PSA: Stop storing tapes horizontally next to a heating vent

I was at a thrift store in Portland last week and saw a stack of about 20 Disney VHS tapes sitting flat on a shelf right under a heating duct. The plastic cases were all warped and two of them had the actual tape spool showing through the label. I asked the clerk how long theyd been there and she said maybe three years. Three years of hot air blowing down on those tapes. I've been collecting for about 15 years now and I can tell you that heat is the number one killer of VHS tapes. Even if you store them the right way vertical and spine out a heater vent will ruin them in one season. Has anyone else seen stores or collectors make this mistake with tapes near heat sources?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_robin6d ago

Yeah, the bit about "three years of hot air blowing down on those tapes" really got to me. I used to be one of those guys who figured a shelf is a shelf, you know? I had a small collection of old horror VHS tapes on a bookcase right above a radiator in my apartment for like two years. I thought the heat was far enough away because it was a few feet, but the cases got all brittle and the actual tape inside started flaking off in one spot. Had to toss a copy of The Thing that way. So yeah, you're dead right about heat being the worst.

juliawalker6d ago

I remember reading something a while back from a guy who used to work at a old video rental place. He said the biggest issue they had was humidity, not just heat. The back room where they kept the overstock was like a sauna in the summer and the tapes would literally start to feel sticky. I bet your scenario was both, with that radiator it probably dried out the air too which is why the plastic got so brittle.