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If you’re like me, you probably enjoy reading books anywhere and everywhere. You’ve probably read by pools, in the bath, at the beach, or even in a hot tub. And while your vision of reading in a hot, relaxing bath was incredible, the real experience had an added element of stress: “What if I drop my book?” “What if someone splashes really hard?” “What if a giant wave comes and my book is ruined?”
We’ve scoured the internet for a few tricks that you can do to help protect your books in these watery settings. (Some more practical than others.) Check out the solutions below, and let us know if you have any other clever tricks for keeping your books dry in watery settings.
#1 Biblio-bath (Unfortunately, it looks as though this company isn’t around anymore.)
They may have a small collection of classic titles, but this company has found a way to make these popular titles, including Mark Twain and Shakespeare, completely waterproof. They aren’t as pretty as real books yet, and a little pricey, but they give me hope that maybe someday we’ll see libraries full of water-proof books.
Pros: A fully waterproof book collection is a dream. Dunk them, spill water on them, drool on them when your eyes can’t stay open anymore, and your book won’t even show a drop.
Cons: There are very few books to pick from, and they are a little bit pricier than normal books. For the amount I’d spend on them, I might as well take my chance with having to replace a few books.
#2 Waterproof Covers
Sure just waterproofing your book cover won’t protect your book if it takes a swim, but this can be great protection in those splash zone areas. This is a DIY project, so it’s probably best for the book wyrm with a little free time on their hands and a little crafty, know-how.
Pros: Cheaper, seems more practical than other options, and can be applied to any of your favorite books.
Cons: Doesn’t fully protect your book and takes time away from reading to create.
#3 Bamboo Bathtub Caddy
This bath tray might just be making an appearance in my bathtub soon. Complete with a wine glass holder and book holding grove, this may be a more secure bathtub method than simply holding the book in your hands. This works for both tablets and print books. However, one wrong bump and the whole display might go overboard.
Pros: Can hold your book or tablet, as well as a wine glass, out of the water with minimal effort.
Cons: Only works in bathtubs and doesn’t actually do anything to protect your books from water.
#4 Slightly-Less-Secure Inflatable, Floating Bath Caddy
No, that’s not what it’s really called, but that’s exactly what it feels like. While this product looks fun, I get anxious just looking at it. Could it work? Possibly, on a perfectly clear, windless day where I’m all alone and barely move a finger as I read. However, it does have a 4-star rating on Amazon, so maybe I’m being too critical and it really works great. (Anyone willing to test it out?)
Pros: Portable, and everyone will know you’re a serious book wyrm when you show up to the pool with a book floaty.
Cons: No way to protect against splashing if others are in the pool with you and security bar seems like it would make turning pages a challenge.
#5 You-Bumi Waterproof Book Cover Bath Bag
Now here’s an option that will protect your entire book from water, but the execution might be frustrating to use. This device only has a couple small thumb holes built into it for turning pages and holding the book. Also, I’m not sure if the product provides enough room to turn the pages without bending and smashing them.
Pros: A product that actually protects your whole book from water, cute thumb holes.
Cons: Cute thumb holes will let water in when dropped and they don’t seem very user friendly.
#6 A Water Guard Bag for Your Tablet
This solution is basically like the book bag above, but seems like a more practical solution (cheaper too). Since you don’t need little thumb holes to swipe or scroll through your pages, this super-advanced ziplock bag allows you to fully water-proof your device while reading anywhere there’s water. This seems like a winning solution to me.
Pros: Fully waterproofs your device, reasonably priced, and user-friendly.
Cons: Only works for tablets up to about 8 inches, smaller tablets may slide around inside case.
#7 A Waterproof Case for Your Tablet
This is basically the same theory as the waterproof bag above, but unlike the bad which will fit most tablets, you must ensure that there is a waterproof case specifically made for your device to partake in this solution. If there is, then this could be a great solution for you.
Pros: Fully protects tablet from water, and is perfectly fitted to your reading device.
Cons: Some devices may have better quality cases than others, you’ll have to buy a new case every time you get a new device, and it’s slightly more expensive than the bag.
So there you have it, 7 solutions for giving your books a little extra protection by the water this summer. Have you ever lost a favorite book to the water graveyard? Tell us what happened and if you’ve thought of any other clever ways to protect your books from water damage in the comments below.
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The above 7 so-called “solutions\” will not work for me at all. In my case, because of house renovations.
