Waterlogged wood

I have been advising local homeowners whose homes were flooded by
the San Joaquin River during the recent storms. Recently, I was
asked for advise about salvaging wood products, furniture etc., but
I don't know anything about waterlogged wood. For example, one
homeowner ask about a roll top desk; he said he had documents inside
the drawers that he wants to retrieve and he also wants to preserve
his desk. He tried to open a drawer but the wood is so wet the
handle and front board broke off in his hand. I checked the CoOl
database, and retrieved some information, however, I am hoping for
more explicit instructions for people who do not have access to
laboratory conditions. One more thing, these materials were
completely submerged for about 3-4 days and I don't have the tools
to measure the water content.

Nancy Skeen

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:65
                 Distributed: Friday, January 17, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-65-009
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