'm checking the older stockbooks with Newfoundland (only one sticker), Sarawak (OK) and used Finland - more than one sticker here. Dunno what I'll find in the remaining 6 stockbooks. Keep your fingers crossed!
The vacuum bags seem to be a good solution to me - each with some silica gel.
It's the monthly stamp club meeting tomorrow - I'll ask others if they've had this problem.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
"Today I bought a couple of those plastic clothes storage bags that you suck the air out of with a vacuum cleaner. Like shrink wrap bacon. I can put silica gel in each bag and keep a couple of albums in each bag. Not sure what will be the ultimate destiny of the plastic box."
You've made me nervous. I take it you're not going to suck the air out of those bags. I hope not. Please tell me you're just using these because of the convenience of their size.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Oh dear. why not suck the air out? The aim is to get an airtight container, with some silica gel - the right amount by reference to the info on the web. Isn't it? So isn't sucking the air out a way of being sure that the bag is indeed airtight?
The silica gel hasn't arrived yet - due in a few days.
Or am I missing something?
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Your collection needs to breathe. Removing the air forcefully will probably result in all your stamps welding themselves either to each other or to the album page. Paper always has a tiny amount of natural moisture within it, which if put under pressure through a vacuuming process, will probably be squeezed out. If this moisture can't escape, it will cause the stamps to 'sweat'. This in turn could activate any gum and perhaps even cause mould spots to form.
A number of articles about stamp storage, recommend that albums are periodically opened page by page to allow air to circulate. My own experience bears this out. I use Hagner leaves within archival quality sleeves, stored in artist's ring binders. On a couple of Hagners in one of them, I noticed tiny moisture patches started to appear on the clear polyester strips.
I had in fact overloaded the ring binder (and the trunk where I store them), so all the pages were effectively tightly clamped together. It also happened to be an album which I had not touched for months. I relieved the pressure by taking out a number of pages and aired everything until the moisture dissipated.
You have to strike a balance here. If you choose to use the bags, store the albums upright with the silica gel pack but leave an opening in the seal (a bit like a vent) to allow air to circulate. Make sure you periodically, air the pages of each album.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Hi Ningpo
I'm very glad to get that advice. Thank you very much for the trouble you've gone to in explaining this. I'll go up and open up the bags right now.
This storage question is turning into quite an epic!
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
I've just found a post on another forum, from a highly experienced collector who lives in Kolkata, India. Collectors there can have a torrid time with their collections because of extreme humidity. The same can be said for certain parts of Australia; in fact any country within the tropics. This is his view:
"The ideal storage conditions for stamps are 45-55% relative humidity and 22-25 degree Celsius temperature with occasional (weekly or fortnightly) exposure to sunlight (not direct) and air and a hygrometer is an absolute necessity.
It is a great challenge to keep stamps resistant from foxing in Kolkata where the relative humidity during rainy season from June to early October is 80-85% on average and air-conditioning is not always helpful unless humidity, temperature and airflow are controlled rigidly.
I use silica gel (silicon dioxide) and calcium chloride crystals as hygroscopic agents though the latter is deliquescent in nature and if not placed in petridish or polycarbonate containers, can ruin the base surface.
Another important aspect of storing stamps is the use of stockbooks/albums/vario sheets made with acid-free paper for which pH testing pen is very useful. Deacidification sprays can be used if there is previous experience, otherwise not."
He must have a background in chemistry because he then expands further. I've only repeated it here to show how some collectors go to extreme measures (part of this is downright dangerous if you don't have the right knowledge):
"Another trick is using 1,4-dichloro-1,3,5-cyclohexatriene crystals (100gm/0.95cu.m) which primarily though a psocopterocide and thysanurocide but acts as an excellent dehumidifier. But this should not be used in proximity of scented stamps.
To treat foxing, an admixure of 4gm of mercuric chloride, 10gm 5-methyl-2-(propan-2-yl)-1,3,5-cyclohexatriene-1-ol, 200gm ethoxy ethane and 400gm 1,3,5-cyclohexatriene is useful, again if one has experience to deal with it."
Other collectors (usually based in the far east), use climatically controlled storage cabinets, such as wine coolers and camera dry cabinets, the latter of which has a 'peltier' device inside that transfers the moisture to the exterior. Such individuals of course have valuable collections, where the investment in these devices can be justified.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Hi all;
@ Strider;
"Anyway, it's a cool, dry room and I thought they'd be OK in there.
What should I do to avoid this happening in future? And if in the course of rearranging I discover
any more stamps stuck in the stock book, how should I deal with this?
Is there a better way of keeping stamps - would it be wise to move them all into albums with
hinges or those plastic see-through mounts? This would be an enormous job - I have little time
for stamping as it is!"
