Ammonium nitrate

I have an odd task: removing ammonium nitrate (spilled from a broken
cold pack on the shelf above) from the innards of a ca. 1900
understrike typewriter (steel, tin, pine, and black paint with a
crazed lacquer layer) without damaging the paint or wood.

What is the proper solvent for ammonium nitrate?  Will it harm my
materials?

Small crystal blooms have grown on my typewriter.  As far as I can
tell from the web sites I have found (discussing fertilizer storage)
the ammonium nitrate will rapidly corrode the steel if it gets wet.

Cathy Aulick



                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:49
                Distributed: Saturday, January 12, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-49-014
                                  ***