Pouring bleach on the books and putting them in the sun might be doing more
harm that good. The books should be maintained at a temperature of 70
degrees (or lower) with a relative humidity that is very low also (which
means that any fluctuation of humidity, moisture, heat, etc., may just spark
the mold to grow even more). Right now you need to stop the growth of mold
and try to restore what you have--if you can.
If the books are not "soaking" wet, you might spray them with Lysol to help
kill some of the mold / mildew that is growing--as well as the smell that is
caused by the mold-- (be careful not to spray too close or you could damage
the pages or the covers). Then after allowing the books to air dry for a
short period-- an hour or two (preferably inside your house), you might want
to purchase some plastic containers (storage containers), wrap the books in
newsprint (without the print on it) or some freezer paper and place the
books inside the boxes--spines down--(if there are not many books) and then
stick them in your freezer for a while--or at least until later in the
winter when you can get them out for a low-humidity "air-drying."
This may not save the books entirely, but it will slow down the
deterioration process for a while--especially during the summer. Then in
the winter, if you take the books out of the freezer, you will still need to
monitor the levels of heat and humidity that the books are exposed to
throughout their shelf-life. The biggest problem that you might have later
is the bindings--if they are made of cloth, you may have some serious mold
problems later once the books are removed from the freezer.
Removing the moisture that is inside the book is the biggest priority right
now. Since it's the summer (in Indiana) it might just not be the best time
to expose a book to the variety of heat and humidity that you have.
Because you aren't trying to save an archival piece, you certainly can't
afford to professionally freeze-dry the books like most libraries might if
they had water damaged items, but this technique might help to slow down the
growth of mold while eliminating the moisture.
(Just another idea that I haven't tried but wondered about....if you have
one of those vacuum-packing machines for food--like the Infomercials show
that vacuum-packs food-- you might want to try vacuum-packing the books to
draw out the moisture and then freezing them.---One of these days I'm going
to try this method myself, but you might want to try it sooner if you have
the equipment!)
~Shonda Brisco
Trinity Valley MS / US Librarian
Fort Worth, TX
sbrisco021@charter.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kris Waymire" <twaymire@IN-MOTION.NET>
To: <LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2003 1:38 PM
Subject: Re: MOLD & MILDEW ON BOOKS
> I have come across some books of my mother's that apparently got wet in
her
> basement. Some are 1st editions. I can't get near them as I'm allergic to
> mold and mildew. My husband has volunteered to do whatever you all say for
> me to be able to read them, and keep them. Is there any hope? One person I
> talked to said to take them outside in the sunlight, stand them up, fan
the
> pages out and pour bleach over it. Let dry in the sun and flip it over to
do
> with the other side. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
>
> Kris Waymire
> Media Specialist
> Harney Elementary
> Lebanon, IN 46052
> home email: twaymire@in-motion.net
>
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