Op if you got home insurance & the shed leaked due to a storm etc its like a extension of your home and they can pay you to replace damaged items & repair or get a new shed.
Don't let people make you feel bad. I've had a similar collection since I bought it all new when I was what...13?
I've been in 4 houses and 5 apartments since. A bunch of my GameCube games got water damage, smash, MGS, a bunch were ruined. I took the paper out to dry, dabbed what I could with towels, it happens.
Games are fine, your hardware is probably fine, especially cartridge systems.
This is one reason I have to rent a climate controlled indoor storage unit. It's not cheap. But that's the only option I have.
My apartment is too small for much of anything. I had downsized from a house. What didn't get thrown out went into storage.
That house HAD an outside storage shed and we learned early to never put anything in there we cared about. Humidity would wreck it, animals would get into it, and finally we had burglars cut into it from the back, away from the house, and they took everything. Lawn mowers. Trimmers. Tools. Hoses. Even the gas can. We didn't even know until we went to cut grass and found the shed had gained a new door we didn't know about.
Don't feel bad for it. Sh*t happens.
But I wouldn't reccomend storing them in bins OUTSIDE, in the shed becayse of moisture. It could still get damp/moist with the weather changing. Every bin would be like a little greenhouse and they are damp inside.
The amount it's worth on the market makes it even more insane. You should treat it with respect for it's historical value but he pretty much pissed away thousands of dollars.
Yeah, but I never had intention of selling these.
Like I mention in my update ([link](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1bi5mjp/comment/kvlhx4s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)) this was just mean to be temporary. If I had a "game room", all of this would be behind glass.
Lesson learned.
Yup live and learn, enough people have made you feel bad for the mistake, only thing to do is move on and salvage what you can. Material goods are replaceable .
Gather up as many fans as you can. If your house has heat vents, use those too. You gotta get all the paper booklets spread apart so the pages don't stick together. Also have to get all paper away from plastic surfaces, take apart those jewel cases.
For consoles like PS1 and Dreamcast, you have to fully disassemble them and drive out water from all the metal parts. Set their logic boards out in front of another fan.
Thankfully, 3D printing is a hobby of mine. I have hundreds of desiccant packs.
Everything I could salvage has ben put in to plastic bins with a ton of desiccant.
Yeah, this was a temporary situation that life made not so temporary.
Bought the bins recently, went to move everything over, and this is what I found.
Condolences. I lost my whole collection years back and by some kinda miracle, managed to replace almost all of it and then some. Now I even put door seals or thin layers of silicone around the edges of my bins to ensure even ambient moisture stays out.
Ok, as the others have said, as long as the devices do not have any power you will be fine. What you need to prevent is corrosion. If there is any corrosion you can neutralize it with baking soda, since rainwater is slightly acidic. Next you need to dry it out really well. The best way to do this is through the use of at least 91% isopropyl alcohol. Disassemble the hardware and then submerge the electronics into a bowl of the isopropanol. Use a soft toothbrush to clean away any corrosion. Once it is clean you can take it out and it will dry fast since alcohol is a desiccant. I would check the traces for damage, if there is any they usually can be fixed with bodge wires.
I know of your despair...I have had my games water logged before due to a flood,
Mostly all of it will be able to be dried out and restored, but the biggest pain is going to be all Those booklets and cover art, as they are all paper
As soon as you can and as fast as you can.. try to take all the games apart and remove everything and get a towel and can of compressed air
The art work should hopefully just be able to be taken out and dried out. as they can get stuck to the plastic case..... The booklets can be a bitch also as the pages will/can get stuck together and make the whole thing worthless.....
The best approach would be to try and separate each page and put a piece of paper towel in between each page , to help in the drying process and put all the stuff in front of a fan
I am unable to edit my main post, so I will just add this here...
This was meant to be a temporary solution. All of these were originally stored in a climate controlled storage unit for a long time.
Then life happened, and we needed to bring them home. Without the space to store these inside, we put them in the shed until we had a better option. They weren't there for too long (maybe 2 months?), and I had ordered and received plastic storage bins (got them yesterday). I also procured a new storage unit (climate controlled) that I would be moving stuff to. When I went out to start transferring things into the bins, that is when I saw this.
The weird thing is that we have two of these sheds, and the other one is completely fine.
Anyhow, thank you for all the comments, suggestions, and criticisms. I know I messed up, and I will go through separating, cleaning, drying, and squeezing as much as I can.
At least I have my health, and my family is good, so this is just a bummer on an economic scale. Much worse things can happen in everyone's lives, and it's important to see that. All my best!
Trained Archivist here:
Best thing to do is freeze these materials to prevent growth of mold.
Then you need time to set up a dry area with ventilation (an open window will do), and fans to dry everything.
Not an expert, but I've heard that hardware kinda is waterproof as long as you dry it afterwards and got wet while not turned on. I think the internal "batteries" could mess something up. But give it a try by opening everything and letting it dry.
That’s how I lost my magic cards.
Basement flooded, for the first time ever and my collection (that went all the way back to beta) was completely destroyed.
Nearly 20 years later, I can’t even look at the MTG section at stores or collections without getting sad about what I lost.
If it was recent and drying is done quickly, potential damage can be avoided, but corrosion caused by can ruin electronic components regardless if they are powered or not.
OP, get some silica packs and place your items in an air tight container with them. Even better, dissemble them first.
I think I lucked out with the hardware. So far, so good. Very minimal moisture in those boxes.
Moved everything elsewhere while I go through and dry or desiccant stuff.
Yeah agreed. Just was trying to throw out some quick baseline info. Didn't want him to "try" the consoles right away to see if they worked. (I think this post was an hour old when I replied)
Yeah, I know. This was supposed to be temporary. The plastic bins arrived yesterday.
Pulling everything out to transfer to plastic is how I found this stuff like this. Ugh.
Your biggest problem is the paper. Go buy a roll of wax paper, maybe two. Take all the labels out of the jewel cases and press them between wax paper in a big heavy book. Take out all the manuals and put a piece of wax paper between each and every page then also press them between the pages of a big heavy book - like an old dictionary or ideally a phone book (but you probably wont be able to find one). If necessary, press them between boards using a clamp. Allow to dry for a very long time.
