Re: Dreaded fungus

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003, Kate Mahoney wrote:

> Spores in the air......store negs in damp-free conditions with silica gel if
> necessary. Change the gel often........nasty warm humid climates will grow
> fungus in anything - one of my friends has a 400mm lens that was stored in
> Hong Kong and is more like a kaleidoscope now!
> Kate M

Ooops, think I better get my negatives out of the cellar darkroom, which
is pretty humid most of the time... 43% now. Tho maybe that just seems a
lot because we have trouble in winter keeping the rest of the place above
30%, despite major humidifiers. It also occurs to me tho that storing
each neg strip in its own fold of permalife paper (cut a half inch higher
but same length) may be somewhat prophylactic... Possibly absorbing
moisture ? I find it quite handy, since I can write notes in pencil on it
and pick it up without fear of fingerprints... unlike the plastic pages
with slots you slide the strips into with three greasy fingers. the paper
isn't see thru, but not scratch city either.

J.
Received on Wed Dec 17 21:58:03 2003