Wet LP Jackets

[ranf1970]

Hey AKers,

Hope this finds everyone well. Last night I had a little accident with some of my records and two of jackets got completely wet. I dried drying them last night but they are still wet/damp this morning.

I was just wondering if anyone has any advise on drying these with minimal damage. These are not super rare or expensive vinyl, but I do hope to keep the jackets. Would blow drying them be helpful or would that cause water damage marks? Needless to say, they are also easily bending because of the water.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!

 

[ConradH]

I had water damage to a bunch of LPs a while back. I cleaned the LPs with no problem. The jackets were blotted and then laid out to dry. Biggest problem is warpage and not much to do about it. Be careful because when you think they're dry, they're probably not. You don't want to put them back in a rack or whatever because mold will grow and all sorts of bad things will happen. Leave them out for several weeks before bulk storage!

 

[ranf1970]

Thanks ConradH! Except for one, they were in outer sleeves and the records were in MoFi sleeves. Fortunately the records were fine, just the jackets. I can already see some of the warpage and hopefully when they are ready to get filed again, they will be able to flatten out a little. Mold is also a concern. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

 

[beekeo]

using a dry clothes iron on lower heat with a cloth or towel in-between could help with warping.

but yeah, dry them out first for sure. if you're nervous about burning them with the iron, try using sandwiching them with flat boards and stacked with a heavy weight for several days.

 

[ChristopherP]

Hi,
To set the stage for my advice, a story. Many years ago, before I owned things like hair dryers, or much else. I owned a large collection of records; ¼ of them stored on the floor, about 6 linear feet worth. We had waterbeds cut (robbery) that flooded our single story slab foundation house. Disaster, but recoverable. Long story short, remove the record and sleeve. After drying outwardly, as you noticed still damp. Place under weight for a couple of weeks, checking regularly and flipping over. I used wax paper to separate, and had stacks of 10-20 albums each under a board with bricks on top. No funds for better solution.

Bottom line, must minimize handling, under a smooth weight, get them dry. Mine took months of course, but yours should be dry in a week or so.

Your so lucky you had MoFi Sleeves. Mine were paper and mostly lost. It could have been worse. +40 yrs later almost all of the damaged records have their original jacket and almost all have 'rice paper' sleeves and good outer covers. Expect splits and some extra wear over time, since the underlying paper is weaker than original, but your initial efforts sound like you headed off the worst of it already. I suggest external covers too after they're dry to minimize further damage to those that got wet. As usual YMMV.
Cheers

 

[FONSguy]

Open the cardboard little and put a pencil/dowel in to hold it open slightly. put them by a window where they get sun. come back and check every couple of days.

 

[ChristopherP]

FONSguy, that's right for sure. I'd forgotten that step in my write up. I had too many for that trick, so used photo blotter paper for the first week or so, but with such a small number your method is what I'd try first too.