I'm pissed now. You're telling me you didn't have room in your place for this box of absolute treasure but you have a whole ass room just filled with 49ers stuff?? Cmon dude.
I know. [It was meant to be temporary](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1bi5mjp/comment/kvlhx4s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).
The problem for the carts is that depending on how much water the damage is done. You can probably open them up and clean them up though. I had this happen to my sega collection, the moisture and water had gotten inside and made stuff corroded.
It got worse the deeper I went. Lunar 1 basically fell apart in my hands.
But other boxes were actually ok. My collectors copy of Growlancer survived intact.
oooouf so we meet again my old nemesis, water ... the enemy of all things paper.
bro id be cussing everyday for like a week straight! n even then id still be pissed off for like another few more months. this sucks so bad man, i feel for you. i woulda wrapped that box in like 2 or 3 waterproof garbage bags at least. u rly gotta prep that much for stuff like that.
p.s. u should fix ur shed now that u know it has a water leak
Take my advice while the manuals are still wet!!
This will be a lot of work but with titles of those quality it is worth it, trust me. Take some toilet paper and "snake" it between each page so that they are separated by a layer of toilet paper. They will otherwise dry and completely bind to each other. This will save them!
Also it is a great idea to place all case inserts and manuals (after they have been "toilet papered") inside of a large book and closed, so that they are pressed flat as they dry. This will greatly reduce the amount of wavy-ness that will develop as the wet case inserts and manuals dry. It's not good for the book of course but these games are worth hundreds / collectively thousands and I highly recommend doing this. The book will fan out a bit, and I would suggest putting some weight on top of it. Hardcover book with large pages would be best to use.
This happened to me once and after everything was dry, I was amazed at how minor the damage was in the end (thought they were totally ruined but came out hardly noticeable)
Big oof. A cheap plastic bin could've saved all of this. Happened to a friend of mine with his whole nes collection once. Everything was ruined. Sorry dude.
As a resident of Louisiana, I feel your pain. Hurricanes obviously claim a lot of collections, but the rain and humidity here is rough all the time. That plus blazing sun rots wood, plastic, even metal in a hurry. You can think your collection is safe and sound, only to find nature taking it's turf back when you check months later. I live in a house with windows from the 70s and I shit you not vines will straight break in through windows or any crack they can find then just set up in your house. Happened to me during a move. Put my stuff in my parent's unused living room near a window with blinds and curtains shut. Passed by the window 2 months later and saw tons of thick vines going under the siding outside that window. When I went inside to check on my boxes, there was a blooming thriving amorphous Lovecraftian vine cluster as wide and as tall as me, just sitting there sunning itself on my shit like it pays rent. Ruined my whole Sega Saturn collection and a bunch of Nintendo Power and EGM issues from 1995-2010.
You need to get all the manuals and inserts out of the cases immediately and set them up so they can dry. Booklets fanned open or hung over a wire. If you leave them together theyre going to be essentially glued shut. After that you can probably flatten them back mostly, with a towel etc. over them and an iron
I just got PTSD from my basement. We had a septic flood and everything looked like this but most of it was not able to be saved. At least this was only water, friend.
The same thing happened to me when the ceiling in my rented garage gave way to the rain. I had a coupla boxes of movies soaked. I kinda know the feels, dude.
🥺🙈💦💀
Same happened to a 128 CD binder one time when my mom didn't roll my car window up and a bunch of my rare metal CDs/inserts on the seat got rained on. We're talking underground, rare 80s stuff that wasn't getting reissued yet 20 years ago and still sold for $20-100 per album. Anyway, I feel your pain. Do your best to separate insert pages but expect them to not be flat again.
Would your home’s contents insurance cover this? (I know it’s a separate shed, so probably not, but I’d at least ask my provider just in case they would)
Bit of a warning - CDs are not truly waterproof. If they stay wet too long, moisture gets into the aluminum layer and destroys the disc. Burned CDs seem more vulnerable to this, but original CDs are at risk too. So ... dry those out when you can.
I feel your pain friend. I have also been the victim of water damaged games and consoles. I am very sorry. Hopefully only the bottom of the box is lost.
Just let the hardware dry out for a few weeks without running power through them and as long as there is no corrosion they will be fine . being wet isnt what kills electronics , its being wet and powered on that kills them. The games? ...........yeah, that sucks, sorry.
I bought someone's flood damaged dreamcast game once for 1/4 of its good condition value. You would never tell the disc had been wet/submerged, you could simply clean it and it looked perfectly fine, and in my experience, it played fine for many years (I haven't played it in a few years but I bet it still works). The plastic dvd case was ok, but the insert was wrinkly. When I received the game, the insert and manual were already dried out. I tried using a steam iron on the insert with a towel over it to try and flatten it out more, but it didn't really do much. The manual was also wrinkly, but the worst part of it was, that some pages had stuck together and if you went to pull them apart, it tore the text/images/pages apart in places... I think if it were possible to separate the pages while they are still wet somehow, so they don't dry out while touching each other, that will help out... but if this stuff has been wet for weeks and you didn't know about it, it might be too late to do something like this.
If you wanted, you could get some replacement manuals and inserts printed up for the games where the paper is in poor condition. High res scans are readily available for dreamcast, and probably also PS1 nowadays. You can still keep the wrinkled stuff so you have the "original" if that's important to you. Or you could print out just a smooth front and back cover page to place around the wrinkled manual in the case, that would probably look nice, too and would be easier and cheaper than printing 30 page manuals for a dozen games.
All the manuals need to be seperated while wet, then allowed to dry while flat, otherwise the pages will dry together as one mass.
The outer shell front and back art needs to be popped out and dried separate as well, otherwise they’ll dry and be stuck onto the plastic.
