My entire vintage postcard collection got soaked in a basement flood

I was sorting them in my Chicago apartment basement last month when a pipe burst from the unit above. Water poured down the wall right onto my storage box. I managed to salvage about 60 of the 200 cards by carefully laying them out on towels for two days. Has anyone else had to rescue a collection from a disaster like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_michael2mo ago

Man, that's rough. I had a similar thing happen with some old photos. The key is to get air moving around them once they're not dripping wet. I used a fan on low speed for a week. Kept them flat under a light weight like a book to stop them from curling as they dried.

kellyjones2mo ago

Ever think about what kind of paper those old photos are printed on? Some of that really old stuff can get weird with too much air flow, almost like it dries out and gets brittle. Maybe check if they feel like thick cardboard or that thinner, shiny kind before you blast them. I'd be worried the fan could make some types crack if they dry too fast.

parker_price2mo ago

Oh totally, the fan trick is a lifesaver. I did the same with a stack of my grandpa's letters that got soaked, and @kellyjones has a point about going slow so the paper doesn't get wrecked. Just a gentle breeze for a few days made all the difference.