5 things you shouldn’t store in your attic

It's a handy storage space, but not for everything!

Much like the garage, your attic is a perfect storage black hole — things often get put up there, never-to-return. But if you've spent years packing bits and bobs in the space above your house without much thought, you might want to reconsider.

Most attic spaces are subject to extremes of temperature and fluctuating humidity, which make them an unsuitable place to store certain things. It's time to pull down the ladder and have a dig around at what's up there. Here's our list of things you shouldn't store in your attic.

1. Old tech

VCRs, TVs, smartphones, laptops and games consoles - any delicate electronics - shouldn’t be kept where there are big fluctuations in temperature and high humidity levels such as an attic. Moisture can easily collect inside and damage them. If you no longer need them, consider selling on eBay instead of storing.

2. Photographs or picture albums

Your recent memories may all be in digital format but how sad would it be if old family or wedding albums, slides or negatives got damaged from exposure to excessive heat and cold? Remember, wherever you do store them, it needs to be away from direct sunlight so they don’t fade.

3. Books

If you are a bookworm, it’s an insect called silverfish that you need to worry about. They love to nibble on starchy substances, such as wallpaper or the glue in book bindings - and they are often found in attics. Books stored in the attic can also get damp and if they do, mould and mildew can grow and cause damage.

4. Paper

If you have papers that need to be preserved, like tax return information and birth/marriage certificates, don’t shove them in the attic. These things should ideally be stored in a fireproof safe or filing cabinet in the house itself.

5. Video and Audio Tapes

Due to age related deterioration, if you have old family video tapes, or archives of your precious reel to reels, lps and cassettes stored in the attic, these should immediately be removed and housed in a stable environment, before the damage is irreparable. Binder deterioration is fast becoming a major issue in the archive world and one that we must highlight to clients.

Kind Regards

Cheryl

Cheryl-Lee Foulsham

Director

Oxford Duplication Centre

Corporate, Heritage and Consumer Digitisation

T: 01865 457000

Open Hours: Monday to Thursday 8-4pm, Friday 8-3pm

www.oxfordduplicationcentre.com

cheryl@oxfordduplicationcentre.com

Comments

How to Digitise Glass Plate Negatives | Oxford Archiving

The Preservation of The Curnock Glass Plate Negatives Introduction Our services ( @OxfordDuplicat1 ) are highly recommended in the UK for specialist photographic film scanning. Trusted to our company, we are preparing The Curnock glass plate collection, held at Oxford Brookes University and part of the @MethodistGB collection. Almost all archives possess some type of photographic collection. Many individuals typically think of “photographs” as plastic-based negatives and slides; but these photographic techniques are relatively recent inventions. Prior to the invention of cellulose nitrate film in 1903, photographic emulsions were made on glass supports. These glass supports are typically referred to as glass plate negatives. The term “glass plate negative” refers to two separate formats: the collodion wet plate negative and the gelatin dry plate. Both of these formats consist of a light sensitive emulsion that is fixed to the glass plate base with a binder. Dozens of photog...

Vellum Document Deed Scanning in Oxfordshire

One of our most interesting orders came in today in the form of a vellum property deed dating back nearly 200 years. We were asked to prepare a digital copy so our client could preserve the original. After assessment we decided on which scanner to use and scanned the deed to a high quality Archival TIFF file before applying post production tone and sharpening. The results were stunning and a wonderful image produced. Interesting fact: To ensure you could prove a duplicate copy, some deeds had a defined curved wave cut out at the top. This meant the original's replica could be matched 100% to the original, safeguarding fraud. What is vellum? Vellum is prepared animal skin or "membrane", typically used as a material for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. The word is derived from the Latin word vitulinum meaning "made from calf". Typically deeds are folded and stored. Alth...

Preserving Family Memories - caring for your heritage

Memories are an important part of all our lives. Old letters, photographs, scrapbooks, slides and negatives, glass plates, cine film, audio-visual tapes and many other things help us to recall our past and the history of our family and communities. All of these things, however, are subject to decay and eventual destruction if they are not cared for properly. Oxford Duplication Centre in Kidlington can support all our clients with digitisation of all consumers, corporate and heritage scanning and digitisation. Please do email cheryl@oxfordduplicationcentre.com or contact us 01865 457000 to discuss your project. Letters, Diaries, Books and Documents. Many families preserve letters, diaries, or other written documents in which family members discuss their life and times. World War II remembrances have led many families to look for a relative's carefully stored letters. Other families have saved newspaper clippings of important family events, such as the announcemen...

Oxford Duplication Centre Ltd

Search This Blog