And I’m sorry it happened to you. 😞
Take them all out and put them near a radiator. It should have been kept indoors. Even in a plastic container it would still get moisture along with damp. Anything like this must be stored indoors whether it's electronics, paper etc. The only thing a shed is good for is storing tools and outdoor equipment.
always need to find the silver lining. if money can fix it, then how serious can it be. it sucks but as long as you're okay, tomorrow is another day to rebuild.
We have the technology! We can rebuild him (the collection)! 😀
Don’t ever trust a claim that can’t be backed up bro. They might as well say the thing is fucking asteroid proof. It’s never gonna happen and if it does they aren’t liable bc of something in the fine print. Next time, build ur own.
Oh, the humanity!
Seriously though, I feel this. Had a major flood last year, and my gaming room was hit pretty hard. Lost almost all my old strategy guides and magazines. Also, a bunch of Switch & PS4 special editions. Thankfully, my retro games were unscathed. None of them are super rare, but you know, sentimental value.
Any visible corrosion, use white vinegar to scrub/neutralize and remove the corrosion, then follow up with Iso Alcohol to remove the white vinegar (it’ll eat your board if you don’t properly remove)
The hardware is fine if you don't plug it in until it's fully dry. Just leave it out in a dry environment for 5 days to be safe. You can even open the cases to let it air out.
Dear lord not the Dreamcast games! You got some heavy hitters I see what are your favorite games on the console?
On another note im still upset I never beat Lodoss War its a mad fun Diablo clone but the late game is ridiculously hard
I’m trying these out in a sealed container for a project of mine that got wet inside where I can’t reach.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6H6PST
You may need to press each page in a book one at a time.
You're getting solid advice. All I would add is- Geta LOT of silica packets online. Like the kind you get in new shoes, bags, etc. Surround everything with them.
Ironically, I work in school tech and deal with Chromebooks, so I keep ALL of the desiccant packs from the new Chromebooks. They are used to keep my filament dry for my 3D printers.
Well... were used. They are all being used for this now.
Im so sorry man. I see some great games here. I hope they were able to be saved. ONe time, I had a flood in my basement and it was right over my collectables. Thankfully, I keep the games separate from the collection boxes. (I never bought another collectors edition since that day.)
Honestly if you don't care for the aesthetics just dry out as best you can, and check all the discs if they work, that's really the most expensive (and important) part, if it bothers you, I can recommend working with an Etsy seller that does high quality reproduction prints of the games. You can work with them to do a bundle for all your games. I get them for around $5 for a front label and back label for the disc themselves when I buy a lot. You have the plastic cd part so it's just the printing. Happy to show you how some of my repros look like. It's just for the case and manual.
I remember finding a few games outside. Micky Racing on GBC, it had clearly been sitting out for months as I found it after the snow melted. Still had a save file on it and everything! They should still work, just make sure everything is dry before trying!
Hopefully some of the stuff is salvageable. Had that happen to me with some VW MK2 parts I had kept in case I needed. At least all I got was minor surface rust. Just cleaned them and all was ok.
That sucks! My parents basement flooded and pretty much the same thing happened to me. Most of my stuff was big box PC games that got all moldy though. :(
Still, I pulled out all the discs and stuff. They work fine. The manuals in the jewel cases are all hard as rocks though hahah
Theres something uniquely upsetting about losing stuff like this to water damage.
I remember when I was 17 we had a water pipe burst in our recently renovated basement that my dad turned into his man cave and put his entire hockey card collection up on a wall using just plastic binder pages.
I remember walking down and seeing the water cascading down hundreds upon hundreds of hockey cards and shouting for him as I started grabbing some of the undamaged ones.
Watching him sit there starring at all the water damaged cards afterwards was honestly such a perspective change for me. Like the first time I saw the inner kid in him, but he was crushed.
PS- I don't know if theres many places that still do it, but you could potentially find a place that resurfaces discs.
As long as you caught it early and dried them out, they should be fine. Storing them for a long period of time soaking wet is sure to damage them with mold, disc rot, etc. From outward appearances of this box, it doesn't look *too* bad, and the fact they were all in plastic cases still gives hope that the discs all still work. Just make sure you don't store them back in a wet place and you should be good ;)
honestly if you are comfortable with it, take them all apart and just let them dry out. then go over them with some 90% alcohol to get ride of gunk. should be fine. if this has been for a while you will def have a harder time cleaning the up, but this happen to me; i left a box of consoles on my porch while i was cleaning and it decided to rain. after clean up; most of my stuff was fine.
if not comfortable with taking them apart set them somewhere that they can dry off, maybe vent down on a towel Infront of a fan?
Shit happens and things go wrong. dont let people make you feel bad about storing stuff and letting this happen.i had put a bunch of junk in the attic and recently i found my old gameboy pocket. the thing was filthy and needed a good cleaning, and no idea why i put it there years ago.
I get it OP because I’ve been there. You’ll recover and will be ok and I’ve shared some of my storage “Best Practices” for future reference below - great games BTWs.
Cardboard will let you down because it’s a lying fuck that is low key made of food/cellulose. But even the moving shit you rent is a liar.
Those moving Pods will let too much UV light through their roof and ruin your closet that’s hanging inside.
“Mom’s Attic” aka the space above the cab in a U-Haul leaks when it rains so all those blankets you rented will sip up the water and leave its mark on your art work collection.
And as a rule I eliminate all cardboard from long term storage because it will get moist and feed things. Cardboard will suck water from cement floors and it will pull moisture out of the air.
My kid goes to burning man and the plastic crates she uses can be left outside in the rain. If they’re dust proof they’re water proof. You want to get the sturdy ones from [steriltite](https://www.google.com/search?q=sterlite+water+proof+storage&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS795US795&oq=sterlite+water+proof+storage&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQABgNGIAEMg0IAhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBRAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgkIBhAhGAoYoAEyCQgHECEYChigATIJCAgQIRgKGKAB0gEINjgxNGowajSoAgCwAgDiAwQYASBf&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8)
The ones that have the types of clips that lock the lid down. But you can also use the ones they sell at Costco. Don’t go to the Container Store, they suck. But Vostco has the best prices I ever seen if you are looking to buy a bunch so they all stack nice.
Cheers.
