Below is a list of responses I received about mildew on books.
The Lysol method and removal(response one) seems easiest and we will use.
Ellen Frank
Library Media Specialist
Jamaica High School
MILDEW ON BOOKS
I have been teaching book repair/conservation for about 8 years. Mold on
books is one of the worst and irreversible things --you can try freezing the
books, and scraping off as much as possible. If there's just a little on
the cover, scraping MAY help. I have used Lysol disinfectant spray-original
scent only- to help stop mold from growing. Once again, it MAY help. The
most important thing, is to move the infected books away from all the other
books. Even if you think they are cleaned, shelve them in a totally
different place, all by themselves, never on the regular shelving. Keep the
temperature cool and humidity low.. Any changes in temp/humidity can cause
the spores to reactivate and start to spread again. I've seen 'fixed' books
reinfect entire shelves, and had to throw away many, many newly infected
titles. Check with your insurance, and see if you're covered--better to get
rid of a couple dozen books now, than entire shelves full later. Any other
questions, let me know. Cheri
--
Cheri Nienke
Assistant Director
Andover Public Library
937 N Andover Rd
Andover, KS 67002
(316) 733-4599
cheri@andoverpubliclibrary.org
Hi
I used to work in the New York State Historical Association's library
where a lot of conservation work was done on books. The reccommended
(simple) treatment for books with mold/etc. is spray with Lysol, set out in
bright sunlight(UV kills mold spores) and gently brush off.
You really don't wanna know the more complicated method as it involves
smelly chemicals.......:)
Gladys Furness
Westport Central School
Westport NY 12956
I posted a query on this last month, and didn't receive any answers. Some
one told me they used Pledge on the covers, but no one seemed to be using
Febreeze. Maybe try it on a book you don't mind damaging, and see what
happens. For mildew, my library school professor suggested leaving books
outside, open, in the sun. It's a big problem here in Florida; I usually
just delete the book from the collection. I do keep some of the most
interesting specimens in a separate place to show the students why books
don't like to eat, drink, or take baths!:)
HTH!
Louise C. Leonard, LMS
Solomon Schechter Day School Library
Jacksonville Jewish Center
Jacksonville, FL
Lleonard@ssds.attbbs.net
Dear Ellen, I posted a hit of all replies received when the library I was
in had a problem with mildew in the Fall of 2001. In order to kill the
mildew spores, we wiped every book with a bleach solution - 10 parts water
to 1 part bleach - as well as all the shelving. We had the carpet recleaned
and ran a dehumidifier constantly.
I understand from the librarian that mildew reappeared this fall. She again
was wiping books with bleach solution.
While Febreeze will dull the smell of mildew, it won't do anything about
killing the mildew spores. You may find it better to get rid of as many
books as possible rather than take a chance that they harbor spores that
will spread the mildew to other books in the collection. Another low-tech
(but inconvenient) way to deal with mildew is to allow open books to air in
direct sunlight... usually not a likely option.
I hope this may be of help. We really need someone to invent a de-mildew
chamber that librarians can cycle books through but won't harm the books in
any way!
Cathy Oxley, MLS Student and former library assistant, Fredericksburg, VA
cathoxlee@hotmail.com
I don't know about Febreeze, but I would think you your put the books in
the freezer and brush the mildew off when frozen, with a stiff brush.
Mrs. Carolyn Gierke, Librarian
Sweet Home High School
1901 Sweet Home Road
Amherst, NY 14228
Phone: 1-716-250-1227
We had a huge problem with mildew a few years ago. The best I can remember,
the expert info we had then said to lay the books in direct sunlight for
several hours to kill the mildew. Since we have no windows in our library,
we used a solution of bleach and water to wipe the books down. We made sure
we wore smocks over our clothes, dust masks, and rubber gloves to protect
ourselves. I don't remember an odor after bleaching.
From a 1998 Hit sent by Sharon Blemenstein,Maybe you should try dusting the
pages with corn starch, then with sweetsmelling baby
powder.#################################################################Mildew
odor: I've been told drier sheets (Bounce etc) will
absorbit.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We clorox bleach ours and nearly die from the fumes so microwavingsounds
interesting to me,
too.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++It's really
not weird - I microwaved books that were in a box (storedduring
construction) with mildew-y books, After zapping them, I keptthem isolated,
but had no problem...and it's a year later. Came uponthe idea because
local industry that was flooded retrieved documents by1) flash-freezing, 2)
then microwaving. You need a large microwave. Wefanned the books in sort of
a V, standing like a tent, zapped them forabout one minute. My trusty
volunteer did them at home, had no fumes,no glue problems... Now, these
did not have visible mold; we weresimply killing any spores that might still
be
there.******************************************************************************Have
you tried inserting the book and bricks of charcoal in a plasticbag. I
understand that one must leave it there for 30+
days.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I
just saw on a "handyman" show (I don't know which one it was)lastnight all
the wonderful things that baking soda can do. One of them wasto rub baking
soda on a book with mildew. The man used quite a bit andhe said to let it
sit on the page for a couple of days and the mildewwould be gone. It's worth
a try and baking soda isn't going to hurt
thebook.%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%Verrry interesting! however,
nuking the book will boil away the moisturein the pages...thus making them
more
brittle******************************************************************************Sharon
Blumenstein, Librarian, Emek Hebrew Academy, Sherman Oaks, CAemail:
shablu@aol.com
Once I used baking soda. I put some baking soda and a book in a large
plastic bag and sealed it. I left it a few days and I believe it smelled
alot better.
Debbie
I've never tried it, but I've heard that putting mildewed books in a plastic
bag (a big one) with kitty litter in it, tying it off and leaving the books
in it for a while will take away odors.
Good luck!
Lynn Ward
St. Joseph Catholic School
Memphis, TN
Several years ago - when we had time to try to repair damaged books - we
used to use powder. We found that the kind with a deodorant in it (not baby
powder) helped take away the smell. We would liberally shake powder into
the pages and let it stand 2-3 days with the pages fanned. Then I think we
would shake the loose powder out (maybe we also wiped down some of the pages
- I can't really
remember). I had a clerk then who was a whiz at all kinds of repairs.
Since she did the actual work and I only saw it happening, my recollection
is somewhat fuzzy. I also vaguely remember that perhaps the powder also
helped cover some of the stains left after the mildew was removed. We liked
it because it didn't dampen the pages. Good luck.
Judy
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