Removing mold from books?
Question:I am trying to fins a safe way to remove mold from hardback and paperback books. If it cannot be totally removed, then how can I at least stop it from continuing and kill the mold that is presently attacking the paper? Also, is there a safe way to store books to prevent future molding?
Answers:
Hello, few tips for your consideration:
If some of your books have been stored in a less than ideal environment and have gotten a bit moldy or mildewed, try this: First, let them thoroughly air-dry. Then, sprinkle some baby powder between the pages and stand the books upright for several hours. Afterward, gently brush out the remaining powder from each book. They may not be as good as new, but they should be in a lot better shape than they were.
Storing books
Stable conditions are as important as the precise levels of temperature and humidity themselves. A temperature of between 16ºC and 18ºC, and a relative humidity of around 50-60% are recommended. So next time you are shivering in the library, remember that the conditions are designed for the long-term residents.
Books do not like damp or dry conditions. Insufficient moisture causes a book's natural materials to become brittle; pages weaken and are easily torn. With old books, bindings deteriorate and crumble if the conditions are too dry. Paper also deteriorates rapidly under extremes of heat or moisture. A damp environment will encourage paper to cockle and this literally opens books to attack especially from mould.
Light fades inks and dyes and generally accelerates the decomposition of a range of printing materials. The ultraviolet (UV) component of light is the source of this damage. Leave a book open and exposed to strong sunlight and it will show signs of discoloration or fading in a few days. So windows and strong lights need to be carefully planned in a library.
Handling
Never remove a book from shelves by pulling on the top of the spine. This is a book’s vulnerable area. To take a book from a shelf, reach over the top of the book, ideally all the way to the front edge and tilt it back until enough of the sides protrude to provide a handhold. Then, ease the adjacent books apart and lift, rather than slide, the book upwards to withdraw it. When a book is carelessly pulled from a shelf, the boards or covers drag against neighbouring volumes.
Always ease a book open. The paper and binding both take a moment to respond. Some book spines will be stiff, so must not be forced open beyond the point of resistance. This may be felt at just 90 degrees. The forced flattening of any book to make it lie flat will certainly damage it, which is why many libraries do not allow you to photocopy books but provide a service from people trained to handle books. Early paperbacks are vulnerable and the glue used in perfect binding can easily snap.
Never lick or dampen your fingers to turn a page. Moisture makes a mould-friendly medium and distorts the paper.
Shelves and storage
It is conventional to store books upright on some kind of shelving system. Because so many books have information on their spines, shelves serve as a display system too. Upright storage for most books means that they are not supporting the weight of anything other than themselves.
Upright storage requires enough books on each shelf to hold them vertically. Tightly packing the books increases the friction when they are removed or replaced, so increasing the possibility of damage. Some book-ends might be useful to allow books to stay vertical when books are removed.
Smooth-surfaced shelving materials will abrade books less than material such as natural wood. Books that are shelved too loosely may tilt and eventually become distorted. Bookends, or a few volumes laid horizontally, keep the other volumes upright on partially filled shelves.
Large or heavy books are better stored on their sides. If they are stored vertically, the pages can pull them away from the spine. However a stack of such books cannot be more than a few books high to avoid stress on those at the bottom.
The space above the book on a shelf should be enough to allow a hand to reach over the top to extract a volume without having to tug at the spine. If shelves are too shallow the books overhang, risking mechanical damage and distortion. If the shelf is too deep it attracts dust, cups of coffee and other unsuitable material.
Space around the books is also important to allow air to circulate. Do not overlook the space behind the books. If shelves are attached to an outside wall, there must be a space of at least 5cm to allow the moisture that penetrates the wall to be carried away rather than absorbed by the pages. Tape a plastic bag to the wall if you want to check how much moisture is getting through.
It is ideal if the space above the book is enough to let you run the vacuum cleaning tools over the books once in a while to remove dust.
So...
Books like a little bit of attention when they are sitting on the shelves so do have a rummage along the shelves from time to time.
From the Library Preservation website:
If a large number of books are wet or damp, freezing is a way of quickly stabilizing the infestation until appropriate treatment can be dispensed.
The treatment of mold-infected books requires that they be taken to a well-ventilated area with electric fans to increase air movement. A good arrangement is to stand the books on edge with the boards slightly opened have a fan blow across them through an open window or to handle the books inside a running fume hood (cupboard). Rapidly moving air will dry out the moisture and desiccate the mold spores, rendering them inactive. If necessary, take the books outdoors and place in the sun and a mild breeze for a short time, and if possible, remove the mold outdoors. Ultraviolet rays from the sun will kill mold. In handling infected books, you should wear face masks and plastic or rubber gloves.
When the books are dry, a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner should be used to remove as much of the inactive mold as possible from the covers of the books. If you do not have a HEPA filter vacuum, activated dusters (dusters with an electrostatic charge, or containing a mild adhesive) can be used. The dusters should be laid over the infected area and the mold spores gently picked up. This procedure prevents mold spores from being released into the air.
When the soft mold has been removed, the outside of book covers can be wiped with a solution of ethyl alcohol. This acts as a mild solvent to remove some of the outer staining. Care must be taken not to wet the area too much.
The inside of the books can now be examined. In many cases, mold stains will be seen on the inside of the binding, near the joints and at the head and tail. The stains can be gently swabbed with ethyl alcohol, but it is unlikely that they will be completely removed. Although mold stains can be treated with chemical bleach, this is not recommended because bleach can cause the paper to deteriorate rapidly, especially in humid conditions.
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