Storing FDS disks in a humid country?

[toadhall]

I recently had the fortune of purchasing a black Twin Famicom in good condition for a good price. It even still has its expansion port cover as well as the disk drive protector which surprised me as I rarely see pics of those online. The disk drive belt needs replacing (no surprise there) but otherwise it's a very clean machine.

Anyway on to my question. What's the recommended way to store FDS disks? I live in a very humid country so mold is a concern when it comes to magnetic media. And since I'm planning to restore my TwinFami's disk drive to working order, I will be shipping in some disks to test it on.

I was thinking of getting some plastic containers to store the disks in and I'll throw in some dehumidifier bags (or rice or something!) but I was wondering if there was a better way of if this is actually a bad thing to do for disks (keeping it together with dehumidifier bags, I mean.)

Thanks in advance for any advice, peeps.

[jpx72]

I am using the dehumidifier bags myself, have tons of them from a shoe shop and they seem to do the job.
Rice can be good too, but it can catch mold when wet.

[P]

Japan is quite humid as well so I don't think it will get worse when you import them. I save those dehumidifier bags from food products and other things they come with.

[toadhall]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Dehumidifier bags it is!

[Flying_Phoenix]

A room with the door closed and a dehumidifier set to whatever you like (I use 50-55%).

[toadhall]

A room with the door closed and a dehumidifier set to whatever you like (I use 50-55%).

What kind of dehumidifier do you use? I don't have any experience with them and I'm not too keen on adding another gadget to an already messy room  But if it's not too expensive I'm willing to give it a go! I was actually considering getting an air conditioner for my room since it can get quite warm in there and was counting on that to double duty as a dehumidifier.

[jpx72]

Isn't air conditioner some kind of device that filters air through water? In that case, you are adding moisture to your room air.
I also have a dehumidifier, it's quite a big and loud device so I only run it maybe 4 times a year for 48 hours straight. It sucks out moisture quite well. But I wouldn't live or sleep in that space, it's not healthy. That's the comfort of having a room for storing games only.

[P]

Maybe there are water filter types as well, but my experience with air conditioners is that they do have some dehumidifying capabilities, although their primary goal is to cool/heat the room.

[GreenKoopa]

For air conditioning, most people have refrigerant split systems serving their house.  These recycle air only and do not add/remove moisture from the air.  Most of these have a dehumidification mode which will remove the moisture.

The other main form of domestic air conditioning is evaporative coolers. These add water to the air increasing humidity to produce a cooling effect. Usually you won't see these in areas with high humidity and they work best in a dry climate.  They look like a large  box on your roof.

In the past, ive used a product for a cupboard to combat rising damp. It's a plastic container with absorbent bags at the top and a perforated lid. Over time, the bags absorb moisture and it falls into the plastic container below.   Eventually the container will be full of water and needs to be thrown out. You could maybe try this as a cheap option.   

[toadhall]

As my country has high humidity, the air conditioners that are sold here usually have some sort of dehumidifying feature. I know there are ACs that also add moisture into the air but I've personally never seen one sold here.

In the past, ive used a product for a cupboard to combat rising damp. It's a plastic container with absorbent bags at the top and a perforated lid. Over time, the bags absorb moisture and it falls into the plastic container below.   Eventually the container will be full of water and needs to be thrown out. You could maybe try this as a cheap option.   

I know exactly what you're talking about! I was actually thinking of buying one of those to keep together with my disks but I don't like how much space they take. Plus they do collect a lot of water in the container and I don't know if I like the idea of having that much water near my disks. I think this may be my best option though.

[Flying_Phoenix]

Sorry for the late reply, I totally missed the thread after posting.

I use a Delonghi AriaDry DES 16E, it's not exactly small, although one of the smallest I've seen around, and can hold 4-5 days in very humid weather (80-85% RH) before the tank is completely full. I had it repaired while in warranty and now it malfunctions from time to time, so I don't recommend this brand (Delonghi is an Italian brand, but it's all made in China in a plant that Delonghi probably don't even own, so I'm not even surprised by the very average quality of the product).

Anyway, you can use your air conditioner if you have one in the room, but I only do it maybe 1 or 2 hours every 2 days. I don't need the games to be cold, just dry is good enough, not to mention the waste of electricity and money, as running an air conditioner full time is several times more expensive than a small dehumidifier. If this is a small storage room, I recommend you use a dehumidifier.

As someone else mentioned though, the air will be stuffy and not good to stay inside. So if you sleep in the same room, you have a problem. I also regularly open the window to let the air flow, even when it's very humid.

So this is how I handle my small storage room:
-- In Winter or when the RH is below 60%, I switch off the dehumidifier (let's call it DH). I keep the window slightly open and the door too. We have lizards here so I just hope they don't get inside, because if they do, they will pee and poop all around the place.  
-- When the RH is above 60% but below 80% and it's not too hot outside (below 27° C), I set the DH to 45% RH. I used to keep it to 55% but recently lowered the threshold. I regularly open the window in the morning before going to work and/or in the evening after dinner. When I do this, I obviously switch off the DH. I empty the DH every few days or once a week.
-- When the weather is 'standard crappy Hong Kong Summer style', that is above 70% with temperatures 30-35° C, I set the DH a bit higher, 50-55% and let it run all the time. I have to empty it every 2-4 days, it's really crazy. Then in the morning and/or evening I turn on the air conditioner for around 1 hour. I don't open the window very often but I still do it maybe 2 or 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.

This will keep your stuff acceptably dry, but if you have family in a drier country, I suggest you send your most valuable items to them. I do notice my stuff still degrading, although not terribly. You can't really beat the weather, humidity will creep in no matter what.

We also have those horrible silverfish insects that like to eat paper and cardboard. I found some in my cardboard boxes, where I store some games. No comments -- kill them on sight as a sacrifice to Miyamoto, and to safeguard your games too.