Whether you buy your records brand new, or second hand, keeping them stored correctly is the key to long-lasting, premium quality sound.

This will be your one-stop guide to storing your records to protect them from damage and keep them sounding as good as when you purchased them, specifically using high quality inner sleeves and adequate shelving.

In order to maximise space, you may be inclined to incorrectly store your records, but this can lead to long term damage. 

Records should always be stored upright, as storing them horizontally can lead to the records at the bottom of the pile becoming warped and unplayable. 

It is also important that when stored vertically, the records aren't squashed together too tightly. 

Records which have been squashed into inadequate shelving can be damaged over time. Because they are so squashed together, moisture can get trapped inside the sleeves, moulding the record. This causes irreversible damage to the record as mould often cannot be cleaned out of the grooves, causing a static sound when the record is played.

In order to improve your record's longevity, opting to store them upright, and with adequate room between them is the best first step.

Most record inner sleeves are made from paper, and the older the record, the less high quality this paper is.

As paper ages, it starts to fall apart. Even in modern records, we see glossy paper inner sleeves with tearing at the sides, exposing the record to the elements. Along with being a porous material, trapping moisture next to your records, paper is not durable. Over time, paper can break down, leaving dust on your records, which contributes to the staticky sound that many records have that have been stored in paper inner sleeves for a long time. 

Purchasing a higher quality inner sleeve alongside buying a record is the best way you can prolong the crisp, unblemished sound of your new record. 

The best material for this is a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)/rice paper inner sleeve, which is a soft, anti-static plastic, made to keep your records free from scratches while they are being stored.

Here at Atlas Records, we store all of the records we sell in High Density Polyethylene inner sleeves, so when you purchase a record from us, the record will be housed in one of these inner sleeves, to ensure that from when it leaves us, it is given the best protection to keep it sounding as graded for many years to come.

We also offer the option to buy packs of inner sleeves so you can protect the records you already own. You can browse the record inner sleeves we sell below.

Your records are an investment to be cherished, so giving them protection so they can be enjoyed for years to come should be an investment too. Because of their durability, HDPE inner sleeves won’t break down or trap moisture, resulting in a better-protected record.

The inner sleeves we sell are archival quality, providing the best protection for your record collection so you can continue to enjoy your records at their best for years to come.

It's important that records should be stored out of direct sunlight. Heat can severely damage a record, especially if they are being stored in PVC sleeves. PVC is a common record sleeve plastic, favoured for coloured vinyl and picture discs, due to its see-through nature. However, when records are stored in PVC sleeves, especially when exposed to heat, the PVC can 'offgas' onto the record, causing permanent damage, making the record sound static, with crackles and pops. Read more about why you shouldn't use PVC sleeves for storing records.

If you still want to have your picture discs and coloured records on display, we recommend you switch to storing your records in polythene/rice paper sleeves. You can purchase inner sleeves for vinyl records on our website.  

Equally, storing records in a colder environment also has a negative effect on the records. Storing them in less insulated areas like garages, storage units and lofts opens them up to the elements, allowing moisture into the records, causing the sleeves to dampen, moulding the record. If you need to store your records like this for any reason, to give them the best protection possible so they can still be enjoyed when put back on a turntable, storing them in archival quality inner record inner sleeves would be the best decision, as well as storing them in solid, well sealed plastic boxes rather than porous cardboard. 

The nature of these storage methods will prevent damage to your records while they are in storage, and will make sure that once you, or others are ready to play the records again, that they sound just as crisp as the day they were put into storage. 

Records very easily gather dust, even whilst the records are on the turntable, dust can gather on the surface of the record. 

As collectors ourselves, at home we always ensure that we keep a record cleaning brush by our turntables, which we clean records with before they are played. 

Optionally, you can also purchase cleaning solutions and distilled water, both of which we use at Atlas Records to clean all of the records which we sell. You can learn more about how to clean your records on our blog. 

In order to keep dust from gathering on your record while it is not being played, storing them correctly is essential. Here at Atlas Records, all of the records we sell are stored in rice paper inner sleeves. These act as an excellent barrier between the dust and record, as HDPE is a non-permeable substance, and doesn't break down as easily as paper inner sleeves do. This means that not only do inner sleeves protect your records from exterior dust, they don't break down and leave dust on your records, like paper inner sleeves would. 

Will you stop the static? These tips for record storage will keep your records in the best condition possible for decades of enjoyment.

Proper storage methods in stable temperatures and moisture-free environments, plus high-quality outer sleeves and anti-static archival rice paper inner sleeves are a must-have for any collector who wishes to keep their collection in the best condition possible. If you would like to protect your records in the same way that we do, why not pick up some of our archival inner sleeves?