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Drying Log Books/Sheets


6NoisyHikers

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Lately we've been doing a lot of log book maintenance and wanted to know what the community finds is the best way to dry out standard paper logs. Here is our process:

 

Wrap the whole book in a few layers of paper towel, place bundle in ziplock bag.

Put heavy book on top and stand on it to squeeze excess water out of logbook and into paper towel.

Remove front and back covers, carefully tear out individual sheets and lay them out in order. Recycle unused sheets.

Sheets and covers dry within an hour or two.

Reassemble logbook in order, staple or paperclip together.

Replace dry log in cache (where we've already left behind a fresh logbook).

 

The dried sheets are never "perfect" - they are always a little crisp, stained and rumpled - but they are surprisingly readable. Does anyone have any better methods to restore a log sheet or book?

 

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Edited by 6NoisyHikers
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Wow, you guys put a lot of effort into preserving logbooks!!! :) I have not had to do anything like this so far, but i suppose i would just replace it with a new one. The logs are all online anyway, and it could confuse caters... Plus, i'm a bit lazy to do what you guys do ;)

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When I find a cache with a soaked log (and the container itself is a proper container that should be waterproof) I usually clean out and dry the container, put in a new log, and take the wet one home.

 

The logbook I then just put on the side of my desk, and leave it for a few days to dry out. Not going to try to press it, or to remove single papers, as both actions may damage the wet paper, which is often very weak and easily tears. When dry, the sheets will come loose by themselves.

 

Next step is to scan the old log, and add it as image to my Find log of that cache. And finally ask CO what he wants with the old log (the usual answer is "just throw it out"), and if no reply recycle the empty pages as new log (if presentable) or just throw it out.

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When I find a cache with a soaked log (and the container itself is a proper container that should be waterproof) I usually clean out and dry the container, put in a new log, and take the wet one home.

 

The logbook I then just put on the side of my desk, and leave it for a few days to dry out. Not going to try to press it, or to remove single papers, as both actions may damage the wet paper, which is often very weak and easily tears. When dry, the sheets will come loose by themselves.

 

Next step is to scan the old log, and add it as image to my Find log of that cache. And finally ask CO what he wants with the old log (the usual answer is "just throw it out"), and if no reply recycle the empty pages as new log (if presentable) or just throw it out.

 

Well intentioned, but I would never take the wet book home .. unless it was my own.

New log sheets are good, but then I'd isolate the wet book in a baggie to keep the new temporary replacement sheets dry, and leave a NM log online. It's up to the CO to maintain.

I think the OP was referring to their own log books from their own caches.

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Well intentioned, but I would never take the wet book home .. unless it was my own.

New log sheets are good, but then I'd isolate the wet book in a baggie to keep the new temporary replacement sheets dry, and leave a NM log online. It's up to the CO to maintain.

I think the OP was referring to their own log books from their own caches.

Many caches simply don't have the space for a second log. And as it's soaked (and with that I mean dripping) you're going to ruin the rest of the contents with the excess humidity, even when you put it in its own bag.

 

NM is great but for a cache that's on a 400m hill top, with the main access over a trail that's gravel and loose rocks, at 1 1/2 hours walk from the nearest bus stop (with a minibus every two hours) not much chance of quick maintenance. GC2HHXD is one of the caches where I changed the log. I was the fourth to find it (third finder didn't close it properly, hence the water), and the cache by then was over a year old. No finds on that cache in over a year now, only one DNF.

 

I really don't see the point in leaving the cache in far worse condition than I could leave it, while with little effort it's a great cache again.

 

And it reminds me... I really should visit that place again. It's a good afternoon hike. Great views on a clear day.

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You know when you drop your phone in water 'they' always tell you to put it in a baggie overnight with uncooked rice? I bet that would be an effective way to draw out some of the water. Maybe save those little packets that come in electronics packaging (or shoe boxes) and throw those in a container with the log. Basically a desiccant to draw out the moisture.

 

None of my caches have been out there very long and nobody has made any comments about the logs being wet, so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

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Maybe save those little packets that come in electronics packaging (or shoe boxes) and throw those in a container with the log. Basically a desiccant to draw out the moisture.

I filled socks with silica gel kitty litter. I've only tried it once, but I placed a rung-out wet logbook in a new ziplock bag with two of the gel packs (about 8x the volume of the log book), and the log book had dried nicely in about a week -- not flat, not like new, but dry, without a lot of work "drying it". Then, somebody opened the ziplock bag, dumped everything into the bucket (it mysteriously gets a couple gallons of water inside all the time), and now there was a mess of waterlogged gel packs and waterlogged log book. So that's why I only tried it once. The end.

 

None of my caches have been out there very long and nobody has made any comments about the logs being wet, so I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Cross that bridge and replace the log book (also fix the leak). Don't make finders dry your log sheets/book. It's kind of a pain.

Edited by kunarion
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Well intentioned, but I would never take the wet book home .. unless it was my own.

New log sheets are good, but then I'd isolate the wet book in a baggie to keep the new temporary replacement sheets dry, and leave a NM log online. It's up to the CO to maintain.

I think the OP was referring to their own log books from their own caches.

Many caches simply don't have the space for a second log. And as it's soaked (and with that I mean dripping) you're going to ruin the rest of the contents with the excess humidity, even when you put it in its own bag.

 

NM is great but for a cache that's on a 400m hill top, with the main access over a trail that's gravel and loose rocks, at 1 1/2 hours walk from the nearest bus stop (with a minibus every two hours) not much chance of quick maintenance. GC2HHXD is one of the caches where I changed the log. I was the fourth to find it (third finder didn't close it properly, hence the water), and the cache by then was over a year old. No finds on that cache in over a year now, only one DNF.

 

I really don't see the point in leaving the cache in far worse condition than I could leave it, while with little effort it's a great cache again.

 

And it reminds me... I really should visit that place again. It's a good afternoon hike. Great views on a clear day.

 

There are always exceptions to every opinion! :lol:

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Well intentioned, but I would never take the wet book home .. unless it was my own.

New log sheets are good, but then I'd isolate the wet book in a baggie to keep the new temporary replacement sheets dry, and leave a NM log online. It's up to the CO to maintain.

I think the OP was referring to their own log books from their own caches.

 

Actually, our own logbooks are dry :D I was referring to logbooks in other caches. Twice in the last month we have taken out soggy logs, brought them home to dry then returned them to their cache. They are close to home, so it is easy to do.

 

We've also bagged wet logbooks and left dry paper, done our best to dry out log sheets on the car heater and sometimes just etched our initials and walked away. But we always mention it in the online logs so the cache owner - and future cachers - know the condition of the cache.

 

We always try to leave a cache in better shape than we found it for the sake of the next finder. We want them to enjoy the hobby as much as we do! This means that we don't think so much of the cache as belonging to someone, but as a thing unto itself - an elusive creature, if you will ;) - that occassionally needs a bit of help to stay clean and dry. Every cache is our foster cache :lol:

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