Museums & Archives

Stable environmental conditions are essential to preserve valuable collections and protect irreplaceable artifacts. DriSteem provides humidification, dehumidification, and water treatment solutions that help museums, galleries, archives, and cultural institutions maintain precise humidity levels throughout exhibit spaces, storage areas, conservation labs, and special collections environments.

Fluctuations in humidity can cause wood, paper, textiles, paintings, and other sensitive materials to expand, contract, crack, warp, or deteriorate over time. By maintaining consistent relative humidity, museums can help preserve collection integrity, extend artifact life, and protect investments in cultural and historical preservation.

DriSteem solutions help museums achieve the stable environmental conditions needed to support long-term preservation while providing reliable, energy-efficient operation.

Issues caused by uncontrolled humidity

Uncontrolled humidity can cause wood to expand and contract, metals to rust, and paint to peel.  

• Porous and fibrous materials like wood contract and expand as humidity levels fluctuate. At high levels of humidity, wood, which has been a material used by artists throughout the centuries, loses its strength and becomes very flexible, while at low levels of humidity, it may become stiff and brittle.   
• In humid climates, the corrosion of metal artifacts is much more rapid and severe. As a general rule, rust and other oxidizing-type corrosion reactions will not occur when the RH is maintained at or below 40%.  
• High levels of humidity encourage pests and support the growth of mold on paper, textiles, and parchment.
• Eradicate pests and stop the spread of mold spores by optimizing the relative humidity level.   

Preserving and protecting an exhibit is a costly undertaking for museum owners, including the cost of insuring the collections.  

• Insurance policies may exclude coverage for damage due to temperature, heat, or humidity issues. Although many exclusions are negotiable, in some situations, like lack of environmental control, the cost of coverage may be excessively high.

Illness and discomfort to staff, volunteers, and visitors.

• Dry indoor air not only causes discomfort for visitors, volunteers, and staff, but it also allows easier transmission of airborne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza.
• Dry air can also increase infections and staff and volunteer absenteeism.   

Are you already using relative humidity to protect your collection?

For best performance and efficiency, check existing humidification systems to see whether any replacement parts are needed, whether other maintenance is required, and whether a software update is available.

Resources

Buyer’s Guide: Humidification for Museums
Learn how relative humidity helps not only protect your priceless artifacts but also stop the transmission of airborne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal influenza.

Preserving Priceless, UNESCO-recognized Manuscripts
Watch this video to discover how advanced environmental control and DriSteem’s RTS RX series electric humidifier helps protect the UNESCO-recognized Árni Magnússon manuscript collection in the new Edda building in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Humidifying The Hangar Flight Museum Case Study

Canada’s National Music Centre Case Study

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum Case Study

Protecting Artifacts and Patrons with Proper Humidity Control – A DriSteem Webinar for Museums

Next Steps

Contact your local DriSteem representative to learn more about museum humidity control. Use the Find a Rep tool below to find your nearest representative.

Already using humidity control to protect museums?

For best performance and efficiency, have existing humidification systems checked to determine whether any replacement parts are needed, whether other maintenance is required, and whether a software update is available. Contact your local DriSteem representative to learn more.