I'm A Beginner Wondering How To Deal With Mildew

Good day fellow philatelists!

New Zealander here. Over the past couple of years I have began to accumulate quite a large collection of NZ pre-decimals in all the different categories (MHU, MH etc.). I have only begun to research about the terror that is mildew and I am wanting some advice on how to go about future-proofing my stamps.

Currently, I have a large Lighthouse stockbook with most of my good stamps in it ranging from MHU to used, and it includes some pretty valuable stamps. However, I have noticed that some of the stamps on almost all the pages have very faint brown spots on the perforations. I have recently purchased two new stockbooks and also have got some Hagner sheets.

Should I buy a UV scanner to check for mildew on all the stamps on my collection, and then put the perfect ones in the Hagner sheets and keep all the foxed stamps in a separate stockbook? I know that most advice is to throw out the foxed stamps, and I will probably throw out some but others are quite valuable and I would prefer to keep them.

Any advice regarding stockbooks vs Hagner etc. and how best to arrange the collection in terms of foxed vs non-foxed would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Rory

Opinion
Do not throw out stamps (vandalism)
Most can be saved, albeit in a lesser condition

Purchase a Temperature / Humidity reader from ebay (About $3)
I have had mine for 4 years, and works faithfully

Then follow this guideline
Storing your stamps for a period of time? Follow these tips to keep them safe…

Whether at home or in a storage unit, stamps and covers should be kept where humidity and temperature are at safe and fairly consistent levels. High temperatures and humidity can activate the gum on the back of many stamps, which may cause them to stick to each other or to pages in stock books and albums. Stamps that are kept in cold temperatures may become brittle, which can also be damaging. Ideally, stamps should be stored at room temperature with a relative humidity of 50%. (Tip – silica gel, which is available at most hardware and craft stores, is an easy and affordable way to control humidity.)
https://www.mysticstamp.com/info/lo...us%20damage.

My humidity levels range around 50% to 55%
(This jumped a bit after placing on the Scanner ?)

Not tried this. Has anyone?

https://www.dauwalders.co.uk/fox-ma...106640-p.asp

Someone is trying it, it is sold out!

Well, a lot of London homes have foxes in the back garden ...

Can humidity be managed with dessicators? And is there a humidity level that is too low?

On a related topic, Studebaker Don and others have mentioned sulfides and other gasses emanating from wood cabinets. Is there a way to test for any philatelically-inappropriate gasses?

Don- curious how you store your holdings if not in a wooden cabinet?

shermae - my guess is that most of the damaged stamps I've acquired over the years have suffered from storage in cold, damp, English conditions, rather than heat. I've also acquired stamps from France's African colonies where the original collector clearly - and wisely - soaked off the gum to help to preserve the stamps in humid conditions. A look at what the tropics do to gum shows how sage this was.