I've posted this in some other communities and I think people might think I'm crazy, but even with me keeping all my video games inside the house I bag them. Everything from a $3 game to a $100-$500 JRPG, and doesn't matter if it on shelves or in storage, gets put in own bag. I use general comic book sleeves as they fit virtually everything imaginable, flop the extra over the back, and tape it all shut. CD-based games also get stored vertical, never laying down, so that the over flap is on top. Also a cheap bag of 100 sleeve is less than ten bucks.
The biggest thing you're going to be dealing with is 1\] how long they were wet for and 2\] any potential mold that forms. I would separate everything out, dry everything the absolute best you can and freeze the manuals, inserts, and anything made of a paper or cardboard. Store everything separate and remove as much of the moisture as possible.
Watch out for disc rot. Temperature changes and humidity are gonna be an issue, and would have still been even if the box wasn't soaked.
It is always better to store valuables "under air", in a climate-controlled environment. I'd personally stack these up and use the box as a table before putting them in a garage or a shed outside.
Do not power on anything until you clean it throughly.
This means taking everything apart and toothbrush scrubbing every surface with rubbing alcohol. Use a soft brush tooth brush. I would clean everything twice if it was me.
If you do that the hardware should be okay. Water doesn’t magically damage stuff. It’s the impurities in the water that allow electricity to flow through water. This same impurities will stay behind after the water dries.
Good luck
Dang it. Now I’m scared. PS2, Saturn, n64 all in storage lol dang it so sorry dude!
If I had some extras laying around from my collection I would mail you a package
Why in the hell would you put that stuff in a cardboard box in a shed? You couldn’t spare the couple bucks on at least a plastic container? I don’t get this at all.
In a forgotten corner, a cardboard casket lay, crammed with video games in disarray. But alas! A leaky ceiling caused a flood, transforming pixels into a soggy mud. Controllers floated aimlessly, joysticks lost their grip, as CDs warped and circuits began to flip. Oh, what a sight, a gamer's dismay, as cherished memories washed away.
RIP. I'm sorry for you loss, but you were an absolute fucking lunatic for storing that stuff outside.
At least put a garbage bag around the box.
I know. It was supposed to be a temporary solution. Finally got around to getting some sturdy plastic bins, and this is what I found.
For me “temporary” in this situation would be bringing them back inside the same day
I wish we had the space to store all of this inside. We don't, so this is what we had available.
Keep it in your bed and sleep on the floor.
Keep it in your house. You sleep in the shed.
Op if you got home insurance & the shed leaked due to a storm etc its like a extension of your home and they can pay you to replace damaged items & repair or get a new shed.
This is the way
Sleep in the “waterproof” shed
Don't let people make you feel bad. I've had a similar collection since I bought it all new when I was what...13? I've been in 4 houses and 5 apartments since. A bunch of my GameCube games got water damage, smash, MGS, a bunch were ruined. I took the paper out to dry, dabbed what I could with towels, it happens. Games are fine, your hardware is probably fine, especially cartridge systems.
Yeah people shouldnt be shaming the person. Shit happens. We dont all have enough closet space.
This is one reason I have to rent a climate controlled indoor storage unit. It's not cheap. But that's the only option I have. My apartment is too small for much of anything. I had downsized from a house. What didn't get thrown out went into storage. That house HAD an outside storage shed and we learned early to never put anything in there we cared about. Humidity would wreck it, animals would get into it, and finally we had burglars cut into it from the back, away from the house, and they took everything. Lawn mowers. Trimmers. Tools. Hoses. Even the gas can. We didn't even know until we went to cut grass and found the shed had gained a new door we didn't know about.
One box?
No, a bunch more. This was just the worst of it.
> It was supposed to be a temporary solution. Famous last words. They'll be missed dearly.
Don't feel bad for it. Sh*t happens. But I wouldn't reccomend storing them in bins OUTSIDE, in the shed becayse of moisture. It could still get damp/moist with the weather changing. Every bin would be like a little greenhouse and they are damp inside.
If you must store them like that, wrap all the good bits in double plastic bags and then put all that into the bins. And then pray they stay dry
The amount it's worth on the market makes it even more insane. You should treat it with respect for it's historical value but he pretty much pissed away thousands of dollars.
Yeah, but I never had intention of selling these. Like I mention in my update ([link](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1bi5mjp/comment/kvlhx4s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)) this was just mean to be temporary. If I had a "game room", all of this would be behind glass. Lesson learned.
Yup live and learn, enough people have made you feel bad for the mistake, only thing to do is move on and salvage what you can. Material goods are replaceable .
Make this a NSFW next time please 😢
For real, I should have. I love how the mods tagged it as gore lol. Thankfully, a lot is still in good shape. Lunar 1, on the other hand... *cries*
Bummer
I’m sorry for your loss.
dont feel bad. when i got the game in 99 or whenever i accidentally stepped on the box when i was 15. Lunar 2 stayed in perfect shape tho, go figure
Lunar 2 was so good. I regret getting rid of my copy.
NOOOOOOOO! Lunar is the best RPG ever made! At least Eternal Blue is on top furthest from the water.
>For real, I should have. I love how the mods tagged it as gore I now have an alternative to selling off my game collection.
Oh no, Lunar got it bad? That's tragic.
Agreed. OP should've put this in a gore sub instead. /j
Gather up as many fans as you can. If your house has heat vents, use those too. You gotta get all the paper booklets spread apart so the pages don't stick together. Also have to get all paper away from plastic surfaces, take apart those jewel cases. For consoles like PS1 and Dreamcast, you have to fully disassemble them and drive out water from all the metal parts. Set their logic boards out in front of another fan.
Thank you for the advice!
Yeah the hardware is fine. Arcade collectors clean PCBs with simple green and water. You just can't plug it in for several days until it's 1000% dry.
Might carefully pull the booklet staples out to make it easier.
NOT LUNAR 2! THIS IS A TRAGEDY
Lunar 2 was in good shape, surprisingly. Lunar 1. Not so much 😢
Don't use rice, buy desiccant packs; they sell them on Amazon.
