What damp does to a cracker, and how to tell

Crackers are made of paper, clay and dry powders, and the one thing they cannot stand is moisture. Here in Sivakasi the air is dry for most of the year, which is why the trade grew here. In Kochi in October or Chennai in November, the story is different.

You can usually tell when an item has taken in damp. The cardboard box feels soft or wavy instead of crisp. There may be a faint sour or musty smell. On flower pots and chakkars, the green fuse bends easily rather than standing firm, or has a white crust on it. Sparklers may have a coating that crumbles when you touch it.

A damp item does not always fail. More often it behaves unpredictably: a flower pot that sputters and then flares, a chakkar that stalls and jumps, a sky shot that rises lower than it should. That unpredictability is the real problem, so do not try to dry an item on the stove, in an oven, under an iron or in direct afternoon sun. Heat on a damp cracker is how accidents happen.

If you find damp items in a fresh carton from us, photograph them unopened and send the photos within 48 hours, and we replace them with the next dispatch. For items kept from last year, soak any that look damp in a bucket of water overnight and throw them out with the dry waste. To prevent it, keep the carton closed, off the floor and away from bathrooms, kitchens and outer walls during the monsoon.