LPs and allergies, anyone?

If you get a lot of rain, you may have stuff growing on some of your LPs. If you see something fungy, use the enzyme cleaner from Bugtussle. And then there's the new hepa-arm from Rockport for $89,000...

Landshark75,
Thank you for this valuable information. I'll definitely check it out. BTW, we have the Sharper Image air cleaner and do not like it. It actually spreads an unpleasant tinny odor and is not noiseless. I always wondered what the brouhaha was all about.

Vvrinc,
I'm one one of those anomalies, a husband whose wife is also his best friend. I know there aren't many of us who can say that, so I won't hold your comment against you.

:)

Actually, one of the best ways to go is whole-house HEPA filtration. For roughly $800 installed, you can filter a 3000 sq foot home. These units are certified to remove particles down to .3 microns (this includes viruses). Look at Fantech.net under HEPA filtration. The Sharper Image unit received bad marks from Consumer Reports and it sued CR, lost and was ordered to pay 400K back to CR for filing a "meritless suit" Ozone is also not recommended for asthma sufferers and has actually been reported to cause asthma. This info is all available with a Google search.
Disclaimer - I do have a connection to the ventilation market through the electrical industry.

You missed a rare chance to place wife permanently in the garage. Hey man, where are your priorities?
8>(

An NSA air cleaner is cheaper and light years better. You can get a new one on Ebay for around $20 or 30. They employ a carbon filter and remove many more contaminants than the Sharper Image machine.

I use them at home and at work since my wife is very susceptible to allergies. Gross anatomy required two years of standing over a formaldahyde soaked corpse. Her immune system has suffered from that, and the air cleaners work wonders.

You may want ot try a sharper image air cleaner. It helped me doesn't take averything out of the air but does take alot of the mold spores and polution out also the release of ozon helps prevent groth and helps with the smell. I am not trying to permote this in any way but I have 4 of them around the house and life is better in the spring for me.

Thank you for your responses. My wife actually supports and enjoys my music collection, and it was solely my decision to move it. She'd seen an allergist in the past,
and had no real problems for 12 years. Living in San Diego, we had unusually heavy rains this spring, as a result of which all sorts of vegetation sprouted with an abundance we don't usually experience. Hence, pollen misery in the fall, it seems. It's possible that her troubles may not be associated with paper products,
but her tracheal spasms (at night, lasting only a few minutes)were so bad, I thought she might die, seeing her gasp for air. So, I took drastic action. Inaddition to my LPs I also got rid of old books andmy collection of old music magazines dating back to the 60's. I mention all this because my wife and I are healthcare professionals, but this caught us both by surprise. Appointments with specialists are not readily available, even with health insurance, so your choices in similar situations are 911 or the ER and it might be too late by then! Her condition seems under control now with 5 different meds, but of course this is heavy duty stuff and she feels lousy. New extensive allergy testing tomorrow will hopefully determine whether my LP sleeves add to her misery. This might be a good time to transfer my LP recordings to digital format and keep a few hundred of my favorites. Acid-free sleeves also sound good. In addtion to asking for advice I also wanted to raise awareness of morbidity associated with allergies, which can strike like a rattlesnake. If you experience sneezing, respiratory discomfort or itchiness while you're enjoying your analog collection, it may be prudent to check if your pride and passion is making you sick. Thanks again for your suggestions.

all wives are allergic to lp collections. buy a cat and blame it for everything. its worked for 20 years

I'd suggest a conversation/appointment with an allergist to see if you are barking up the right tree. If it is coming from the album covers/mold related you may be better off looking at a dehumidifier. FWIW.

The problems are many, I'm afraid. First, they collect dust, rather, they attract it. Stuff percolates in that ever older mulm. A noxious garden blooms. The sleeves, contrary to the gentle Krusty2k's usually good suggestion, is that the sleeves/bags all expirate oily gas. You might consider going pure acid-free paper for sleeve and jacket both.

I would suggest mylar-type resealable outer sleeves. They would virtually seal the LP. In addition, the clear material is much prettier than those hazy poly-bags that seem to fade over time, even more so with regular handling. The mylar-type sleeves may set you back 20-30 cents apiece, though. Good luck.