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How to fully protect your comics from a fire or flood
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Started by Hollywood1892,

21 posts in this topic

joeypost

joeypost

Posted
Posted

Move to a high, flat desert. The highlands of Peru foot the bill very nicely. 
 

In all seriousness, there is little you can do for a catastrophic event like a hurricane, tornado or house fire. For flooding due to a ruptured pipe, local heavy rain fall you can store the books elevated off the floor. For a bad fire there is little that can be done if you have to evacuate the home. Best advice is take every precaution and insure heavily. 
 

 

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Hollywood1892

Hollywood1892

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6 minutes ago, joeypost said:

Move to a high, flat desert. The highlands of Peru foot the bill very nicely. 
 


 

 

:roflmao:

 

7 minutes ago, joeypost said:


 

In all seriousness, there is little you can do for a catastrophic event like a hurricane, tornado or house fire. For flooding due to a ruptured pipe, local heavy rain fall you can store the books elevated off the floor. For a bad fire there is little that can be done if you have to evacuate the home. Best advice is take every precaution and insure heavily. 
 

 

Thanks

 

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Myowncollector

Myowncollector

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Used to be you would send them to my comic shop, put a huge asking price on them and they would just sit there safe and fully insured. Now you will have to pay some fees for that service if more than 2 years or something. If you send them enough actual books to sell they or another business would probably waive those fees.

If you like to actually have your books near then it depends where you live. If you live in a safe neighborhood and keep things on the down low and in a non flood area with little risky of tornadoes, hurricanes, fires and you have someone home most the time insurance isn't as important. If it is cheap enough by all means get it. What some people I know pay for insurance I could buy a mega key every year.

Personally I have no insurance. My home owners covers collectibles and personal items and such but not nearly enough. Keep books of value mixed in with 90s drek. Anything above 4 figures in safe box in a low crime, low protest risk area bank made of concrete and steel. 

 

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shadroch

shadroch

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1 hour ago, Myowncollector said:

Used to be you would send them to my comic shop, put a huge asking price on them and they would just sit there safe and fully insured. Now you will have to pay some fees for that service if more than 2 years or something. If you send them enough actual books to sell they or another business would probably waive those fees.

If you like to actually have your books near then it depends where you live. If you live in a safe neighborhood and keep things on the down low and in a non flood area with little risky of tornadoes, hurricanes, fires and you have someone home most the time insurance isn't as important. If it is cheap enough by all means get it. What some people I know pay for insurance I could buy a mega key every year.

Personally I have no insurance. My home owners covers collectibles and personal items and such but not nearly enough. Keep books of value mixed in with 90s drek. Anything above 4 figures in safe box in a low crime, low protest risk area bank made of concrete and steel. 

 

Bank vaults can be death traps for comics, unless they are truly climate controlled.  

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Qalyar

Qalyar

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Protect against catastrophic damage by reducing the likelihood of it happening. Keep comics at least 3 feet above ground level, ideally, to limit the chances of damage from most flood situations. There's no way to protect property, realistically, from major river flooding or recent Michigan-style dam breeches, but in general, you'll have time to evacuate in advance of those conditions (or tropical storm systems, if you're on the Gulf or Atlantic coast).

There is no realistic way to prevent the destruction of paper collectibles in case of fire on premises. Fireproof safes are not compatible with the archival storage of comics and aren't likely to prevent heat damage anyway. Prevent fire damage by taking smart actions to limit the risk of fire. Ensure your home's electrical system is to code. Replace cedar shake roofing and encourage your neighbors to do likewise. Don't smoke. Use things like space heaters with caution.

Ultimately, the odds of your collection being destroyed by flood or fire, or by tornado or other natural disasters, are very low. If you're still concerned, that's what collectibles insurance is for.

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ThreeSeas

ThreeSeas

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Whatever you do, do not put them in a time capsule type container and bury them, it may not end well.

