Sun dries out materials. Gravity pulls matter down and breaks it. Leather dries and cracks. Worms and rodents feed on paper, glue, cloth and leather. Pencil lines smear and rub off.
Book bindings crack and break.
Staples and paper clips rust. Transparent tape yellows and cracks. Family records in our homes are hurt by window sunlight, water pipes flooding a basement, high humidity, a fire, dirt, car exhaust, and other results of nature's processes. Even if we could keep our records totally safe from nature's outside agents, they are still in danger of disintegrating. Many paper products contain acid from the manufacturing process, in which it is used to break down paper fibers.