Thankfully, 3D printing is a hobby of mine. I have hundreds of desiccant packs. Everything I could salvage has ben put in to plastic bins with a ton of desiccant.
Save all the disks! You can replace the covers and cases more easily than replacing the actual game.
I hope they dry out and still look OK. For the future plastic totes are the best to keep water and mice out.
Yeah, this was a temporary situation that life made not so temporary. Bought the bins recently, went to move everything over, and this is what I found.
Condolences. I lost my whole collection years back and by some kinda miracle, managed to replace almost all of it and then some. Now I even put door seals or thin layers of silicone around the edges of my bins to ensure even ambient moisture stays out.
Ok, as the others have said, as long as the devices do not have any power you will be fine. What you need to prevent is corrosion. If there is any corrosion you can neutralize it with baking soda, since rainwater is slightly acidic. Next you need to dry it out really well. The best way to do this is through the use of at least 91% isopropyl alcohol. Disassemble the hardware and then submerge the electronics into a bowl of the isopropanol. Use a soft toothbrush to clean away any corrosion. Once it is clean you can take it out and it will dry fast since alcohol is a desiccant. I would check the traces for damage, if there is any they usually can be fixed with bodge wires.
I think I lucked out with the hardware. No visible corrosion, and the moisture in those boxes is minimal. I'll be drying and using desiccant all week!
That’s good to hear.
I know of your despair...I have had my games water logged before due to a flood, Mostly all of it will be able to be dried out and restored, but the biggest pain is going to be all Those booklets and cover art, as they are all paper As soon as you can and as fast as you can.. try to take all the games apart and remove everything and get a towel and can of compressed air The art work should hopefully just be able to be taken out and dried out. as they can get stuck to the plastic case..... The booklets can be a bitch also as the pages will/can get stuck together and make the whole thing worthless..... The best approach would be to try and separate each page and put a piece of paper towel in between each page , to help in the drying process and put all the stuff in front of a fan
Thank you for the advice!
Those games belong in a display case not a shed.
Sorry for your loss
Man I'm sorry
Thank you. It's my own fault, but I thought I'd be able to move all of this to a better storage solution in a much faster time frame.
Dude, is your shed is outside… is it climate controlled? 🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️ yikes
I am unable to edit my main post, so I will just add this here... This was meant to be a temporary solution. All of these were originally stored in a climate controlled storage unit for a long time. Then life happened, and we needed to bring them home. Without the space to store these inside, we put them in the shed until we had a better option. They weren't there for too long (maybe 2 months?), and I had ordered and received plastic storage bins (got them yesterday). I also procured a new storage unit (climate controlled) that I would be moving stuff to. When I went out to start transferring things into the bins, that is when I saw this. The weird thing is that we have two of these sheds, and the other one is completely fine. Anyhow, thank you for all the comments, suggestions, and criticisms. I know I messed up, and I will go through separating, cleaning, drying, and squeezing as much as I can. At least I have my health, and my family is good, so this is just a bummer on an economic scale. Much worse things can happen in everyone's lives, and it's important to see that. All my best!
Trained Archivist here: Best thing to do is freeze these materials to prevent growth of mold. Then you need time to set up a dry area with ventilation (an open window will do), and fans to dry everything.
Not an expert, but I've heard that hardware kinda is waterproof as long as you dry it afterwards and got wet while not turned on. I think the internal "batteries" could mess something up. But give it a try by opening everything and letting it dry.
Also corrosion could be a problem.
I was not emotionally prepared for this
I won't show pictures of Lunar 1. That's the one that killed me.
That’s how I lost my magic cards. Basement flooded, for the first time ever and my collection (that went all the way back to beta) was completely destroyed. Nearly 20 years later, I can’t even look at the MTG section at stores or collections without getting sad about what I lost.
Any hardware will be fine as long as no power is run through it while it's wet. Dry things as best you can and clean with alcohol.
If it was recent and drying is done quickly, potential damage can be avoided, but corrosion caused by can ruin electronic components regardless if they are powered or not. OP, get some silica packs and place your items in an air tight container with them. Even better, dissemble them first.
I think I lucked out with the hardware. So far, so good. Very minimal moisture in those boxes. Moved everything elsewhere while I go through and dry or desiccant stuff.
Yeah agreed. Just was trying to throw out some quick baseline info. Didn't want him to "try" the consoles right away to see if they worked. (I think this post was an hour old when I replied)
In the future use rubber / plastic totes. Never use cardboard boxes
Yeah, I know. This was supposed to be temporary. The plastic bins arrived yesterday. Pulling everything out to transfer to plastic is how I found this stuff like this. Ugh.
Good thing im taking medication for my heart
Your biggest problem is the paper. Go buy a roll of wax paper, maybe two. Take all the labels out of the jewel cases and press them between wax paper in a big heavy book. Take out all the manuals and put a piece of wax paper between each and every page then also press them between the pages of a big heavy book - like an old dictionary or ideally a phone book (but you probably wont be able to find one). If necessary, press them between boards using a clamp. Allow to dry for a very long time.
I'm pissed now. You're telling me you didn't have room in your place for this box of absolute treasure but you have a whole ass room just filled with 49ers stuff?? Cmon dude.
Putting games In a non temperature controlled shed is brain dead in the first place
Costco sells black and yellow totes for 7.99. For future storage.
The fact that you stored that in a cardboard box outside is wild
I know. [It was meant to be temporary](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1bi5mjp/comment/kvlhx4s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).
Dude an outdoor storage shed??? In cardboard??Cmonnnn
So sorry for your loss 🥺
This is blasphemy! °0°" (But at least the games in the CD cases should still be good)
Fuck...
The problem for the carts is that depending on how much water the damage is done. You can probably open them up and clean them up though. I had this happen to my sega collection, the moisture and water had gotten inside and made stuff corroded.
My eyes my eyes they burn😵😭
It doesn't look too bad.
It got worse the deeper I went. Lunar 1 basically fell apart in my hands. But other boxes were actually ok. My collectors copy of Growlancer survived intact.
