HIT: Saving a Wet Book

[Lynette Fortson <lfortson@COPPELLISD.COM>]

Over a week ago I posted a Target about ideas for salvaging a book with
water damage. The person seeking advice had thoroughly dried the book
out but had wrinkled pages resulting. She was considering ironing the
pages.

These are the unique ideas I received on how to care for a wet book.
Most responses were to replace the book and not spend valuable time in
attempting to salvage one volume.

____________
Here are a few sites that discuss what to do with a water-damaged book.
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/fldbks.shtm
http://www.neirls.org/flood_recovery/six_tips.html
http://gateway.library.uiuc.edu/preserve/water1.html

________________
One of the few things I remember from Grad school is to put wet books in
the freezer. It dries them out without the pages wrinkling and no mold
grows. It has worked for us every time. I've heard this is what they do
to books in disasters.
____________
I did iron a book where the pages were only slightly wet. I used a low
temperature on the iron and used a clean towel. The pages were still
slightly wrinkly but overall it worked. (A dry iron would need to be
used.)
____________
Ironing would be the last resort. 1st I would put paper towels between
the pages, rubber band the book, and put it on the bottom of a stack of
books. This works for us.

Thank you for your help!  This group continues to be awesome.

Lynette Fortson
Mockingbird Elementary Librarian
Coppell, Texas
Lfortson@coppellisd.com


Lynette Fortson
Mockingbird Elementary Librarian
Coppell TX
lfortson@coppellisd.com
214-496-8214

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