Uh oh... will moist air destroy my DVD's?
 

So, my air conditioning made the air in my room real moist (I had to wipe the TV screen), and I realized the DVD's might be in trouble. I obviously turned off the AC and opened up the room for ventilation, and inspected some movies (especially those in cardboard boxes). They all had moisture on the back (similar to the look you get when you exhale on a disc), but when I played them they all loaded/played perfectly. Should I expect damage later, or am I in the clear? BTW, I tested about 15-20 discs. Thanks.

As long as they dried fine, they should be okay.

If this is going to be a problem with each time you run the AC, you might want to look into getting a dehumidifyer.

Will putting some silica gel help?

Just don't let them sit overnight in a pitcher of sangria. -wink-

Yes, a dehumidifier would be a good thing to get - and not just for the DVDs, if there is <i>that</i> much moisture being produced by the A/C.

Frankly I'd be more worried about the TV/other electronics than the DVDs.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. If it's that moist you really need to get it checked out by a technician so they can fix that. If it's so damp the inside of your TV, players, etc. are going to be moist too. Not good.

I've never seen an air conditioner ADD moisture to the air.

If you have one that cools by blowing a fan over cool water, then it will add moisture.

The moisture won't destroy it. If it did, everyone in Okinawa would lose their dvds as soon as they left the store.

Yes, can I lick my DVDs? I want to know...

But that isn't an air conditioner. We have an evaporative cooler ("swamp cooler") in our house and that does indeed add moisture... but I don't call it an AC.

Same thing happened to me this week.

You can but you'll get a better high if you stick to licking toads.

yes but this belongs in mature

How about heat? I forgot a left a couple of DVD in my back seat/truck of my car and left it in the sun for a while.. Haven't opened them yet.. How likely is it they're damaged?
Thanks

I live in a small place out in the middle of nowhere and live a pretty spartan life, using a monster window unit for air conditioning. I had central air for many years but old houses with old ductwork can really waste alot of energy so when mine went kaput a few years ago I just went the old fashioned way. Dunno about everybody else, but I keep my place pretty cool because I work in a factory environment with NO ac.....so when I get home I want OUT of the heat. Anyway, my AC unit pulls tons of moisture/water out of the air rather than inducing it into the house.
Sounds like the room housing your TV and DVDs was pretty much a freezer! :)

That's definitely not an AC! AC's suck moisture from the air and blow back cold dry air. If the OP is using one of those, he probably should stop if it's getting everything wet. If it's a real AC, and everything is wet, it needs to be checked out and probably serviced. AC's are very dry.

Yeah, definately. When I read the OP, I was like "Huh? An AC getting things wet???" ACs dehumidify the air, NOT humidify it. That's defeating the purpose of having AC. If I wanted humid air, I'd go outside on a hot summer day when the humidity is around 95%.

If this device is truely an AC, and it's putting out moisture, then have that sumbitch serviced immediately. It's NOT supposed to be doing that.

I live in the middle of the heartland. About an hour/hour and half north of the mergence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Our outside air is ALWAYS humid. And yet, I've never been anywhere where the AC is putting out moisture.

The only locale I can see where a "fan water cooler" would be used is in desert locations. Where's the OP from?

There is one potential moisture problem with standard AC units.

If they are too powerful for the space, they can cool the air too quickly without really sucking out the water. This can lead to high humidity even in an air conditioned room. So it becomes cold and clammy. I wouldn't think this would cause the amount of water described in the OP, but I have no experience, so who knows.

Has there been any recent research on humidity & DVD rot? My radiators have been freaking out lately, pumping out so much steam that our windows fog up entirely and we even had some pretty little mold infestations in the living room. None of my books seem damaged...the photo album pages are all warped and discolored...the furniture seems fine...But I'm wondering if I should be concerned about my DVDs? The moisture problem doesn't seem nearly as bad as OP (our moisture was mostly along the outside walls, but the apartment was very humid). I recently found two CDs with rot (nasty holes eaten all through the data layer), but should I check my DVDs?

It may be tough with over 2,100 titles...but I try to rotate my titles often. This inspects the dvd as well as increase the re-viddey factor on a fairly even basis. Then I put them back into what I call, the best home theater investment outside my HDTV....the plastic re-sealable sleeves. I like preventing weird stuff from causing my library to have a shorter life span. :D

It could rain inside my house and at least the library will remain dry.:lol:

Nip it in the bud.....protect yer shit!