Mold

Carol O'Neill asked whether vinegar could be used for cleaning mold
from books.

Since vinegar is a fairly concentrated solution of acetic acid this
could lead to two main problems--the destruction of the paper and
bindings by the acid itself and the possible formation of large
crystals by interaction with soluble salts present in the books or
other materials in the store. In addition, I have seen acid
solutions alter the colour of bindings irreversibly.

Industrial methylated spirits (the type without coloring) or ethanol
can be used *carefully* to swab mold from books and helps to prevent
mold regrowth if the books are then kept in well ventilated stores
at a reasonable relative humidity. As with any substance used, it
must be tested first to make sure it does not remove the colour from
the binding or disturb the printing/illustrations if being used on
the inner pages.

Helena Jaeschke, Archaeological Conservator

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:87
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 13, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-87-009
                                  ***