Vario Page Dust Protection

I am in the process of transferring my U.S. collection to Vario Stock pages and noted how easily the electro-static tendencies of these products tend to attract a great deal of dust and lint which inevitably works its way inside the pockets along with the stamps. (I'm sure that most of these dust particles are not archival safe!)
I have found that placing the Vario pages within standard 3 ring sheet protectors helps quite a bit, but the top opening will still allow dust to get inside, so I have experiment inserting the stock pages in the sheet protectors with the opening orientated at the bottom. There is no problem at all with the stock pages falling out, as they insert fairly tightly. This seems to be working very well. Another option is the purchase of "side load" sheet protectors which have the opening next to the binder holes. These are not as commonly found at places like Staples or Office Depot as the top loaders are.

Has anyone else experimented with this technique? Any comments / concerns?

I've noticed it also and thought that it's just more apparent because of the black background. I just assumed that the same amount of dust is also around my stamps that are in mounts. I just don't notice it.

If you buy the original Vario binders, you can get matching slipcases. Problem solved.

Keeping it in dustcases does make a huge difference. My personal preference is zipper binders. They are a lot cheaper (especially if you buy them on clearance) than binder/dustcase combinations, but a lot of collectors probably do not like the look of zipper binders. I keep parts of my collection in about 30+ zipper binders.

If you already have dust sticking to the Vario pages, I find that used fabric softener sheets do an excellent job of removing the dust and keeping the dust off until you can put the Vario pages into sheet holders or into a binder with dustcase.

Just remember that they should be USED fabric softener sheets. DO NOT utilize unused fabric softener sheets. I've never tried unused fabric softener sheets, but I would think they are too saturated and would likely leave some sort of residue. I've yet to see any detrimental effects from the used fabric softener sheets -- but I'm only wiping the surface of the Vario pages with NO stamps exposed.

k

Has anyone tried the anti-static brushes used for cleaning vinyl records?

I find those "swiffer" dust brushes work well.

I think there are more cat hairs getting sucked into my Vario pages than are on my cats

I have a white Jack Russell (dog). Every now and then she will "shake" and when the light is just right you can see a "cloud" of at least 1000 hairs.

The adhesive strip on Post-It notes work well to grab any erroneous particulate inside the strips. Keep your pets out of the stamp zone, Vario pages are statically charged for the first while, so those 1000 hairs will make a beeline to them.

Have a good one,

Skilo54