Hi all,
Since this is my first post here, let me say thank you for your contributions to this forum.
Now let’s focus on my question.
In the past, I had my house on fire and I could see how fire and water can affect collectibles.
Speaking of fire, there is little you can do, but graded cards are safe against water and moisture, since they’re plastic sealed.
I put my raw cards I want to expose in the one touch cases (ultrapro), which are perfect not counting the fact that they let air come in.
I tried covering them with their resealable bags, but still they have holes in which air can pass. I also tried the vacuum sealer, but I guarantee you it’s not a good choice.
Yup, but I would like something to keep them exposed (on a shelf or on the wall) as with a one-touch.
(Houndoom is caring the place for Ho-oH for sure ahahah)
I always insert sleeved cards backwards into toploaders / cardsavers (with the open end facing in) so that reduces air / dust exposure. I put them in boxes/drawers in a dry area of the house (I run a dehumidifier there in the summer as well).
Also, when I get any of those silica gel packets in boxes or whatever, I put them in my collection drawers lol.
The User Snorlax ( and a few numbers behind the name snorlax, unluckily i dont know if he is here too under a new name ) helped me out with this.
Since heat will deform your Graded Cards even in most Standard FireproofSafes there is a Budget Alternative i am very happy with.
You combine a Transformer Fire Safe with a Normal Safe to reach full Protection vs Fire with only 1/4 the Cost.
Sry i know this wasnt your Question. Saw too many Posts about a Fire which killed Years of Collecting and there is this easy and cheap Method more People should heared of.
Moisture issues are primarily from humidity. Humidity is primarily a problem when you have low airflow and large swings in temperature.
If you have the ability to maintain a generally constant temperature and keep the relative humidity to a minimum, you shouldn’t have many issues.
The only time I’ve seen humidity become a genuine problem to graded cards is someone from the desert in America (ie high swings in temperature between day and night) with cards stored in a safe (ie. limited airflow) near a shower (ie. high humidity). I cant think of a worse case than this
@Versy
That would be a very nice solution, but I would like to keep them on sight, not in cases (which should be a safer option for sure). @Dyl
Silica gel dessicant packets are very good for cards in boxes, but I would like to keep them outside as in an “art gallery”.
I didn’t know magnetic cases could damage them.
@wotcfetish
That hint about fire is really precious, that was not my question but the information is very helpful!
That silica gel bag is placed in the room? It could be a nice solution if so.
My question was more about big water flooding situations causing moisture problems in the room.
Like a water tube leaking or something like that. I would like to have my raw cards “sealed” just as my graded ones. @pfm
The problem was not about “normal humidity” but extreme cases such as the water caused by the firefighters actions. The graded cards should be fine, my raw cards in the magnetic one touch cases are the ones on the spot.
My best solution till now is perfect sleeve + magnetic one touch + vacuum sealing (not working as well as expected, since resealing bags plastic is too smooth and sticks during the vacuum process, preventing all the air to be sucked).
I mean tbh if you have firefighters spraying water in your house or major flooding you have bigger problems than some soggy trading cards lol. Anything worth major money should be graded or airtight sealed somewhere secure. Anything less I wouldn’t bother going to such great lengths for. The likelihood that anything will happen is so low and it’s not worth all the extra effort / money to seal every raw card you own imo.
one of that silicia gel packs can keep up with the space a car have. so in theory if you buy a few a small room is no problem. I have 2 for a small room and its more than enough.
Sentrysafe offers various waterprotection, but its costly. The most basic design offers protection for 30 min, So if you arent lucky and next to the sudden flood it will be expensive to be really save, but thats something i dont know and only assume since the company offers a wide range of water protection.
Very intrested if someone knows a budget version to be secure vs water tube szenario.
@Versy
For sure you’re right @wotcfetish
Thank you for the information about the silica gel.
For the second part, as I said, I had experienced myself a bad situation and it is never flood or desert. You have maybe a room with a lot of water and the next one which would stay days in a very humid environment (which in my case brought the books to be rotten).
So I was just thinking about some bags just like the “resealable” ones for the magnetic holders but water-resistant.
It seems there is no such a thing around.
I live in a rather dry location, so I don’t worry, but have been doing an experiment during our heatwave, and am seeing slight bending due to the humidity. I can measure the change on a daily basis - it’s only minor, and fluctuates from day to day with the temperatures from the day before - but imagine full-time humidity…!
Anyway, desiccant helps, but for my decked cards, double sleeving works well to help keep moisture out. As stated, by others, put the inner sleeve on upside down, and then the outer sleeve right-way up, so that it creates more of a seal. TCG players are anal about this, and it does work somewhat. Nothing short of a drying case or sealed environment is guaranteed, however.
I use a dry cabinet like this too, which seems to work fine for cards in binders or Cardsavers. However, I have noticed that for individual holo cards in deck boxes, the dry box can actually cause quite a bit of curling.
In case anybody is also considering using a dry cabinet, I would keep any valuable holos in semi rigids or binders - I find that these hold the cards in place and prevent curling. (Can’t comment on toploaders, because I don’t use those.)
Can confirm. I bought a card that was shipped in a magnetic loader, and it arrived with a considerable dent that wasn’t present in the photos. I was able to return the card for a full refund, but now I avoid listings showing these loaders.
On the topic of silica packs, they actually don’t last long and aren’t great with things that get opened and closed all the time. You can get silica beads that change colour when they are saturated with water and you can put them in the oven to dry and reuse them