[Specifically,
(i) walls and carpet of study water-damaged by torrential rain, so everything had to be moved to spare room for new carpet to be laid in study.[has BOOKS]
(ii) walls and carpet of adjoining main bedroom [BOOKS] also water-damaged by torrential rain, so after study was fixed everything from bedroom moved not just back to study, but also to lounge [BOOKS] and spare room [BOOKS] for new carpet to be also laid in main bedroom.
(iii) Builder arrived to do previously-arranged Lounge renovations, so had to move boxes and stuff in Lounge around to make space against the walls to put in dado boards, plaster walls etc, enlarge doorway, and move wall-to-wall wardrobe from Lounge to spare room [which was now full of boxes and boxes of everything]
(iv) Then, when spare room was full, grandaughter fled her home after her father went to work and came to us because her mother also lives here. Guess where she went: the “spare” bedroom.
(v) Meant many Cardboard boxes of books put in garden shed, big shed, cubby house, and under house.]
Here in Australia It’s the middle of winter, it’s raining again as I do this, the sealed boxes are on wood, on concrete, under tarps to catch the drips, and the contents are getting damp somehow through the cardboard anyway. I couldn’t put them in the shipping container because that is already full of our daughter’s stuff. So, the “solutions” both above and below are of no use to me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
The problem is of boxes absorbing water moisture and so affecting contents damp, and only thing I can think of is to wrap each box completely with “Clingwrap” or similar. Any suggestions anyone ?
I think I have come up with a good one. It has saved me more than once. I vacuum pack my ebook anytime we think we are going camping or near water. It has saved me once, when it was accidently kicked by a running child into the lake. I’ll also vac pack if I’m doing a mountain of dishes, such as holiday times. My wet hands can turn the pages & I never miss a words.
If I place it in the vacuum bag with the screen side up on the smooth side of the vac bag, it works great. I can see & turn pages. All that matters is that I can read – anywhere!
What a great idea! I’ll give the vac packing a try!
Hey Guys, We are perfectly normal; We have just proved it. All our friends are just like us. It’s the folks tethered to an IPhone or some thing along those lines….because they are talking gobbelyglup, They dont know the real world……of books!!! We are reading real authors, classics, mysteries whatever…..my aunt had every Zane Gray book in triplicate so she could read in the car at red lights during a boring church service …… her purse and the one by her chair……. I for one would rather read Tolstoy than someone who doesn’t even know who Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Austin, Murdoch….oh so many books, so little life left!
I use zip lock bags of any brand and depending on circumstances I may use two with the second having air inside so my ereader can float if need be. Just enough air so I can use buttons and flip pages. Even used clear newspaper bags with a knot tied in it for e-readers cellphones most anything electronic I may use other than my TV which stays inside my apartment. Hope this helps someone!
Hugs,
Doug with Jerry Lee and Blueberry my service dogs and partners in crime lòl
I put mine in a Ziploc Freezer Bag. Yes, it is huge. But, I burp the air and zip it shut and fold it around my Kindle. The e-reader I use to read in the tub is the Voyager (there are buttons on the side that let you turn the pages). I have saved the bag to reuse. I have thought about putting a little silica packet, like the ones that come in my Low Dose Asprin, in the bag with the Kindle. I thought that this might help with any condensation.
Personally I am also a fan of the field-expedient ziploc bag. Being a hardcore addict, who appreciates minimal tech between words and eyes, all that I require is transparency and ability to keep precipitation away from my reader while still allowing access to the buttons for changing page and power status (allowance can even be made for simultaneous protection of a powerbank during recharging). [A local poundshop often carries freezer bags in a suitable size for my 7″ reader which have fairly high endurance.] Of course any big enough clear bag can be pressed into service if necessary, ereaders are definitely easier than physical books during rain showers,
Fun! and funny….I gave up baths and perfected the three minute shower so I could still be tethered to 4 Kindles and one Kobo….none of which I bought but were all gifts…..I guess the hubby-honey figures when I am reading I am not making up honey-do lists?? Smart.
I have used ziplock bags, but even then I am paranoid, so I used 2 bags….i figured it would show moisture in the outer one and that would indicate it is time to stop AND come back to the land of the living.
But the best thing about this thread is all us folks secretly thought there was something wrong with us…..thanks Amazon for feeding my addiction, and It is nice I have sisters and brethren are just as addicted as I am…..if there was Readaholics Anon. we would be very quiet reading furiously to learn yet another gem of
There’s nothing wrong with us! I can’t do much without my tablet. I carry it around the house when I do any chore and read in between boiling the kettle, getting tea bags etc. I take 90 second showers to get back reading 🙂 My friends say I waltz (one hand griping the e-reader and the other arm extended to pack away items, get dressed, apply make up) and that’s a good kind of weird in my eyes.