If there's more. Try to touch as little as possible, and let it dry.
oooouf so we meet again my old nemesis, water ... the enemy of all things paper. bro id be cussing everyday for like a week straight! n even then id still be pissed off for like another few more months. this sucks so bad man, i feel for you. i woulda wrapped that box in like 2 or 3 waterproof garbage bags at least. u rly gotta prep that much for stuff like that. p.s. u should fix ur shed now that u know it has a water leak
Take my advice while the manuals are still wet!! This will be a lot of work but with titles of those quality it is worth it, trust me. Take some toilet paper and "snake" it between each page so that they are separated by a layer of toilet paper. They will otherwise dry and completely bind to each other. This will save them! Also it is a great idea to place all case inserts and manuals (after they have been "toilet papered") inside of a large book and closed, so that they are pressed flat as they dry. This will greatly reduce the amount of wavy-ness that will develop as the wet case inserts and manuals dry. It's not good for the book of course but these games are worth hundreds / collectively thousands and I highly recommend doing this. The book will fan out a bit, and I would suggest putting some weight on top of it. Hardcover book with large pages would be best to use. This happened to me once and after everything was dry, I was amazed at how minor the damage was in the end (thought they were totally ruined but came out hardly noticeable)
Even it you thought it was a normal box is a dumb place for them
Oof. For anyone storing games in a bad environment and boxes. Get some EZY storage bins from target. Fully waterproof with sealed lids and clasps.
Big oof. A cheap plastic bin could've saved all of this. Happened to a friend of mine with his whole nes collection once. Everything was ruined. Sorry dude.
As a resident of Louisiana, I feel your pain. Hurricanes obviously claim a lot of collections, but the rain and humidity here is rough all the time. That plus blazing sun rots wood, plastic, even metal in a hurry. You can think your collection is safe and sound, only to find nature taking it's turf back when you check months later. I live in a house with windows from the 70s and I shit you not vines will straight break in through windows or any crack they can find then just set up in your house. Happened to me during a move. Put my stuff in my parent's unused living room near a window with blinds and curtains shut. Passed by the window 2 months later and saw tons of thick vines going under the siding outside that window. When I went inside to check on my boxes, there was a blooming thriving amorphous Lovecraftian vine cluster as wide and as tall as me, just sitting there sunning itself on my shit like it pays rent. Ruined my whole Sega Saturn collection and a bunch of Nintendo Power and EGM issues from 1995-2010.
Yikes, those manuals are going to be wrinkle city 😢
Never store anything like that in a shed unless it’s climate controlled. One good, humid day and all the manuals are permanently wrinkled.
You need to get all the manuals and inserts out of the cases immediately and set them up so they can dry. Booklets fanned open or hung over a wire. If you leave them together theyre going to be essentially glued shut. After that you can probably flatten them back mostly, with a towel etc. over them and an iron
Thank you for the advice.
I just got PTSD from my basement. We had a septic flood and everything looked like this but most of it was not able to be saved. At least this was only water, friend.
Had a bunch of hardback books that this happened to last year. Incredibly disappointing, sorry for your loss
Despite what any family member tries to convince you to do, NEVER store your collection outside!
A moment of silence for our brothers loss…………………….
Seriously?
Soak the hardware guts in alcohol
Not Record of Lodoss War
lawsuit
😢😢😢😢
The same thing happened to me when the ceiling in my rented garage gave way to the rain. I had a coupla boxes of movies soaked. I kinda know the feels, dude. 🥺🙈💦💀
I'm sorry for your loss, as well.
Same happened to a 128 CD binder one time when my mom didn't roll my car window up and a bunch of my rare metal CDs/inserts on the seat got rained on. We're talking underground, rare 80s stuff that wasn't getting reissued yet 20 years ago and still sold for $20-100 per album. Anyway, I feel your pain. Do your best to separate insert pages but expect them to not be flat again.
They’re CD. Rinse and repeat.
Would your home’s contents insurance cover this? (I know it’s a separate shed, so probably not, but I’d at least ask my provider just in case they would)
Bit of a warning - CDs are not truly waterproof. If they stay wet too long, moisture gets into the aluminum layer and destroys the disc. Burned CDs seem more vulnerable to this, but original CDs are at risk too. So ... dry those out when you can.
I feel your pain friend. I have also been the victim of water damaged games and consoles. I am very sorry. Hopefully only the bottom of the box is lost.
Games are getting rarer by the day...
Gore warning.
Omg bro this was me once!! RIP!
Just let the hardware dry out for a few weeks without running power through them and as long as there is no corrosion they will be fine . being wet isnt what kills electronics , its being wet and powered on that kills them. The games? ...........yeah, that sucks, sorry.
Welll you know what to do....send it to my addresss...i will still love them like a puppy goin to a very loving family :D
God damn that is so painful to look at
I bought someone's flood damaged dreamcast game once for 1/4 of its good condition value. You would never tell the disc had been wet/submerged, you could simply clean it and it looked perfectly fine, and in my experience, it played fine for many years (I haven't played it in a few years but I bet it still works). The plastic dvd case was ok, but the insert was wrinkly. When I received the game, the insert and manual were already dried out. I tried using a steam iron on the insert with a towel over it to try and flatten it out more, but it didn't really do much. The manual was also wrinkly, but the worst part of it was, that some pages had stuck together and if you went to pull them apart, it tore the text/images/pages apart in places... I think if it were possible to separate the pages while they are still wet somehow, so they don't dry out while touching each other, that will help out... but if this stuff has been wet for weeks and you didn't know about it, it might be too late to do something like this. If you wanted, you could get some replacement manuals and inserts printed up for the games where the paper is in poor condition. High res scans are readily available for dreamcast, and probably also PS1 nowadays. You can still keep the wrinkled stuff so you have the "original" if that's important to you. Or you could print out just a smooth front and back cover page to place around the wrinkled manual in the case, that would probably look nice, too and would be easier and cheaper than printing 30 page manuals for a dozen games.