Last fall my small town dug up a time capsule that was buried in 1969. All paper items, except photographs, were completely trashed. Black oozy slimy pieces of paper except for the photo paper used for the B & W photos. Even though damaged, you could still see the pictures in most cases. In 1969 the people putting together the time capsule put each document in a sealed plastic bag and then everything was placed in what they thought was an airtight copper capsule, then that capsule was put inside a concrete chamber (the chamber was donated by the local mortuary), and then it was buried just below the frost line. Somehow over the years moisture seeped in and destroyed it all.

We (my historical society) had a centennial book published in '69, in there, that was also ruined. The same left over copies of that book we have in our cabinet in our history room look nearly as new as the day they were published, so we donated another book for the capsule that was placed last winter. This time the decided to place the contents in a locked capsule, but on one of the shelves in a city building. Had they just tossed the original capsule on a shelf in a city building back then, most of the stuff would have been fine. Live and learn I guess.

off topic, but comic related about our time capsule from '69. Since I was in charge of scanning and posting on our FB group the original pictures, I looked hard for comic pics, but only found one picture. Back in '69 someone took pictures of every business in town and some houses too and I was really hoping that they had a picture of the spinner rack at the drug store as that is where I bought a lot of my comics 45 years ago. Whoever the person was that did the photos took pictures of the medicines on the wall, but not any of the magazine area or even the deli/ice cream counter in the back..grrr...  But one picture of the grocery store showed a spinner rack and all I could make out was an Archie's Laugh issue.

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onlyweaknesskryptonite

onlyweaknesskryptonite

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Posted

Several have already mentioned INSURE. I personally use CIS, but whatever works for you. Short of that, another thing others have suggested  a climate / humidity controlled fire/flood rated safe. Depending on financial situation could step up to Safe Room or Bunker. If truly blessed in financial situation you could always go full on BOMB SHELTER. Other than those remaining options would be sell or consign (as others have mentioned) 

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theCapraAegagrus

theCapraAegagrus

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6 minutes ago, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Several have already mentioned INSURE. I personally use CIS, but whatever works for you. Short of that, another thing others have suggested  a climate / humidity controlled fire/flood rated safe. Depending on financial situation could step up to Safe Room or Bunker. If truly blessed in financial situation you could always go full on BOMB SHELTER. Other than those remaining options would be sell or consign (as others have mentioned) 

Imagine getting/having a bomb shelter, not stocked for nuclear winter, but just for comic books.

:roflmao:

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onlyweaknesskryptonite

onlyweaknesskryptonite

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2 minutes ago, theCapraAegagrus said:

5x4C.gif

Go ahead and have the door to the bunker inscribed like a tomb. " He died doing what he loved."  Let's just hope they don't find you with your pants down surrounded by issues of Lady Death..

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EC Star&Bar

EC Star&Bar

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It's important to have operable fire extinguishers -- a must for the kitchen especially, as there's a better chance of limiting smoke from building-up & going to other rooms.

You will want to know how to shut off water supplies, especially the main, to minimize chances of damage from a plumbing leak.  And keep an eye on the water heater, especially an older one.

I also wanted to mention that there have been reports of faulty dehumidifiers catching fire, so that's a concern if you use a portable model.

 

 

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GeneticNinja

GeneticNinja

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Posted (edited)

Flooding is easy. Avoid basements. And don't store comics in a room near plumbing just in case. Also, don't live in hurricane or areas that might have rising sea levels in the future.

Fire is a bit more difficult. But don't live in fire zones. Make sure your electricity is up to safety standards. I've seen homes with open wiring before. Try not to live in those shared home type setups. I've seen fires in places like that which spread to the other residence because they are connected. Have good neighbors. You don't want this situation.

 

Edited by GeneticNinja
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EC Star&Bar

EC Star&Bar

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Posted

In my case, I've been collecting since the mid-70s.  With an ever-growing collection, it became more and more difficult to stay away from ALL plumbing lines and to keep all of the books in ideal climate.  It can be difficult to keep all of the books "cool, dry, and dark" when you have an older home with lots of windows, etc.  

We all know what the ideal conditions are.  But paper collectibles are among the most challenging to meet those, when you have thousands of items.

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