Ziplock Bags

[fischer]

Hello

I recently purchased some Polyethylene Ziplock Bags from Gaylord Supply and wondered if there are any problems with using them for storage.

My first thought was to store my award packets and boxes in them to prevent dust and handling problems.

I then found my combat badges fit nicely in them and allows one to study and handle the badge without worry of finger prints, oils, etc.

Are they safe to store tombak and zinc material badges in?

BEst Regards, fischer

[juoneen]

I can see no reason why not, if you don't want to use rikers , but only if the zincers are not infested with pest(then they may exasperate the pest to spread more on that badge). They work well for cloth items also, as bugs can destroy flags, patches and whatnots if they can get acess to them, and still microscopicly breathe which I feel is important especially for bullion items.

[fischer]

Thanks for the reply Juoneen

[Bob Hritz]

Polyethylene s a petroleum by product and contains solvent byproducts.

I would recommend MYLAR envelopes (bags) which are used to store baseball cards and other paper items which must be in an acid free and solvent free environment. These are available at sports card stores as well as internet suppliers for archive quality clear storage products.

Bob Hritz

[Gary B]

Hi,

Bob is absolutely "spot on" with his comment. Ziplock bags contain PVC which is what makes the bags soft. Over time the bags will "gas off" causing disoloration of paper, cloth & metal. Mylar covers, like those used with comic books and, as mentioned, sports cards, contain no PVC (they are quite stiff) and are fine materials to store items in. When storing the mylar covers they should be stored in an acid free box.

That being said if you are storing items for a short duration then the ziplock bags are ok.

Gary B

[blinky]

Polyethylene zip lock bags are fine, you want to avoid anything with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is to be avoided. Polyethylene is very stable (Mylar/Polyester is chemically stable, polyethylene is less chemically stable but as long as it avoids direct sunlight for any length of time is as safe as mylar) and much cheaper than mylar. Zip lock bags at your grocery store or any zip lock type bag that is "food safe" is an excellent storage medium as long as you don't create a micro-climate.

[blinky]

Check out this site:

http://www.nps.gov/museum/publicatio...gram/18-02.pdf

The NPS publishes a lot of resource information regarding conservation, well worth reading and bookmarking.

[fischer]

Originally Posted by blinky

Check out this site:

http://www.nps.gov/museum/publicatio...gram/18-02.pdf

The NPS publishes a lot of resource information regarding conservation, well worth reading and bookmarking.

Thank you for the link and have saved it to my favorites...

I will leave the bags unsealed avoiding unwanted moisture trapped inside.