This week, we’ll be talking about our next enemy: Heat.

There are two issues with heat as far as your collections go. First, we have a bit of a chemistry-based issue. Higher temperatures increase chemical reaction rates and many deterioration processes are due to chemical reactions. So storing your item somewhere hot will cause it to deteriorate faster, even in the absence of other risk factors, such as light, which we talked about here. Secondly, higher temperatures usually result in lower relative humidity levels. If you missed it, we discussed problems related to humidity here.

Some items that can be damaged by heat include plastics, photos and negatives, paintings, and musical instruments. For these materials, avoid rapid changes in temperature, which can cause rapid humidity fluctuations. Plastics and photographic negatives are particularly susceptible to chemical degradation, which is accelerated at high temperatures. Avoid storing them in areas that can get very warm, such as attics or garages. You also want to keep in mind that when very cold, plastics get brittle and are vulnerable to damage from dropping or crushing. Again, don’t store them in places like attics and garages, since these areas tend to experience extremes and rapid changes in temperature and humidity levels.

Where do you store your vulnerable treasures? Tell me in the comments.

Check out the next post in the collection care series here.

Missed the previous posts? Start at the beginning of the collection care series here.

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