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Are your photos safe in Mumbai rains

Are your photos safe in Mumbai rains? 5-step guide to protect your photos in Mumbai weather condition.

August 30, 2017
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According to Times of India dated 30th August 2017, the rainstorm which hit Mumbai on Tuesday (29th August) was the most intense weather event it has experienced since the deluge of July 26 in 2005. The city downpour broke all records for August in 10 years. It also reminded of a far bigger tragedy, the 944-mm downpour in Mumbai on 26th July 2005 that submerged the city. People lost their houses, near and dear ones, belongings and also the memories of their close ones in forms of the photos.

Even if we think of normal situations and not the above examples of extreme natural calamities, with the relative humidity going up to 86% during June to September the rate of decay of photos is very high. Add the perennial water leakage problems in Mumbai houses, dampness of walls, flooring and the photos become susceptible to damage even in normal conditions.
We are providing below a quick 5-step guide to protect your photos in Mumbai weather.

Step 1: Store photos in well-ventilated dark areas

In Mumbai conditions, flooding, dampness, moisture, leakage from ceilings as well as exposure to light resulting in fading of photos are some of the potential threats for your photos. For this we are providing following guidelines for storing your photos.

  • As far as possible, avoid keeping photos directly on the ground or on top of cupboard exposing it directly to a leaking ceiling or excessive light. If the house walls get damp then also avoid keeping photos in direct contact with the walls.
  • Keep photos away from air conditioning units
  • Store photos in cupboards, cabinets or drawers under the bed. As these places are part of your living quarters, the temperature and moisture is better controlled in these places as compared to any other place in the house

Step 2: Choose photo albums carefully

If your photos are in the albums commonly used in 70s, where the photos were stuck to the album pages with glue; then it is advisable to remove the photos from these albums. As the chemicals in the glue react with the photos when they come in contact with the photos, staining and damaging them permanently.

Photos in old albums
Photos in old albums

When choosing albums with plastic sleeves; look for materials like polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene as these do not harm the photos.

Step 3: Digitise photos for posterity

With advent of technology, we have got advantage of digitising photos in very cost effective manner. Now many people across India have started digitising all their photos. You can use mobile applications, scanners at home or outsource the activity to experts like ScanMemories for doing the entire exercise in a very cost-effective manner.

While digitising make sure to digitise the photos to right resolution, as well as image quality which is closer to the original print.

Step 4: Keep a backup of digital photos on cloud

Most of the people who digitise the photos take a backup of the photos on DVDs, USB drives or hard disks. But keep in mind, these are just a replacement for your physical photos and can get damaged easily, thus you ending up losing the digital copies of the photos. It is always advisable to keep a backup of the photos online on cloud such as Google Drive for safe keeping the photos, just like you do for your mobile data. So even if your local digital backup (DVDs, USB drives or hard disks) gets lost you can retrieve your photos from the online cloud.

Step 5: Photos are already damaged, don’t worry contact us

Even after doing all the above if your photos get damaged because of the Mumbai weather, do not throw them without checking with us and we will try our best to retrieve your precious memories for you.


(To digitize your photos, contact us at 8879272660 or drop message at http://www.scanmemories.co/contact-us)