PSA: Old blueprint rolls are a fire hazard if you hoard them

I was cleaning out my drafting table last weekend and found rolls going back to 2010. Just had them stacked in a corner. My buddy who does fire safety inspections stopped by and pointed out that paper rolls near a space heater or old wiring are bad news. He said one spark and those blueprints burn fast. Made me rethink my whole storage setup. Now I scan everything and recycle the originals after a year. Has anyone else dealt with getting rid of old plans in bulk?

3 comments

3 Comments

jackson.max1mo ago

Dude, same thing happened to me. I had a stack from like 2008 tucked behind a bookshelf near my desk and didn't think twice about it until my buddy who used to work in a print shop saw them and lost his mind. He said old ammonia based paper is basically kindling waiting for a reason to go up. Now I just digitize everything as soon as I'm done with a project and toss the paper copies in the recycling bin within a month or two. Feels way safer and I don't miss having to dig through dusty rolls when I need something.

rosepark1mo ago

And that ammonia based stuff is no joke either, pretty sure the fumes from that arent great for your lungs if you're breathing it in for years. Definitely a smart move to get rid of it before it becomes a problem either way.

henry1501mo ago

Scan everything onto a hard drive before tossing the originals, because @jackson.max is right about how fast that old paper burns but nobody mentioned that the ammonia residue can also corrode metal file cabinets over time. Had a buddy lose a whole drawer of tools to rust from stored blueprints, and that stuff eats through plastic tubs too if the rolls are damp. Punch a few holes in your storage bins for airflow if you absolutely have to keep the paper copies around for any reason.