Anyone Else Have Issues With Dusty Vario Pages?

My vario pages seem to be electrically charged much of the time, and happily attract dust and lint from the atmosphere and any clothing that comes near it. Anyone have any suggests for dealing with this?

Of course I am working on my US collection which means flipping around alot which doesn't help with the static electricity I expect.

Thanks.

Get a humidifier. Put some moisture in the room. That will solve your problem.

moisture and stamps are enemies

Agreed! However, don't underestimate how bad dry air is on stamps as well!

Tinman's point is that at a certain relative humidity, static electricity doesn't generate, it dissipates.

The Vario pages are plastic, and therefore will not naturally dissipate static - the mere action of turning the pages will generate static electricity so I'm not sure if controlling the humidity will help.

My suggestion is to use hepa air filter in the room to try to control the dust.

Brian

You can probably get away with using humidifiers if you live in the far north. But elsewhere (as in smauggie's case), it's not worth the risks of introducing a moisture source so close to stamps (think mold, not just mint stamps).

I have the same problem as smauggie, and the environment is such that there will be a lot of constant static and particle generation so hepa filters are not really a practical option for me. But for others, deionization/hepa units are worth considering.

I utilize a USED fabric softener sheet. Fabric softeners were originally produced and advertised for the purpose of removing static "cling" -- nowadays it's all about softness/freshness.

For me, a GENTLE wipe does the trick; and the fabric softener is reusable many times. I do enough laundry so I have more than enough used softener sheets. I use them as dust wipes for the bookshelves... They don't really remove dust from the air, but they will help keep dust from sticking for at least a few weeks, and the sheets will also pick up quite a bit of the dust while you wipe (just don't press down hard as you wipe).

But remember, only USED fabric softener sheets (those that have already gone through the dryer once). New sheets are too "moist" will likely leave a yucky residue.

Give it a test try on a few expendable sheets for a few weeks and test the results for yourself.

I agree with khj's thoughts about used dried sheets but, if you are the sort who prefers something more official, you could search for "Anti-Static Cloth" at http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I owned a technology company for many years and we designed and manufactured electronic devices such as laser scanners, embedded motherboards, etc. ESD was always a major concern on the manufacturing floor. We not only controlled humidity but also spent BIG bucks on anti-static carpet, grounded work stations, and not allowing any paper products on the floor at all. All workers also wore ESD smocks and grounded wrist bands.

But we also used anti-static spray products on some surfaces. These are quite effective and I am sure that if you sprayed the pages with them it would cut the static on them. But word of warning; I have no idea if these would be considered archival safe (same with the dryer sheets mentioned above?)


Below is a link to a typical ESD spray.
http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...Rr7Aod8hEAhw
don

I think the anti-static cloth is a good idea -- that's what I was mimicking. I'm a cheapskate, so I utilize the used fabric softener sheets (the basic kind, no perfumes or other stuff added).

ESD sprays are very effective, but I would not use the ESD sprays on philatelic supplies for the same reason I would not utilize unused fabric softener sheets. Used fabric softener sheets introduce the bare minimum. I've not had any archival issues (so far) using the fabric softener sheets.

Archival issues? I had thought that we were clearly talking about wiping down the stock pages (eg plastic surfaces), not the stamps.

PS: Am I the only person here noting that we are worried about exposing our stamps to chemicals that we think nothing of getting on our *skin*? I would advise taking a deep breath, but that would only make things *worse* !@#$%!

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

The air in Minnesota is so dry in the winter. I installed a whole house humidifier and I don't have any problems with static or too much humidity. I only run it in the winter. The whole hose unit is attached to the plenum on my furnace and it is controlled by a humidistat so you can keep your humidity where you need it. The summer is never a problem as long as the a/c is running to suck out the humidity. As you know we really only have two seasons. Spring and Fall run about a day and a half, combined.

Haha, that's why I use the "perfume-free" fabric softeners!

But yes ikeyPikey has made the practical point, we are not wiping down our stamps. The only risk we might be taking is any reactions there might be with the Vario pages. And I've not noticed anything over the years. My fingers leave more residue than the used fabric sheets!

I do like the anti-static cloth idea -- much more elegant and professional (which means I probably will stick to the fabric softener sheets!).

Thank you for your comments.

Great tip about re-using the dryer sheets. (They also work amazingly well for cleaning soap scum in the bathroom!)

I use a product called Mighty Duster on Varios and scanner glass. From Wal-Mart (walmart). Other static busters are discussed in this older thread also:

https://goscf.com/t/34518&whichpage=2#292932

I'm not sure how well it would work but some of us old folks used to have record albums and before playing we used a de-static gun, does anyone remember these they work great on records why not plastic stock pages

LOL - I was thinking about that too