Tips to Protect Your Photos

Learn about tips to protect your photos, so you can preserve your memories forever. Photos are the still snapshots of our memories. They are a way for us to go back in time and reminisce about the good old days or sentimental moments. Without photos it is harder to tell our stories in a visual way.

Like so many other things in this world, photos are valuable items that can be ruined by environmental factors. Light, weather, chemicals, young children, etc can all damage our important pictures.

Protect your Valuables

Protect your photos from wear and tear. No one wants to open a photo album, shoe box, or time capsule to find photos that are destroyed to the point that you cannot make out who is in the picture. It is so important to protect your photos, especially when someone in the family gets Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Photos are great items to help those family members remember things of the past, and like they still have a significant life.

A time when I deeply care about our environment, is when it comes to saving photos. Photos can be so sensitive to the air around them, like temperature, humidity, dust, heat, and bright light. Follow these tips to help you keep your photos for years into the next generations in your family.

Temperature Changes

For temperature changes, keep your photos out of basements, garages, attics, and away from windows and heaters. When they are around extreme hot or cold temperatures, they can fade or tarnish. Just think of your photos like yourself or some plants. No one likes major fluctuations in temperature, but instead your photos need to be in the same environment you live in and feel comfortable in. So, love your photos like you love yourself or your favorite pet.

We recommend you use a safe deposit box or a dark, cool, low humid environment, like putting them in a time capsule in a climate controlled area of your home. Just like your medicine, there is a reason the bottle says to keep out of your hot, humid bathroom for storage. You do not want your medicine to get ruined.

Humidity

Make sure you put your photos on acid free paper. The printed side of your photograph needs to breath. Dampness can cause mold and attract bugs, which is why you need to protect your photos in a temperature controlled environment. You never know what is in the ground which can get to your time capsule and your precious photos inside, which is why we recommend that you never bury a time capsule. Also, if you bury your time capsule or valuables, you may forget where you put it if you have to move. You can read more advice about burying time capsules here.

Sunlight

It is a must to keep your photos out of direct sunlight. No matter how a photo is printed or even if they are in picture frames, keep them out of the sunlight because it will destroy them. They will fade and eventually deteriorate over time.

We hope this blog helps save a photo of yours before it is ruined. That would not make us happy as we are here to help protect your photos and most memorable memories. If you would like to reminisce in the future what your life was like now, check out the decorative and unique Baby, Wedding, and “Any Occasion” DIY time capsules at www.timecapsule.com.

What other photo tips do you have to preserve your priceless memories? Comment below.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie