Managing your collection (manual storage and dust)

[SkiDragon]

I have a lot of loose manuals, and I was wondering what was a good way to store them. What do you do?

Also, I am interested in protecting my stuff from dust. Currently, I have a lot of paper towels over my systems. I was wondering what else I could do to protect them from dust. Do those air filters that are alwats advertised filter enough dust from the air so that it will not accumulate on surfaces?

[Nez]

Well you should repace those filters anyways every couple of months so if your not replacing them, it makes a mess. As far as speciall filters go I've tried em nver noticed a difference though.

Oh I store my manuals in plastic sleaves. Keeps them safe and sound.

[-hellvin-]

I just lay them on the tables or in a shoebox. When they are dusty I blow them off. There is nothing I can do for the consoles.

[Ed Oscuro]

Manuals? Don't have any lying around. Boxes get dusty, but that's just a part of the business. I don't worry about dust much (which might sound odd given that I go crazy cleaning consoles when I get them) and picking them up or touching them DOES add to wear and tear, so I don't dust often. This probably sounds superstitious, but I'm not quite sure how the Ionic Breeze works so I'm wary of putting one near floppy disks (I wouldn't have spare cash for one anyway, lol). I use power supplies where necessary, and I recently bought a pretty good cheap UPS (Energizer, really made by somebody else but that's the brand) for use with computer systems and expensive consoles. Good stuff that comes in cardboard boxes can go into filing cabinet style drawers, which I've done with most of my x68K games and should do with others.

Consoles are either in use or in a box.

[Jibbajaba]

That Ionic Breeze thing is a sham. I don;t feel like looking up the link, but consumer reports tested it and they said it was a POS. It doesnt have a fan, so it attempts to move air through it by convection, which isn't efficient at all. One of those big ass air filters that have the HEPA filters in them work OK, but I have found that the best way to combat dust is to vaccuum your carpet regularly. Other than that I don't think that there is much that you can do. Dust is a part of life. You could call NASA and ask how they have their clean rooms set up, I guess.

Chris

[allsport11]

For manuals, loose games and boxed games I use good ole comic book bags for storage. They keep the dirt out and prevent any discoloration/fading that might otherwise occur. ;)