Protecting Cameras From Humidity: How Best To Do It?

Colin Corneau · Mar 1, 2017

I'm wondering how people protect their gear from damage - mold, etc. - while in humid climates.

Looking to go to Thailand and area and while my time there has been limited to under a month, I'm wondering how those spending longer times in such places keep their gear safe over time.

I'm collecting silica pacs when possible but any suggestions welcome!

flavio81 · Mar 1, 2017

For what it is worth. I live in a city that regularly has over 90% of humidity.

Silica gel packs are not useful for me because they saturate in a matter of days. If you use them, put your lenses in a closed plastic container and drop the pack in there.

What i do currently is, my equipment is on the closet (i have a big walk in closet), and i have an electric dehumidifier* inside turned on.

* the kind of dehumidifiers that can remove 1 liter of water in just a day. But mine is at the "minimum" setting.

John Koehrer · Mar 1, 2017

Using rice as an absorbent works for cell phones. Now you need a perforated container
to put in a bag. Replenish the rice daily if you want.

ac12 · Mar 1, 2017

As flavio, when I lived in a HUMID place, I kept a dehumidifier in my closet, running 24x7. It pulled out about a quart of water every 2 to 3 days. ALL my moisture sensitive stuff (camera gear and leather shoes) was kept in that closet.
This is not practical for someone traveling, but if you live in a humid place, it worth considering.

An option for travel is an AC rechargable dry pack. Basically a slica pack with a built in heating element. When the indicator turns color, remove the pack from the container that your gear is in, and plug it into an outlet to dry out/recharge. Then stick your 2nd pack into the container with your gear. Just cycle between the 2 packs.

flavio81 · Mar 1, 2017

ac12 said:
An option for travel is an AC rechargable dry pack. Basically a slica pack with a built in heating element. When the indicator turns color, remove the pack from the container that your gear is in, and plug it into an outlet to dry out/recharge. Then stick your 2nd pack into the container with your gear. Just cycle between the 2 packs.

+1
This is a very good accesory.

Colin Corneau · Mar 1, 2017

All great ideas! This is down the road a bit, but for that and future travel I'm trying to think ahead. Thanks, all.

mooseontheloose · Mar 1, 2017

I have silica dry packs everywhere - in my camera bags, containers that I store gear in, etc. Here in Japan they also sell something call "dry pet" which is a container with some kind of silica(?) that absorbs moisture and turns to water. From about May onwards I have 20-30 of those in my apartment and closets. During the winter it takes about 3 months for the silica to turn to water, but during the summer it's about 7-10 days. I have 2 aircon units in my apartment (one in the living/dining room, and one in my darkroom) and those run 24 hours (low) on dehumidify during the summer. I keep them on even when I'm travelling out of country. Humidity here in the summer is usually over 80%. I keep planning to buy a humidity control cabinet to store most of cameras and lenses in, but I still haven't done it yet.

jgoody · Mar 1, 2017

Not sure if this would be useful but tool or gun cabinets often have low wattage electric "rod" heaters in them to help keep them dry -- here's an example --

GoldenRod Dehumidifier™

Although the name implies that it removes moisture from the air, this device is essentially a compact, energy-efficient convection heater that gently warms the air, keeping the temperature above the dew point to prevent condensation and inhibit formation of rust, mold and mildew.

AgX · Mar 2, 2017

mooseontheloose said:
Here in Japan they also sell something call "dry pet" which is a container with some kind of silica(?) that absorbs moisture and turns to water.

It is not Silica, but Calcium Chloride.

Its disadvatage to Silica is that it turns into a mess, a container filled with somewhat-corrosive brine.
So care must be taken that the mass not come into contact with cameras or optics.

mooseontheloose · Mar 2, 2017

AgX said:
It is not Silica, but Calcium Chloride.

Its disadvatage to Silica is that it turns into a mess, a container filled with somewhat-corrosive brine.
So care must be taken that the mass not come into contact with cameras or optics.

Thanks - I knew it wasn't silica, but had no idea what it was. I don't keep it with my camera gear, it's more for general moisture-sucking, especially in my closets, since no one wants mildew-y or moldy clothes/shoes.

