Storing LPs, from case to cabinet: how to keep your records in top condition

A record collection deserves better than a pile in the corner of the living room. Storing LPs properly comes down to four things: keep them upright, away from heat and damp, in decent sleeves and in a cabinet that can take the weight. Get that sorted and you’ll never have to deal with warped records or mouldy sleeves. I learnt that the hard way myself.

#1. Always store your records upright

For years, my first records lay flat on top of each other under my bed. Nice and compact, I thought. Until I put the bottom one on again and watched the needle ride the waves like a surfer (true story). Stacking records flat is the biggest mistake you can make with vinyl, and also the easiest one to avoid.

It’s all about weight. In a stack of thirty records, the bottom one carries the weight of twenty-nine others. That weight warps the bottom records and literally presses into the grooves. And because the label is slightly thicker than the rest of the record, that bottom disc can even end up dish-shaped.

When a record stands upright, it only has to deal with its own weight. While you’re at it, don’t put your singles and 10-inch records in between your LPs. Store records with different diameters separately, each in their own compartment.

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#2. Choose a spot free from heat and damp

Enemy number two is heat. Vinyl warps when it gets too warm, so a cabinet next to the radiator or above an air vent is asking for trouble. Normal room temperature, roughly between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, is perfectly fine. There’s really no need to turn your home into a museum archive.

What you do need to watch out for are big temperature fluctuations. That rules out the loft, the cellar, the shed and the conservatory. A loft is a sauna in July and an icebox in January, and your records feel every bit of it. However tempting that empty loft may be when your collection is bursting at the seams.

Then there’s humidity. Keep it somewhere between 30 and 50 per cent. Any damper and mould is lurking, and it won’t just settle on the record but on the cardboard sleeve too. A simple hygrometer on the wall tells you at a glance how things stand.

Finally: direct sunlight. A shelf in full sun fades sleeves and quietly heats up your records. That lovely cabinet in front of the window? Better to put it against an interior wall.

#3. Give every record a good inner and outer sleeve

The record itself belongs in an inner sleeve made of anti-static polyethylene. A sleeve like that attracts less dust and protects the vinyl as you slide it in and out of the jacket. Want a concrete example? Mobile Fidelity’s (MoFi) Original Master Sleeves are used by hobbyists and by conservation specialists who look after archive collections alike. That says something.

Next, slip the jacket into a clear plastic outer sleeve, made of polypropylene, for example. That way, that gorgeous artwork stays looking pristine. Bought some second-hand records wrapped in old, yellowed plastic sleeves? Replace them straight away with new, archival-quality ones.

Oh, and only ever hold a record by its edge and label, with clean, dry hands. Skin oil on vinyl is a perfect breeding ground for mould, and that’s exactly what you’ve just been protecting it from.

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#4. Choose a cabinet or case that can take the weight

Records are heavier than you think. A metre of fully packed shelf of LPs easily weighs 50 kilos, often closer to 65. Across the width, that weight spreads neatly over the whole shelf, but front to back it all presses down on one narrow strip: an upright record rests on its rounded bottom edge, right in the middle of the shelf. A wobbly bookcase will visibly sag under that total weight or eventually give up altogether. So choose a record cabinet or rack with a sturdy base that’s built to handle that load.

Inside the cabinet, sturdy, fixed dividers every 10 to 15 centimetres work best. They support the entire record, so a half-empty compartment doesn’t mean everything starts leaning at an angle. If your bookcase isn’t deep enough for LPs, a separate LP box is a great alternative.

Taking your records to a party or a DJ set? Then a record bag or record case is the only sensible choice. Go for one that keeps your records upright and protected on the move. I once tried a plastic carrier bag from the supermarket, too. Once.

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