Hi Lindsey, The condensation is especially an issue due to the change in temperature upon removal. Slowing that time assists. Insulating the items from the new environment is a good idea. We use blankets over the containers for at least 24 hours after removal from a freezing treatment.
The containers even if not an excellent seal can be combined with thick plastic bags (this also assists in minimizing the air availability). The bags can also be used around the entire box. Layers are your friend. Freezer always have moisture in them, the layers provide barriers to the moisture being near the item being treated. Good Luck! Jo Lynne Collection Steward conservator St Kateri Tekakwitha Heritage Center On Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:35 AM 'Lindsey Gibson' via MuseumPests < [email protected]> wrote: > Thanks very much for your responses Rob and Riika. > > > > I thought that as long as I fill the boxes and wrap the items in tissue > withing the boxes, as long as the boxes are moisture tight, this should > work the same as my current system of tissue wrapping and sealing in > plastic to mitigate the risks of moisture in the air. > > > > With regard to the moisture content of the paper, i wonder if as long as > the books/paper are dry, and have an absorbant wrapper (the acid free > tissue) hopefully this will prevent any condensation damaging the > books/paper? I certainly have not previously had any noticeable issues when > freezing paper items this way. Please do correct me if I have misunderstood > though. > > > > Thanks very much, > Lindsey > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf > Of *Robert Waller > *Sent:* 06 February 2026 16:13 > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [EXTERNAL]:[PestList] Re: Request for advice on packaging > archives for freezing > > > > You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is > important <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> > > CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not > click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know > the content is safe. > > > > Thanks Riikka, > > I also have a concern about too much air space but for me it is a > different concern. I expect the paper will hold more moisture than the air, > typically about 7% w/w (70 g/kg) at 20°C and 50%RH where air at 20°C and > 50%RH just holds about 0.09 g/L. As the package cools the amount of > moisture held within the paper will increase slowly, but frost on the > inside surface of the container would likely develop first. Depending on > how thermal gradients first develop, then subside over time, there might be > a chance of some inside box surface frost melting during the warming > process and causing some of wetting to collection item surfaces. I don't > know if it would be a serious concern but I expect it could happen to some > extent, especially when there is a large airspace to paper content ratio. > > Rob > > Protect Heritage Corp. > > Ottawa > ------------------------------ > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf > of Riikka Lastikka <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Tuesday, February 3, 2026 10:14 AM > *To:* [email protected] <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [PestList] RE: Request for advice on packaging archives for > freezing > > > > Dear Lindsey, > > I guess that if the boxes would be filled with something to minimize the > amount of air inside the box, your idea might work. > > What I have understood is that depending of the amount of moisture in the > air while you are packing the material has an effect on it how much > moisture that would be in the box inside a freezer – the colder it gets, > the moister the air becomes, and the more free airspace there is inside the > box, the moister it can become. Not specifically problem during freezing > but bigger while taking the material out of the freezer. > > I would be interested in to see what kind of boxes you have found. Do you > have a link to them? Thank you! > > Riikka Lastikka > Paper Conservator > > Åbo Akademi University Library > Turku Finland > > *From:* 'Lindsey Gibson' via MuseumPests <[email protected]> > *Sent:* tisdag 3 februari 2026 16:59 > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [PestList] Request for advice on packaging archives for > freezing > > > > Good afternoon, > > > > I have a query about packaging materials for freezing. I routinely freeze > paper/books/textiles to deal with insect pests. I wrap in acid free tissue > and polythene sealed with self adhesive tape. > > I reuse the polythene as much as possible but it does need replacing > periodically and I’m using fresh self adhesive tape (with a plastic > carrier) each time. > > As a lot of the books and papers I am freezing are similar sized, I was > wondering if I could use airtight, watertight plastic boxes instead of > polythene and tape. I have found some boxes that are IP56 compliant. I > can’t immediately think of a reason this wouldn’t work but am keen to hear > from others who may think of an issue with this/ or who have used boxes > themselves instead of polythene. > > > > Thanks very much, > > Lindsey > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > *Customer Notice* > > *We have recently updated our terms and conditions for all our services, > including making some important updates to our privacy notices. 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