Nodda Duma · Mar 2, 2017

The rule of thumb for humidity control for working with electro-optical systems is to keep between 20-50% relative humidity. Below 50, corrosion is not an issue. Above 20 so you minimize the risk of static electricity zapping electronics.

bdial · Mar 2, 2017

I spent a year in Thailand during my time in the service. We didn't do anything special with gear storage, though our building was air conditioned, so that was the primary protection. The cameras lived in cabinets, film was in a big walk-in fridge. Equipment like the studio camera just lived on it's stand in the portrait studio. The building also housed the darkrooms and a maintenance facility for cameras used on some of the aircraft. The cameras I used for work pre-dated my time there by years, and remained when I left.

My personal gear lived where i did, which was not in air conditioned space, but it didn't spend all that much time closed up with no air circulation.

RalphLambrecht · Mar 2, 2017

Colin Corneau said:
I'm wondering how people protect their gear from damage - mold, etc. - while in humid climates.

Looking to go to Thailand and area and while my time there has been limited to under a month, I'm wondering how those spending longer times in such places keep their gear safe over time.

I'm collecting silica pacs when possible but any suggestions welcome!

I live in a rather humid environment and keep all my gear in an air-conditioned house;so far no issues.

Kilgallb · Mar 18, 2017

I saw a lecture by a National Geogrphic photographer. It was on a study he did in Borneo on birds of paradise. He told us they took a cooler load of desiccant packs into the jungle and every night repackaged the cameras and lenses in pelican cases with several desiccant packs. He mentioned you can recharge (dry out) the packs by putting them in the oven or just heating them up.

zilch0md · Mar 19, 2017

Not mentioned yet is to the need to avoid taking uncovered gear out into warm, humid air from inside colder, dry environments. That can result in air within the camera body actually condensing throughout the camera. I've even seen water condense onto cold 120-format film when loaded into a warm camera in humid environments. So, here's the trick when going down into warm, humid caves, for example, when it's cold outside at the surface - or out into a humid, tropical environment from inside a cool, dry, air-conditioned hotel room - or, for that matter, when returning from sub-freezing winter conditions, to a warm hotel room:

Before moving from a cold, dry space to a warm, humid space:

Put your cool, dry gear - and the film you intend to use - into a kayaker's dry bag, with some silica gel packs. I highly recommend the Wolfyok brand. Squeeze out as much air as possible. (If your items are small enough, you can load them into one-gallon ZipLoc bags.)
Take the protected gear from the cold environment out into the warm environment and WAIT for the temperature inside the dry bag to reach the new, warmer air temperature. This requires planning and patience. Depending on the temperature differential, it can take anywhere from an hour to three hours for the gear to reach the warmer temperature.
Remove the gear from the bag and use it with absolutely no fear of condensation forming inside or on exterior surfaces.
You can return to the cooler, drier environment without using the dry bag (or ZipLocs).
When returning to a cooler, drier interior space, from a warm, humid exterior, I prefer to leave the gear out on a table, in an air conditioned environment for a couple of hours, to dry it out, before stowing it in enclosed cases or camera bags. When returning from cold-weather shooting, to a relatively warmer, more humid interior, I use the dry bag. (Remember, the dry bag has to be used when moving to the warmer, more humid environment, whether that's indoors or out.)

I store my gear in closed cases with these oven-rechargeable, indicating silica gel canisters and I use these smaller, rechargeable silica gel packs in my camera bags.

mgb74 · Mar 19, 2017

I have a number of approx 1 lb silica packs from many years ago. They were originally from shipping motorcycles (Japan to US). Similar to this. I "recharged" them periodically (in the kitchen oven) o use in a safe during humid summer months. Just make sure the packaging can withstand the oven heat.

If you (the OP) are collecting the tiny silica packs that come with cameras and electronics in retail packaging, you've got a lot of collecting to do.

Jeff Bradford · Mar 19, 2017

I use an air conditioner and a dehumidifier in the closed room. Lenses are kept in a closed wooden cabinet with a fluorescent bulb to keep the temperature at about 75 degrees. Fungus spores need darkness, moisture, and a specific temperature change to activate.

A damp camera in a leather case or inside a closed camera bag is the perfect environment for mold, as is the inside of a backpack full of dirty, sweaty clothing.

Old-N-Feeble · Mar 19, 2017

I remember telling someone living in Europe in 80+ percent humidity to store their gear in a styrofoam ice chest (to moderate temperature extremes) with a large jar of re-usable silica gel in the chest and each lens/camera in individual bags with another silica gel pack per bag.

