Humidifiers

[diana zlatanovski <zlatanovski@xxxxxxxx>]

Hello

For approximately 8 months, part of our textile collection will be  
stored in a room without a dedicated HVAC system.  It is a room within  
a heated/cooled brick building and there are no windows in the space,  
which should help buffer the outside climate.  I am definitely  
planning to put a dehumidifier in the space for the summer months and  
had been planning on getting a humidifier for the winter, as the RH in  
the space right now is 13%.  Is that the best plan of action for  
minimizing stress on the textiles?  I know ideally, we need to keep  
the humidity at a constant rate near 50%, but if that is not possible,  
how unacceptable is having the textiles (in archival boxes) at the  
ambient winter RH levels, around 10-20% for a couple of months?  How  
fast or slow is moisture equilibrium for textiles?

Thanks!
Diana

zlatanovski@xxxxxxxx