storing vinyl, reducing damage over many years
one way or another you can't void shelfwear. to some degree of magnitude one will show even on sealed new records. no middle support assumes that your cover hold records otherwise the cover should be repaired. absolutely with no exception all jackets i place into plastic outer sleeve for protection. for extreamly valuable records covers are separated and records are placed onto generic sleeves. almost same i apply to box sets to preserve the box. and finally for simply storring records i prefer uhaul stackable boxes that are only $.60 vs. $75 and can hold your cargo for decades in darkness the way the're suppose to be stored. for that i usually arrange plywood tiles in front and back of the stack to prevent bending corners. |
The same company has these for what seems a reasonable cost. You could also source a similar thing at Home Depot or lumber yard. Maybe buy one and you have a template Inlay |
+1 to what Czarivey (and Saki70) said... Besides preventing the LP from wearing through an unsupported record sleeve, another major risk of long term LP storage is warping. To minimize this, pack the LPs firmly together and store with the records standing straight vertical (never lying horizontal!). Loosely spaced records tend to settle at an angle, which inevitably leads to sagging and a warped LP. Additional risks include mold, mildew and other microbial growths. The scum at the bottom of most used LPs provides fertile grounds for the growth of various micro-beasties. Some of these can be difficult (occasionally impossible) to remove if left too long. Best practices include a thorough record cleaning plus a new inner sleeve, then a new outer sleeve over the record jacket to prevent dust infiltration and shelf wear. |
My collection is near 10,000 vinyls. To clean them all is going to take a calendar year. Instead ones being washed only filthy ones. If they don't need washing/cleaning they stay dry. It all depends how often you take vinyl out for the spin. Frequently listened ones may need occasional cleaning, but mostly cleaning is void unless it's indeed necessary. If simple sweeping with anti-static brush does not help, than VPI maybe turned on or any other available record cleaner. I don't beleive that cleaning before listening is good practice. Less stress longer life applies not only to vinyl. New vinyl out of the shrinkwrap is great to clean in order to collect any post-cutting debris, take outside of picture sleeve and place onto VRP or similar inner sleeve. Then KEEP IT CLEAN AND SAFE. |
The boards of wood that I ordered cost too much, and $30 shipping or so. Also, there is the expense of time and trouble. I will have to wait and see if the boards come with any assistance in fitting them to the units permanently and correctly. I don't think I knew when I ordered the units that there were choices with the bottoms built in (I saw them ordered on etsy and did not see that option, that I recall). In the end, I"ll work it out, but I'm wondering if there is a way to communicate to the company that they should simply stop selling the option with the bottoms not built in? It sounds like I'm hearing confirmation from you folks (unless I'm misunderstanding) that their shelving units will over time do some damage. |
Unless you are REALLY into the unfinished wood look , check out your local Ikea store . They have some stands that are quite good for record storage . They are sturdy and made of plastic in a few different colors for less money . You can get different combinations of the square storage pieces in groups of 2 ,4 ,8 and 16 per unit . Each cubicle can easily hold 60 albums in the preferred upright direction . One 16 cubicle stand can easily hold a thousand albums and it is assembled as a one piece stand . Accessible both from the front and back with a solid shelf supporting the bottoms of the albums . Probably a matter of form vs function . Mine are stored in the guest room . If yours are out in the public area of the house then you may want to have a nice 'finished' wood piece of furniture on display . |
Thanks for all the ideas and responses. I'll see how things look once the boards arrive and I try to correct the wrong. My main concern is that unless someone says something in a way that will get through to the seller, who is here: http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RR-OAK-UN it is possible that over the next several decades hundreds of thousands of vinyl albums, or more, will be damaged by their shelves. |
I would have considered buying one of these (a variant from the same seller that has the supportive bottom built in) if only I'd known about them before. I bought on etsy where these didn't seem to be there, as far as I knew. http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/products.asp?dept=331 |
Ok, I have received the 3 inlays, placed them in, they fit perfectly and have done the job. In the end I'm pleased with the overall product, ... everything seems solid. I appreciate the help of the people here in this forum in confirming that I was right to be concerned about the lack of a supporting shelf. I submitted a review to the store that names my concern, constructively I hope and encourages them to consider the possibility of discontinuing selling the variant without the supportive inlay. |
It turns out, they did publish my review on their website, including my concerns about the support for the vinyl on the bottom, over many years: http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RR-OAK-UN So, I think if others are additionally concerned about vinyl archiving questions in general, and about whether the company's products could do some damage over the coming decades if they are distributed without the support shelves, perhaps it would be possible to take up the issue by communicating politely to the company that the concern may be well-founded. I didn't know enough about these issues to say so for certain. |
