Watch Out for These Factors That Can Damage Photos
photo by Yoela via iStock
If you’ve ever desperately searched through a grandparent’s attic looking for that one specific photo you absolutely loved as a kid, then you know just how devastating photo damage can be.
Damaged photos are heartbreaking, especially if those photos were never backed up digitally, as is the case with a lot of photos which I considered to be family heirlooms.
Knowing what you know now, it’s important that you learn about factors that can damage photos so that you can prevent your children and grandchildren from going through the same heartbreak.
Unfortunately, there are so many factors that can damage photos. So, it’s important for you to learn how photos get damaged so you know what dangers to look out for.
Bad Storage Conditions
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One of the most obvious factors that can damage photos is bad storage conditions. There’s a reason why all of the images you loved so much as a child were ruined in the attic of your grandparents’ house: it was probably pretty wet up there. The images were also probably exposed to other bad things in that environment, like broken pipes or leaking water heaters.
Places that are especially dusty can also damage your photographs because dust particulates can scratch the surface of your photos.
If you absolutely have to store your photos in a lesser used room of your home, make sure that you don’t put them anywhere water could get to. This means don’t put your photos next to windows, bathrooms or other home equipment that use water, like washing machines or dishwashers.
You also need to make sure that your photos are stored in a paper or plastic enclosure.
Improper Handling
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Depending upon how many people have access to your stored photographs, one of the biggest factors that can damage photos may be improper handling.
For starters, you can obviously damage your photos. You can accidentally tear them, especially if they are particularly old or brittle. You can also bend them or crack them. You don’t need to have any sort of malice in order to do this with images that are decades old. They sort of want to fall apart all on their own.
You can also damage your photos when trying to repair them. If you have an image that tears apart, you may want to try and glue or tape the photo back together. Unfortunately, this can further damage the parts of your photo that otherwise were unharmed.
When you’re handling old photos, you should be wearing gloves. This ensures that you don’t transfer any of the grease or dirt on your hands onto your old photos.
You should only carry your photos by their edges, being careful not to damage the corners. If your photos are especially brittle, you may want to only handle them with the use of some sort of a backing.
And, if your images do get damaged, you need to contact a professional repair company, like PhotoRepairPro.
PhotoRepairPro was the chosen photo restoration studio for Costco Photo Centers, which is how I originally found them.
They are professionals who understand how to restore your old images without hurting them further. They can restore old photos and colorize old photos.
Plus, for one flat fee of $35, they will do your photo repair, give you a JPEG download, and ship two 5x7 prints to your home.
Don’t let your improper handling of old photos ruin them permanently. Instead, contact a photo repair service right away.
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Insects/Animals
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This is one of those factors that can damage photos that you probably aren’t thinking about when you are storing photos for the first time. But, no matter where you live, there is always a possibility that insects, like cockroaches, or other animals, like rodents, will find your photos.
Unfortunately, both cockroaches and rats/mice are willing to eat just about anything they can get their hands on, and this includes photo paper.
Obviously, there really isn’t any way to ensure that your photos never come into contact with these pests, since they are incredibly sneaky at times. But, if you ever see a pest in your home, you need to contact a professional pest company right away.
You also need to check on your photos regularly. A lot of factors that can damage photos can be prevented by simply checking in on your photos once a month. You’ll see a water leak in the same way that you’ll see little bites being taken out of your images.
The Sun
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Of all the factors that can damage photos on this list, the sun is your biggest enemy. Unfortunately, unless you’re a professional photographer, you’re probably not thinking about all of the light damage photos that are hanging on your walls receive in a day.
Damage from the sun is one of the reasons why all of those old photos hanging on your grandparents’ walls were turning yellow and fading so quickly. While all photos will eventually fade, regardless of their exposure to light, hanging photos in direct sunlight is one of the quickest ways to age them.
So, instead of displaying any original copies of your photos, always display copies. Take the originals and store them as we described above.
Moisture
photo by eyenigelen via iStock
Finally, you need to be looking out for moisture. As I talked about above, you need to make sure that your images aren’t being directly harmed by water leaks, or aren’t being stored near anything that could potentially leak or flood. But, you also need to be concerned about how much moisture is in the air wherever you’re storing photos. This is especially important if you live somewhere where there’s a lot of humidity.
But, did you know that too little moisture in the air can also harm your images? High levels of humidity can cause mold and fungus in the same way that low levels of humidity can cause your photos to become too brittle.
This is why you need to keep your photos somewhere that is temperature controlled.
