Mold on leather

Corine Landrieu <landrieu.conservation [at] hotmail__com> writes

>I am currently looking at various possible options for the treatment
>of a leather artifact infested with mold growth.
>
>The mold appears to have been dormant for a number of years.  I am
>thinking about using an HEPA vacuum and following up with isopropyl
>alcohol applied with cotton swabs to remove as much of the mold as
>possible.

If you're certain that you're dealing with mold and not an oil-based
spue accumulation, the HEPA vacuum and either ethanol and isopropyl
alcohol will work.  Of course you'll want to test first for color
removal if the surface is dyed.

You'll also want to investigate what caused the outbreak if the
spores were dormant for a number of years.  Sounds like the RH went
up above 65% in the space for a prolonged period and allowed for
germination.  Check any logger data if available, and make any
changes to the environment to prevent further outbreaks.  The IPI
website <URL:http://www.dpcalc.org> has a Dew Point calculator that
will allow you to figure out what temperature and RH adjustments
need to be made to prevent mold germination without excessively
drying the leather.

Paul S. Storch
Project Specialist II/Sites Collections Liaison
Historic Properties Office
Central Administration
Historic Sites and Museums Division
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
Saint Paul, MN 55102-1906
651-259-3257


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:15
                 Distributed: Sunday, September 2, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-26-15-004
                                  ***