My mom has a giant paisley photo album. It’s at least thirty years old, 3” inches deep, heavy as a brick, and ugly as sin. The worst part about it isn’t the faded purple and pink cover or that the pages get stuck on the rings of the binder when you turn it; the worst part is that it is a sticky photo album.

Why is this so awful? Sticky photo albums, also known as magnetic albums, are full of lethal toxins primed to destroy your favorite family photos. Their pages are covered in adhesive and wrapped in a thin plastic film. To use the album, you peel back the plastic (which has a very distinct and satisfying sound), place your image on the page, reapply the plastic, and smooth it over the page and photo. This album probably felt revolutionary in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the 1980s, professionals everywhere were cautioning consumers against the albums. Despite years of warnings, these albums are still being sold and used today.

If you have photos in sticky photo albums, there are steps you can take to save your photos. The first step is understanding why these albums are so harmful.

Are Sticky Photo Albums Bad for Photos?

Yes. The adhesive on the pages–the sticky bits–is made up of chemicals that cause photodegradation over time. It’s acidic. This means a page could turn yellow or brown and cause your black and white photos to silver or color photos to shift in color. The adhesive could eat through the back of the photo. You’ll know this is happening if you find little lines running across your image. It could become so sticky that your images become permanently stuck to the page.

The plastic film, originally designed to help protect the face of the photo, isn’t much better. Anyone who has used a sticky album knows how finicky the covers are. The plastic could crease and make an indentation on the photo emulsion. Many people thought the covers were durable and handled them poorly which caused more indentations or photo damage.  The plastic wasn’t airtight and could easily let bugs, dust, and more into the album and onto the photos.

How Do I Remove My Photos?

With any luck, the adhesive in your photo albums is weak and will release your photos with ease. This was the case with my mom’s sticky album; the images popped off the page once I peeled back the plastic cover. In fact, the cover didn’t even want to go back onto the page. This is what we would call a “best-case scenario”, and I hope it happens for you.

If your photos are harder to remove, you still have options. Before you try anything, photograph or scan your photos. Get a digital copy of everything just in case something goes wrong. It’s easier to make a new photo from a digital file than it is to reunite a ripped head from its body.

The next step is to remove the photos. The internet is a wild place, and there are tons of misinformation masquerading as viable solutions out there. Please do not freeze your photos or use heat to loosen the glue. People have put all types of photos in sticky photo albums–tintypes, carte de visites, early-1900s black and white photos, modern color prints, Polaroids, documents, and more. Each photo type responds differently to heat and cold. Introducing the wrong element could cause even worse damage.

To remove photos, you can use a conservation spatula or dental floss. A conservation spatula is a thin micro spatula you can use to help separate the photo from the sticky page. If the photo is really stuck, you can use non-waxed dental floss instead. With both methods, you want to gently–gently–separate the photo without lifting the image up. This could cause the photo to break or tear. The Smithsonian Institution Archives has a great video about this method.

A word of caution: if the photo looks torn or damaged, do not try to lift it by yourself. Consult a professional. If you try to remove the photo using a spatula or floss, you could cut through the photo and cause irreparable damage. If the photo doesn’t want to budge, leave it alone and call a professional. In a worst-case scenario where the photo is permanently stuck, it is better to leave it alone and make a new stable copy.

What Do I Do Once My Photos Are Removed?

Do not stack your photos. The images may have traces of adhesive on the back and could transfer glue to the face of another photo. Use archival photo sleeves to store and protect your photos.

You’ll also need a new album. We like to use archival photo albums with slipcovers. The slipcover helps keep bugs, dust, and other elements out of your photo albums (and they look really slick). Store your new albums in a stable environment–away from your basement or attic.

As for the sticky photo album, chuck it. You won’t hear us advocating for throwing things away often, and as far as we know, these albums are non-recyclable. Save your photos and throw that album straight in the trash. You’ll be glad you did.

Interested in learning more about photo restoration? Check out our photo restoration guide.