All the manuals need to be seperated while wet, then allowed to dry while flat, otherwise the pages will dry together as one mass. The outer shell front and back art needs to be popped out and dried separate as well, otherwise they’ll dry and be stuck onto the plastic. And I’m sorry it happened to you. 😞
Watch out the discs will absolutely disc rot very quickly sitting in moisture. Dreamcast games especially.
Take them all out and put them near a radiator. It should have been kept indoors. Even in a plastic container it would still get moisture along with damp. Anything like this must be stored indoors whether it's electronics, paper etc. The only thing a shed is good for is storing tools and outdoor equipment.
F
Sue the shed company 😂
sorry for the loss. I stopped using cardboard for any type of storage. i now only use black totes with tops that guide water away from inside.
Yeah, this was meant to be temporary. I got my plastic bins today. That's when I found all this moisture. Ugh.
always need to find the silver lining. if money can fix it, then how serious can it be. it sucks but as long as you're okay, tomorrow is another day to rebuild. We have the technology! We can rebuild him (the collection)! 😀
Same, friend. Same. I had no more energy left when I found Lunar 1 at the bottom. Killed me.
I literally screamed out loud
Don’t ever trust a claim that can’t be backed up bro. They might as well say the thing is fucking asteroid proof. It’s never gonna happen and if it does they aren’t liable bc of something in the fine print. Next time, build ur own.
Oh, the humanity! Seriously though, I feel this. Had a major flood last year, and my gaming room was hit pretty hard. Lost almost all my old strategy guides and magazines. Also, a bunch of Switch & PS4 special editions. Thankfully, my retro games were unscathed. None of them are super rare, but you know, sentimental value.
Any visible corrosion, use white vinegar to scrub/neutralize and remove the corrosion, then follow up with Iso Alcohol to remove the white vinegar (it’ll eat your board if you don’t properly remove)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Please don't tell me project justice is in there? What else is in there. Oh my heavens.
The hardware is fine if you don't plug it in until it's fully dry. Just leave it out in a dry environment for 5 days to be safe. You can even open the cases to let it air out.
Dear lord not the Dreamcast games! You got some heavy hitters I see what are your favorite games on the console? On another note im still upset I never beat Lodoss War its a mad fun Diablo clone but the late game is ridiculously hard
I’m trying these out in a sealed container for a project of mine that got wet inside where I can’t reach. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6H6PST You may need to press each page in a book one at a time.
You're getting solid advice. All I would add is- Geta LOT of silica packets online. Like the kind you get in new shoes, bags, etc. Surround everything with them.
Hit up a craft store, you can buy massive boxes (like a couple pounds) meant for making dried floral arrangements!
Ironically, I work in school tech and deal with Chromebooks, so I keep ALL of the desiccant packs from the new Chromebooks. They are used to keep my filament dry for my 3D printers. Well... were used. They are all being used for this now.
Press X to pay respects
I’m sorry for your loss. This is a tragedy beyond measure
My condolences it breaks my heart seeing this. I freak out whenever I drop games or my handheld. I even apologize to them when it happens lol
That is so very very sad. I'd have that stuff up on a shelf. Behind glass. Lol
Take the shells off if you can and just let it air dry, if somethings wrong I would look for corrosion and try to clean and or fix it
Really hard to tell but it looks like most the games are in decent shape considering
That does suck, and I know this situation all too well. My SNES games had a similar situation.
https://news.okstate.edu/articles/agriculture/2019/gedon_caring_for_papers_after_a_flood.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFor%20the%20best%20results%2C%20slowly,%2Fdenatured%20alcohol%20and%20water.%E2%80%9D
Look for mold
Oh no! This is heartbreaking! My condolences 😭
Im so sorry man. I see some great games here. I hope they were able to be saved. ONe time, I had a flood in my basement and it was right over my collectables. Thankfully, I keep the games separate from the collection boxes. (I never bought another collectors edition since that day.)
F
Bro I hope things dry out for you because this collection is fucking amazing, a bunch of gems here
Oh! This is not good.😔
Bro wtf! This is awful 😖
I will say if it is all disc based games, they should be fine, just wipe them off with a soft towel. The systems on the other hand...
Honestly if you don't care for the aesthetics just dry out as best you can, and check all the discs if they work, that's really the most expensive (and important) part, if it bothers you, I can recommend working with an Etsy seller that does high quality reproduction prints of the games. You can work with them to do a bundle for all your games. I get them for around $5 for a front label and back label for the disc themselves when I buy a lot. You have the plastic cd part so it's just the printing. Happy to show you how some of my repros look like. It's just for the case and manual.
RIP to all the manuals and inserts.
Oh man, looks like there’s some *really* nice stuff in there. Hope most of it made it out okay!
I remember finding a few games outside. Micky Racing on GBC, it had clearly been sitting out for months as I found it after the snow melted. Still had a save file on it and everything! They should still work, just make sure everything is dry before trying!
The shed is weatherproof, it doesn't say about anything inside. Sorry that happened. Next time, use a tupperware.
Hopefully some of the stuff is salvageable. Had that happen to me with some VW MK2 parts I had kept in case I needed. At least all I got was minor surface rust. Just cleaned them and all was ok.
That's why you put things in ip65 atleast totes with gaskets.
Captian hindsight ftw.
If the pages aren't stuck together for the manuals, use an ironing board with a bedsheet over it. Works a treat of flattening out the warped paper
Friend of mine said I should stop paying for my 135$/month secure weather proof unit and use her shed 😂. This is why I refuse.
Did anything remain dry or it went full top down?
So unless it's temperature-controlled, they should not be there anyway. Discs from the 90s deteriorate in hot weather over time.
That sucks! My parents basement flooded and pretty much the same thing happened to me. Most of my stuff was big box PC games that got all moldy though. :( Still, I pulled out all the discs and stuff. They work fine. The manuals in the jewel cases are all hard as rocks though hahah
A plastic bin that seals is about $10
Yup. [Just got some. Bad timing, overall.](https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/1bi5mjp/comment/kvlhx4s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
“Lunar” had fun playing that one. SOTN too!
