Cat urine on paper

Belinda Fireman <bfireman [at] glenbow__org> writes

>Has anyone had any luck removing cat urine from paper? The stain is
>rather large, and about 5 years old. Washing (in water brought to pH
>7, and pH 9, with ammonium hydroxide) has not sufficiently removed
>the stain.  I am considering light bleaching as the next step.

As a paper conservator, I have not had to deal with this problem.
As a long-time cat owner, however, I've discovered that enzymes are
the only thing that works well on cat urine. An enzyme that breaks
down protein might be effective, although certain binders or sizing
could be compromised as well.

Brenda Bernier
Photographic Materials/Paper Conservator
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC  20024


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:31
               Distributed: Wednesday, November 29, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-31-006
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