Cleaning books

Tamara Clark <tclark [at] tranquility__net> writes

>Can anyone suggest a product or method to effectively remove both
>mildew and red rot that has spread to adjacent, non-leather bound
>books in a collection? We have lots of paper and vinyl covered books
>that are badly discolored even though they are not suffering from
>either one.

Without seeing the condition of the books it is of course difficult
to provide an answer to this problem but a number of book
conservators have told me that they found smoke sponges to be
extremely effective in removing traces of mould from cloth covered
books without damaging the fibres of the material.

Techniques vary but usually the smoke sponge is cut into a more
manageable size and configuration to suit the specific task and
lightly applied to the discoloured or dirty area.

I will be happy to forward sample pieces to anyone wanting to give
this item a try together with full technical details on the product.

Mark Vine
Conservation Resources (UK) Ltd
Cowley, Oxford, England
+44 1865 747755
Fax: +44 1865 747035


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:9
                   Distributed: Friday, July 28, 2000
                        Message Id: cdl-14-9-007
                                  ***