Silica gel or humidifier?

With all these readings, I'm now confused as to when you use each to protect our precious valuables.

Silica gel / dehumidifier to protect rubber?

Dehumidifier / water in shotglasses for those with leather?

What if your display cab contains both types?

I think you need to know what level of humidity is recommended for material X (rubber in this case). After that to measure the humidity in the room and in the cabinet itself. Only then you can decide what you need to do.

so that means we still need to do some more research before we can answer this? rubber can come in all sorts and type and as such may require varying levels of humidity...can't there be a general guideline on this?

chRd said:

so that means we still need to do some more research before we can answer this? rubber can come in all sorts and type and as such may require varying levels of humidity...can't there be a general guideline on this?

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Wish there was a guideline, but seems companies don't care and not sure who else knows about the quality of the materials used.

Forget the rubber, I'd be more concerned about protecting the enjoyment you get from the hobby

since weather here is hot as hell, im going on shotglasses with water inside my cab. there's a mix of rubber and leather ware in there. come rainy season in june, ill bring out my silica gel..that's what im going for now

Ah the age old debate. I wonder about all this "pseudo science" everyone applies to this question. There is no proof that any of this helps at all.

Further, I have yet to see anyone say that they just left their figure in a case, out of direct sunlight, and didn't handle it too much, and it just fell apart by itself. The damages usually occur with people not treating their collectibles very well, but keep in mind that these are made of plastic and rubber, and will all deteriorate in the end, at some point.

Some of it comes down to poor QC from the manufacturer. If they used a shoddy rubber product, its going to show.

well let's call it trying to prolong the figure, we're not saying these will not go in time.

Silica gel can be used in other types of consumer products. It is the most common desiccant approved for use in food products to keep them fresh. The dangers of consuming those silica gel packs is overstated, unless you have swallowing issues and a significant appetite for those little packets. Even if you eat them, you probably won't die. Read more: Silica Gel.

Who said anything about eating it?

How long do you think those little packs of silica work for?

scriggly said:

Ah the age old debate. I wonder about all this "pseudo science" everyone applies to this question. There is no proof that any of this helps at all.

Further, I have yet to see anyone say that they just left their figure in a case, out of direct sunlight, and didn't handle it too much, and it just fell apart by itself. The damages usually occur with people not treating their collectibles very well, but keep in mind that these are made of plastic and rubber, and will all deteriorate in the end, at some point.

Some of it comes down to poor QC from the manufacturer. If they used a shoddy rubber product, its going to show.

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You've never hung out with Medicom owners.

I have "mixed media" toys from 1995 that are still in perfect shape. I am not super worried about deterioration on the plastic clothed figures. I do worry about rubber / vinyl ones.

quintinB said:

Silica gel can be used in other types of consumer products. It is the most common desiccant approved for use in food products to keep them fresh. The dangers of consuming those silica gel packs is overstated, unless you have swallowing issues and a significant appetite for those little packets. Even if you eat them, you probably won't die. Read more: Silica Gel.

Click to expand...

Ummm random first post

Lejuan said:

Forget the rubber

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That's what she said

I don't think putting water in shortglass is a good idea unless you live in a really really dry place say 10% humidity.

There's 3 types of dehumidifier, 1 designed to keep small space dry like a pack of potato chips, it's not designed to really absorb moisture in a very quick way, they last long but the effect is non if it's big area. 2nd type is those tub type or packet type where they have solid powder like thingy, they can absorb large amount of moisture (800ml), they are very effective however they need to be replaced every 1-2 months, if you leave it as it is it will turn very ugly, the tube type leaves you a bucket of water while the packet type leaves you a soggy pack of gel which turns black god knows what.

Then there's the 3rd option which is an actual Dehumidifier air conditioner, it's highly effective & controllable, down side is it takes space, much more expensive, and cost you extra electricity bill, also you need to route a pipe to dump the water, but it's much more effective to control big areas like a room/storage and you don't have to worry about replacing it. Best is have both Air Conditioner & some tub types so in case you aren't home you can turn off the Air Conditioner & still have some moisture control with the tubs.

I would say for rubber heat is your major concern.

I have two dehumidifiers running in my large finished basement that are set to keep humidity between 45-50%. If I don't run them, it gets really damp and musty down there. I have had no issues with running a dehumidifier in the basements of the homes I've lived in.