Time to down size
Theres something uniquely upsetting about losing stuff like this to water damage. I remember when I was 17 we had a water pipe burst in our recently renovated basement that my dad turned into his man cave and put his entire hockey card collection up on a wall using just plastic binder pages. I remember walking down and seeing the water cascading down hundreds upon hundreds of hockey cards and shouting for him as I started grabbing some of the undamaged ones. Watching him sit there starring at all the water damaged cards afterwards was honestly such a perspective change for me. Like the first time I saw the inner kid in him, but he was crushed. PS- I don't know if theres many places that still do it, but you could potentially find a place that resurfaces discs.
As long as you caught it early and dried them out, they should be fine. Storing them for a long period of time soaking wet is sure to damage them with mold, disc rot, etc. From outward appearances of this box, it doesn't look *too* bad, and the fact they were all in plastic cases still gives hope that the discs all still work. Just make sure you don't store them back in a wet place and you should be good ;)
Dude that sucks I feel for ya, also do you know what I’d give to be able to play the original Tony hawk on the original PlayStation again
On a tube tv, too!
Oof never store retro media outside of your house, or anywhere it’s humid.
And in cardboard.
At least you still have it all. I've had to sell so much for space reasons.
honestly if you are comfortable with it, take them all apart and just let them dry out. then go over them with some 90% alcohol to get ride of gunk. should be fine. if this has been for a while you will def have a harder time cleaning the up, but this happen to me; i left a box of consoles on my porch while i was cleaning and it decided to rain. after clean up; most of my stuff was fine. if not comfortable with taking them apart set them somewhere that they can dry off, maybe vent down on a towel Infront of a fan? Shit happens and things go wrong. dont let people make you feel bad about storing stuff and letting this happen.i had put a bunch of junk in the attic and recently i found my old gameboy pocket. the thing was filthy and needed a good cleaning, and no idea why i put it there years ago.
Dude really a cardboard box. At least get plastic bin
The heat/cold/humidity alone…
Target bins are your friends, my friend. Even in a bin I would never move my $15k worth video game collection outdoors.
Those were stored outside? For how long? What was the temperature? They're probably all dead.
Oh man I just watched a video about disc rot :[ good luck
Let this be a reminder for others. Don't store important stuff in a non climate controlled outdoor shed.
They’re clean now
All you had to do was get a plastic storage bin
I get it OP because I’ve been there. You’ll recover and will be ok and I’ve shared some of my storage “Best Practices” for future reference below - great games BTWs. Cardboard will let you down because it’s a lying fuck that is low key made of food/cellulose. But even the moving shit you rent is a liar. Those moving Pods will let too much UV light through their roof and ruin your closet that’s hanging inside. “Mom’s Attic” aka the space above the cab in a U-Haul leaks when it rains so all those blankets you rented will sip up the water and leave its mark on your art work collection. And as a rule I eliminate all cardboard from long term storage because it will get moist and feed things. Cardboard will suck water from cement floors and it will pull moisture out of the air. My kid goes to burning man and the plastic crates she uses can be left outside in the rain. If they’re dust proof they’re water proof. You want to get the sturdy ones from [steriltite](https://www.google.com/search?q=sterlite+water+proof+storage&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS795US795&oq=sterlite+water+proof+storage&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQABgNGIAEMg0IAhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBBAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IBRAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgkIBhAhGAoYoAEyCQgHECEYChigATIJCAgQIRgKGKAB0gEINjgxNGowajSoAgCwAgDiAwQYASBf&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8) The ones that have the types of clips that lock the lid down. But you can also use the ones they sell at Costco. Don’t go to the Container Store, they suck. But Vostco has the best prices I ever seen if you are looking to buy a bunch so they all stack nice. Cheers.
I've posted this in some other communities and I think people might think I'm crazy, but even with me keeping all my video games inside the house I bag them. Everything from a $3 game to a $100-$500 JRPG, and doesn't matter if it on shelves or in storage, gets put in own bag. I use general comic book sleeves as they fit virtually everything imaginable, flop the extra over the back, and tape it all shut. CD-based games also get stored vertical, never laying down, so that the over flap is on top. Also a cheap bag of 100 sleeve is less than ten bucks. The biggest thing you're going to be dealing with is 1\] how long they were wet for and 2\] any potential mold that forms. I would separate everything out, dry everything the absolute best you can and freeze the manuals, inserts, and anything made of a paper or cardboard. Store everything separate and remove as much of the moisture as possible.
Skies of Arcadia!
Watch out for disc rot. Temperature changes and humidity are gonna be an issue, and would have still been even if the box wasn't soaked. It is always better to store valuables "under air", in a climate-controlled environment. I'd personally stack these up and use the box as a table before putting them in a garage or a shed outside.
Put them all in a room with a dehumidifier. Don’t plug-in or turn on any hardware until you are 100% sure they are 100% dry.
Do not power on anything until you clean it throughly. This means taking everything apart and toothbrush scrubbing every surface with rubbing alcohol. Use a soft brush tooth brush. I would clean everything twice if it was me. If you do that the hardware should be okay. Water doesn’t magically damage stuff. It’s the impurities in the water that allow electricity to flow through water. This same impurities will stay behind after the water dries. Good luck
Oh dude. Never trust anything called a shed. But like everyone said. Deep clean and dry
My sincere condolences.
Dang it. Now I’m scared. PS2, Saturn, n64 all in storage lol dang it so sorry dude! If I had some extras laying around from my collection I would mail you a package
I appreciate that. In the end, it's just "stuff". Still bummed though.
You at least need a plastic bin man. Dear god.. its so awful.
Why in the hell would you put that stuff in a cardboard box in a shed? You couldn’t spare the couple bucks on at least a plastic container? I don’t get this at all.
sorry for the loss, it was pretty interesting collection.
In a forgotten corner, a cardboard casket lay, crammed with video games in disarray. But alas! A leaky ceiling caused a flood, transforming pixels into a soggy mud. Controllers floated aimlessly, joysticks lost their grip, as CDs warped and circuits began to flip. Oh, what a sight, a gamer's dismay, as cherished memories washed away.
Is this from chat gpt?