mildly moldy books

[cos]

Ever since I moved at the beginning of this year, most of my possessions, including books, have been stored at a friend's basement. Recently she asked me to move them from the basement to the garage, and we discovered that most of the boxes on the bottom level were moldy along the bottom side. Several of those boxes had books in them :(

A few books got really damaged. But a larger number of books just got a bit of mold along one edge, the edge that was adjacent to the bottom side of the box. Most of these are still perfectly readable, a bit warped from dampness, and a bit discolored by mold along the edge to varying degrees.

Those of you who know how to deal with books: What's the best thing to do to these? Do I just wipe off the mold with a napkin and let them dry? Is there something I should put on them to keep the mold from spreading? Is it better to try to compress the books back into flatness while still in a humid environment, or let them dry out entirely first? Any other suggestions?

[ Some of these books I'll eventually replace. Some of them, I'm not sure if I'll find replacement copies. And there are too many of them for me to replace now, especially when I'm not living somewhere where I have space for them. ]

Comments

From the archive

[mizarchivist]

Quarantine all moldy books in sealed plastic until you are going to deal with them
Use mask and gloves when doing removal
I'd try the wipe down and then expose to sunlight (if possible to ensure the killing of the spores. Also if you can do the wiping down activties outside to reduce contamination, so much the better.
I do not think that you'll get the books back into their original shape, although you can try to weight them, but I've yet to see it work. Your first issue is to kill the mold.
Let me know how it goes

Re: From the archive

[hawkegirl.livejournal.com]

I've heard sun is best too...

Re: From the archive

[cos]

Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon seems perfect. It's supposed to be clear, high of 80 degrees, and humidity under 40% most of the afternoon.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

First off, don't touch them at ALL without gloves and something covering your nose and mouth. Book mold is notorious for getting in your lungs and staying there.

Secondly, read this: http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf39.htm

The New England Document Conservation Center in Andover is precisely the organization to ask these questions of. www.nedcc.org

Good luck.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

Supplementary question: how does one deal with mouldy (already processed) transparency film - mouldy slides?

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf38.htm

The film itself should be fine, but if the casings are paper, they should be replaced. If they're plastic, they could be salvaged with a bath in a solution, but they're probably better off being replaced.

Search for a UK-based archival products catalog, or a good photography equipment catalog. Either of these sources should have replacement slide casings. Alternately, a reputable photo processing center (i.e., not a quickie-mart) should be able to replace them for you.

All this is given with the caveat that I don't actually do much preservation myself. I've got some basic knowledge, but I turn to my dear friend mizarchivist (whom you met at my wedding) when I need real preservation foo.

moldy slides

[gravitrue.livejournal.com]

The film may or may not be salvagable depending on what the mold is eating.

See
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/cis145/cis145.pdf
and
http://web.archive.org/web/20030614160956/http://kodak.com/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/ae22/ae22.pdf

which I found via googling cleaning mold kodakchrome

[georgejas.livejournal.com]

ack, that's terrible. good luck.

[nebel.livejournal.com]

put them in the sun!!!! My choir music (including my messiah score) all midewed once, and letting it dry in the sun really helped.

[listgirl.livejournal.com]

how to deal with mold: move to phoenix

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

First, put the books in sealed plastic bags in the freezer immediately, until you have time to deal with them. (Freezing will inhibit any further mold growth. However, it will not kill the spores.)

Next, get one of those mini vacuums used for cleaning electronics. Also get some plastic gloves, a can of listerine spray, and a heavy duty dust mask. Wait for a very sunny weekend.

Dry the books by putting on your mask and gloves, taking them outdoors, removing them from the plastic bags while outdoors, and letting them get plenty of sunlight. Pay particular attention to the bindings and spine, turning them and propping them up as needed so every moldy edge gets a few hours of bright sunshine.

When dry, vacuum the mold with the mini vac. Spray lightly with listerine spray. Let sit in the sun some more.

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