I was chastised for suggesting an option that would worsen humidity... uhhhh... REALLY????

carlostaiwan · Mar 27, 2017

Here in Taiwan is really humid, I use a massive off-brand tupperware as a dry box. The box has a soft plastic bottom, like the ones you can find in fruit boxes. And a couple of dehumidifier (or dry box) inside. I bought a couple of hygrometers (to see the humidity) one is outside and the other one inside. the outside one usually marks 80% the inside one usually 35-40%.
For the film, the same, but smaller, inside the fridge or a cold(ish) place.
Really cheap DIY drybox.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 27, 2017

Here in Florida the humidity is very high and especially so during the rainy season. I store my cameras on shelves where there is a free exchange of air. The worst thing you can do is keep them in a confined space. So no closets, camera bags or cases and definitely NO plastic bags. This only encourages the growth of mold and mildew.

A simple remedy to prevent mold or mildew on porous surfaces (leather, cloth, cardboard, ...) and plastics is copper sulfate commonly called blue stone. Take two tablespoons of the chemical and dissolve it in two cups of warm water. The exact proportions are not critical. Take a cloth, an old terrycloth face cloth works very well, and soak it the solution for a few minutes and then wring it out well. Allow the cloth to dry. Then use this cloth to wipe all the surfaces of the object. The idea is to transfer a very small amount of the copper sulfate to the surfaces. The chemical kills mold and mildew and prevents their growth. Once treated things should be fine. Repeat this on a periodic basis, say every few months. The solution does not go bad and can be stored in a jar between treatments. The treatment will not stain things as the cloth is dry and very little chemical is transferred to articles. If an article gets wet then after it is dry repeat the process. Blue stone is available in the US in garden supply stores and sometimes pharmacies. After several uses it is good to "recharge" the cloth with the solution. A very cheap and effective solution.

Roseha · Aug 29, 2017

I have been examining this question also. I live in New York so it is generally only humid in the summer, but I needed a solution for times I am not home. I recently discovered the "rechargeable" small dehumidifiers that plug in to dry out, but am wondering what to put the equipment in. I have ordered some plastic bins like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/IRIS-41-Qt-Weathertight-Storage-Box-in-Clear-110500/300735910
Does that seem like a decent idea? I dont want my expensive lenses to get any mold.

paul ron · Aug 29, 2017

I've found keeping my equipment in zip lock bags and a freshly desicated silica pak works fine. living in NYC I'm sure is nothing like your conditions but the trick is keeping your silica fresh.

I desicate my silica in the oven at 200°f for 2 or 3 hours. before electronic ignition ovens, the pilot light would keep my oven at a constant 150°f, I kept my silica in overnight.

Arklatexian · Aug 29, 2017

RalphLambrecht said:
I live in a rather humid environment and keep all my gear in an air-conditioned house;so far no issues.

Me, live in a hot humid place? Folks, that is how you spell Louisiana/ Since most houses where I live have refrigerated air conditioning (even if it is cooled by window units), I keep my camera equipment in our house. The darkroom and related workroom each have its own window unit. The only "window" in the darkroom is filled by its small window unit and the workroom only has one small window other than the opening that holds the airconditioner. The thermostat in the darkroom stays at 20C/68F all during hot/damp weather and the workroom stays at 70F. Once the rooms are cool, these units don't run continuously so they don't cost much to run and keep the rooms cool and DRY and as you say:"so far no issues". I am old enough to remember before air- conditioning when anything in the closets made of leather would turn white with mildew in a short period of time. Good old days? Bah!..........Regards!

mgb74 · Aug 30, 2017

Roseha said:
I have been examining this question also. I live in New York so it is generally only humid in the summer, but I needed a solution for times I am not home. I recently discovered the "rechargeable" small dehumidifiers that plug in to dry out, but am wondering what to put the equipment in. I have ordered some plastic bins like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/IRIS-41-Qt-Weathertight-Storage-Box-in-Clear-110500/300735910
Does that seem like a decent idea? I dont want my expensive lenses to get any mold.

Exactly what do those small rechargeable dehumidifiers do? My guess is that they are tiny heaters that are supposed to raise the temp in whatever container they're in a few degrees. If so, you'll be recharging them quite often. If your place isn't air conditioned, I'd go with Paul's desiccant approach. There are also these for confined, but not air tight. spaces like a safe or cabinet.

Daft Vader · Aug 31, 2017

Weather resistant bags and silica packs should be sufficient.

Protecting Cameras From Humidity: How Best To Do It?

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