Mildew on Original Manuals

[6219_Rules]

What is the best method for cleaning or getting rid of mildew and odor on old manuals?

I have several that at one time or another in their lives became moist and now smell...since I am allergic to mildew and molds, that makes it fun to use them.

Anyone have any ideas on this one?? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

[Guest 57 pontiac]

Have you thought of trying the micro wave? I heard that it kills mildew.

[R W Burgess]

Don't know about that, but you want to make sure there are no staples in the book binding..."mucho sparks!!!!!" <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> WAyne

[ex98thdrill]

If you keep the manuals in the microwave too long you could get some hot tips too

[Amphicar BUYER]

Randall,

Are they manuals that you can't replace (maybe partial trade)? That may be the best way to avoid the effects of being around them. Try contacting the Smithsonian for advice. They are usually very helpful and certainly have some sort of advice.

[48LCCOUPE]

don't put wet small animals in microwave, let me tell you.................

[Guest Andynator]

Randall,

This is a tough one - yellowing, brittleness, and mildew damage are irreversable (believe the spores "eat" the starches in the paper?) and most of the information that I've ever seen deals with preservation, not "restoration".

However, if your manuals have been removed from the source of moisture and stored in a dry area for some time, the mildew has likely ceased being active. Stand or prop up the manuals on end with the pages fanned open in an open, ventilated area (preferably outdoors) for a day. Yes, prolonged exposure to sunlight will increase the fading BUT it will also bleach and help to dissapate the musty odor.

The musty odor may return when the book is stored again. In this case individual spores can be removed by lightly wiping the pages and especially the binding with a paper towel dampened with Lysol.

Obviously a book conservator may help, but it's not an original copy of the Magna Carta, so who wants to blow that kind of money??

Luck,

Andy

[Guest stude8]

Maybe you could get your Dr. to prescribe some Lamicil. It is atrociously expensive but is supposed to kill off the critters that antibiotics can't. Stude8

[Guest imported_DaveZZZ]

How important is it to you?

If you're really keen on it, you can spend a few hundred bucks and see if Isomedix will sterilize it with gamma irradiation. The are a division of Steris. We use them in the pharma industry to sterilize components. They might not want to bother with a one time request, but you never know.

A few notes: The microwave won't do it. I am assuming that these manuals are fairly thick. Microwaves work by creating heat, and by the time you got the thing hot enough to kill the spores it would be burning. And that's assuming that the microwave can penetrate 3 inches of paper, which I doubt.

No antibiotic will help, since molds are not affected by antibiotics.

There is a product called sporklenz (again, pharma grade) which is EXTREMELY effective against molds. It is peroxide based, and I don't know what that will do to the paper, but it is fairly inexpensive, so you might do a test on something you don't care about.

Dilute bleach, say 5-10% clorox to water is also very effective, but not likely to be kind to the paper (again, do an experiment on a similar paper you don't care about). Requires a five minute minimum contact time.

Alcohol is not very effective against molds.

Any liquid treatment will require misting from a spray bottle wor wiping down with a cloth. This means doing each page individually, and letting the page dry before moving to the next one.

Incidentally, the active organism is easy to kill. The difficulty is killing the spores, which can survive a long time dormant. The above treatments (bleach and sporklenz) are very effective. Another product is Wexcide, very similar to Sporklenz.

Isomedix could speak more to the effectiveness of gamma on spores.

-Dave

[Guest Albert]

for the smell try using bounce fabric sheets between a few of the pages, and leave for a while.

[6219_Rules]

Hey thanks guys! I have had the book out, standing vertically in a frame warming in the sun.

But I will try the dryer sheets. If nothing else works, then I will try the light misting with diluted bleach or hydrogen peroxide. But the sun treatment is working pretty well and is not yellowing or bleaching the paper. Great ideas!

Most of the manuals I can get else where. The one is an original 1941 Cadillac Shop Manual which finishes out my manuals for the car, service manual, body manual, engine diagnosis manual, etc.. That '41 was very hard to find. Of course, I have it in reprint so I do not use the original while under the car. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Anyway....yeah valuable to me. I will keep looking and someday find one less, eh, moldy <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[Guest imported_DaveZZZ]

Just a note- sporklenz has more than just peroxide as an active ingredient, so I do not know if peroxide alone will do it. Also, the stuff at the drugstore is very dilute (concentrated peroxides are dangerous), so if you don't want to search out Sporklenz, I'd go with the bleach.

-Dave