What do you guys do about displaying and humidity?

[Red_Five]

I live in a humid subtropical climate. Most of my collection is packed away in their boxes with only a few pieces on display. I recently checked the humidity inside the house (specifically the room where I have my collection) and it's 60-65%. It's got me thinking that I should do something to make sure they're protected from moisture...like a dehumidifier. What do you guys think...and what do you do for your own collections rooms?

 

[jedisquared]

I'm in MD, so my basement/mancave tends to be cool until like July/Aug...then I use a dehumidifier. No problems with UV light since the two small windows are covererd. I would think metal may react sooner than plastics, but I only have two MR lightsabers on display; most of my collection now is 1/6th scale figs.

 

[Sergiu]

For humidity protection especially inside the MR cases or inside enclosed cabinets you can also use the small silica gel packs, the ones that come with so many things when you buy new.

 

[VideoViper]

Get a dehumidifier not for the collection but to at least make it a room you'd want to be in. Even if it just storage space, you got to protect the house, then what's inside it.

 

[TRDNiteLife]

Nothing until I clicked this thread. I have a 30 pint dehumidifier arriving Monday.

 

[Red_Five]

I'm in MD, so my basement/mancave tends to be cool until like July/Aug...then I use a dehumidifier. No problems with UV light since the two small windows are covererd. I would think metal may react sooner than plastics, but I only have two MR lightsabers on display; most of my collection now is 1/6th scale figs.

For humidity protection especially inside the MR cases or inside enclosed cabinets you can also use the small silica gel packs, the ones that come with so many things when you buy new.

I have my props protected from UV light because I know how fast acting the sun is but I just don't know whether the humidity I have is something I should worry about it long term with my props. I like the idea of using the silica gel packs in the cases themselves.

 

[Red_Five]

Get a dehumidifier not for the collection but to at least make it a room you'd want to be in. Even if it just storage space, you got to protect the house, then what's inside it.

Nothing until I clicked this thread. I have a 30 pint dehumidifier arriving Monday.

Good point about protecting the house. I did a check with other rooms in the house again and the humidity is definitely higher in two of the rooms. I went and checked under the house (raised home) and the insulation is missing underneath both of these rooms. So I think I may have found part of my problem. Also the rooms are the farthest from the AC unit so that could possibly be a factor too with airflow.

I guess I'm going to be getting a dehumidifier now. That one looks good you're getting and a good size. I'm trying to figure out what size right now. I've read that some buy larger than what they need so that it does the job faster and isn't running constantly.

 

[Jagjaguwar]

Not sure how familiar everyone may be with these things, so thought I'd share my experience. With the dehumidifiers I've used you also generally have two options for how they deal with the water they create (since they're literally pulling water out of the air, and a LOT of it depending on humidity.) One solution is a hose going directly from the dehumidifier to a drain (works best in a basement), and the other is to use the water container on the unit itself. With the unit container you have to be mindful of when the unit fills up, since at that point it should shut itself off until the water is poured out. I've neglected to empty mine for a couple days in the past and it doesn't seem to take long for humidity to rise from the 40% I like to keep it at up to the natural 60+% we get here in summer (at least for inside the house. Higher outside of course.) In the summer mine can fill up in just a few days of operation. I've been able to keep at a pretty constant 40% humidity year round, here in the northern Midwestern USA, using the hose to drain option. During the winter it's generally dry enough to not run at all.