NEVER store stamps in a spare room in a heated house, unless the spare room is kept at the same
temperature as the rest of the house!!! If the spare room is kept cooler than the rest of the house,
it will get very damp! You may not be aware of this until your stamps are ruined.
This happened to me and after several months of Winter the whole room smelled moldy and all my
clothes were ruined and had to be thrown in the trash!!
When warm air in a living space is cooled it contracts, but the moisture does not, so the humidity
will increase and do damage to anything that is sensitive to high humidity.
I always keep my stamps in a well heated in Winter, and air-conditioned in Summer space.
Just chillin'....
TuskenRaider
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12:33:00am
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
"NEVER store stamps in a spare room in a heated house, unless the spare room is kept at the same temperature as the rest of the house!!! "
Every room is this partial log house is a different temperature. One end of the house where the wood stove is used for heat is HOT and as you move through the house you walk into different temperature zones.
I live in a rainforest area where moss & mold grows like wildfire & excess moisture always seems to be a problem.
I use DampRid High Capacity Moisture Absorber products (non-toxic & fragrance free). They also have bags that you can hang in your closets. I even keep one of the containers in my car and am amazed at the amount of moisture that is collected in a very short period of time. Check out their products on their website http://www.damprid.com/
My mint stamps are stored using Vario sheets in binders and stand upright on shelves in a spare bedroom. I keep that room's baseboard electric heater turned on low 9 months of the year with the ceiling fan turned on low. During the summer we seldom see rain so humidity during July & August are not a problem here. Last summer we didn't see rain for 4 months!
I have not had a problem with my mint stamps YET, but over the past few years I have slowly been disposing of my mint collection. I use the proceeds from my stamp sales to pay my living expenses rather than have them collecting dust & knowing that they will probably go to the recycling depot or get burned in my incinerator.
SO in my case I have found a solution on how to store mint stamps - Sell them to someone else and the problem goes elsewhere
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Hi Patches;
That's exactly what I do as well. I also heat a cabin with only wood, no furnace! I have a cat and
so must work on my stamps with the front bedroom door always closed. I also use a small electric
ceramic heater that has a built in fan. I also use the silica gel. Mine is the kind that have Tyvek
bags that can be recycled in the oven at 250F for several hours.
I make it up to my kitty (Pacey) by taking her outdoors whenever I'm outside to cut, split, or pile
wood, shovel snow or just go for a walk. We both have a lot of fun outside together.
Getting back on topic, whenever you heat air it expands, and so humidity decreases greatly.
Thanks for sharing your ideas with other members.
Keep on stampin'....
TuskenRaider
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
It would seem that in the US of A and perhaps Canada too, silica gel is more readily available than over here in the UK.
I have only ever found one shop outlet that sold it in any form and that was in a small plastic trough with plastic domed grill.
I've just checked online for 'bulk' purchasing silica gel, as opposed to those silly little sachets. One seller in particular sells in quantities from 0.5 to 25 kilos (that's about 1 pound to 52.5 pounds). The prices for these amounts range from £8 to £123 (thats US$12 to US$187).
How is availability your way and how do our prices correspond with yours?
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Hi Ningpo;
Mine were sent to me as samples from a company that wholesales large amounts of it for industrial
uses. My Tyvek bags are 2 oz. & 4 oz. sizes. That size is more convenient to use and easy to recycle.
Sometimes I recycle on top of wood stove. My wood stove has an outer sheet metal shell and only
gets to 200-250 F.
If you Google Silica Gel packs, you should find several firms that will gladly send out samples.
Just stayin' dry....
TuskenRaider
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
Thank you for your response TuskenRaider. I personally don't need any as I was lucky enough to have been given a small sackful of one pound bags (coincidentally Tyvek), when I was working for a US pharmaceutical company, last year.
I was really just probing such availability to the US/Canadian public out of curiosity. It seems that we in the UK do not find it easy to get hold of a lot of products. Not just this one but philatelic supplies generally. Reading other posts here, you seem to have an array of department store outlets which stock albums, album pages, protective sleeves, packets etc. etc.
Our bigger department stores like Staples (I think you have these in the States?) just don't seem to have these. Everything has to be sourced online (or through dealers at top prices); which isn't always successful. For instance, I can no longer find a certain make of archive quality protector sleeves.
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re: How to remove mint stamps partially stuck down on album pages
I recently started a post about moisture control inside the safe where I keep my stamps. I ended up going with a product called Damp Rid. I believe it is calcium chloride. It was inexpensive, but the convenience is the best part. It comes in a small plastic container that you dump a bag of product into. When it is used up, it is all liquid. Dump it down the toilet, dump in a new bag and that's it.
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