Keeping books through the monsoon
Damp is a book's worst enemy. Simple habits that keep pages flat and spines straight.
Bengaluru's monsoon is gentle compared to Mumbai's, but damp still finds its way into shelves.
Air, not plastic
Sealed plastic traps moisture. Open shelves with a little gap behind the books are better.
Silica and neem
A few silica sachets on each shelf and dried neem leaves keep both damp and silverfish away.
Do not stack paperbacks flat for months
Stand them upright, not too tight, so the spines do not warp.
If a book gets wet
Interleave the wet pages with kitchen paper, close it under a weight and change the paper every hour.
