ENDED: Survey on Soaking of Stamps

To make this easier I have moved from it's original posting,

I am hoping for input from forum members. TSF/ProBoards does not seem to allow for short surveys. A series of pools seems too cumbersom. I am hoping that you might be willing to respond. QUOTE my message and delete, all but the questions below. Then make your choices. If you have additional comments please add them after/outside the questions (within the quote)

I will tabulate response and assemble stats and post after it appears this has run it's course. If you do NOT soak stamps, reply without the quote function.

Thank you in advance-
Stan


Soaking:

Do you soak stamps in: (container type)

Glass:

Plastic:

Metal:

Typically how long do you soak stamps:

0-15 minutes:

16-30 minutes:

>30 minutes:

Do you use:

Tap water:

Filtered water:

Distilled water:

Do you use:

Cold water:

Warm water (can comfortably place your hand in):

Hot water:

Do you routinely follow soaking with a separate soaking in Hydrogen Peroxid?


Do you routinely use hydrogen peroxide separatly?

No:

Yes:

Full strength (3%):

Diluted (If so, approximately what ratio water to peroxide):

How long?

Thank you to all who responded. 


26 people responded.  (the message was viewed 482 times) so about a 5% response, which anything >2% is generally considered good.

My reason for asking these questions?  As many of you may know I have an avid interest in color (nuances, shades), which has caused me to 'bathe' most all used stamps  to not only remove any envelope or hinge remnant, but also to remove any dirt.  This led to using peroxide to help alleviate sulfurization.

Some of you may also be aware that Beryllium Guy  (Chris) and I have been involved in a 'soaking' experiment  and how it affects various stamps.

So, before I dive into the next series of experiments, I thought it might be good to know what the typical (average if you wish) practice is for soaking, so I might follow somewhat of a 'norm'.


So here's what i found:

Of the 26 respondents 4  (15%) either did not soak, seldom soaked, or hadn't soaked in a very long time

Of the remaining 22 who did soak;

it was a near even mix between whether a glass, ceramic, plastic, metal (and sinks) were used.  I honestly didn't think it mattered, but asked to see if anyone might have  thoughts on one over the other (there were none). So basically, what type of vessel is not important.

Soaking times was a near even split between 0-15 minutes and 16-30 minutes, with a few comments to the effect of 'longer if needed; and "whenever I remember". If i were to average this, i would break it down to 10 - 20 minutes being fairly common

Tap water was by far  what most people used,  3 people used filtered, and one commented that they might use RO (water treated by reverse osmosis).  There was one comment with concerns about chlorination and extended soaking times.  

"cold water"   32%
"warm water" (meaning you could place your hand comfortably into it)  63% (1 added a drop of detergent)
"hot' water   5% (1 respondent)

No one regularly used Hydrogen Peroxide.  5 respondents (22%) used it periodically, all using 3% (right out of the bottle).

Soaking times tended to be short:

2  soaked in 3% H₂O₂ for less than 1 minute, 1 soaked 2-3 minutes, 1 longer as needed, and 1 person used an evaporative method, length determined by watching for a change.

How does this compare to me?  In the past i have used glass or metal bowls (compliments of the kitchen) and have typically used HOT water from the tap. 135-140 ^oF depending on how long I let the tap run.  I  routinely add a drop of clear dish detergent.

I probably should have asked about rinsing, time and temp..... (best laid plans)

I 'rinse" in hot tap water. the time dependent upon how many stamps I have in the batch, but 15-20  minutes would not be unusual.

Here however is where I diverge. i routinely take a number of stamps from the rinse water (specifically those I am currently working on... which lately has been France and Austria) , quickly blot and then into 3% H₂O₂ for 5-10 minutes, then back into fresh rinse water, and then blotted, for 5-10 minutes and then placed into drying books. This does mean that those stamps not subjected to the peroxide  stay on the blotter towels for a longer period.

Recently- a series of stamps were soaked for timed periods in filtered tap water (carbon filter) at ambient temp, and used as a 'control' group . I used filtered water over concerns that the chlorination might be detrimental, but perhaps these fears are unnecessary.  

It seems safe to say, there is no 'wrong" or "right" method. Now, the challenge is to determine what is optimal soaking time? When is there nothing significant to be gained by continuing soak times, and most important when does it become destructive?

And, lastly, is there  a 'safe' method for stamps labeled as having "fugitive/unstable" inks?

Thanks again all who responded!
Cheers
Stan

Side bar:
Chlorination in drinking water is considered an excellent disinfectants, and according to one source concentrations of >500 are required for any 'bleaching' to occur. Considering that drinking water standards vary by country but range from 0.04 - 2.0 ppm (Canada)  to 0.25 - 6 ppm (UK), with most other countries somewhere in between, the levels are very low.

Compared to H₂O₂  3% = 30,000 ppm!

Peroxide is considered in some writings as the better disinfectant for drinking water when compared to chlorination, but it costs considerably more, so easy decision by mmunicipalities.

Both are considered 'oxidizing' agents.