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Author Topic: Mildewed magazines and books: any restoration?  (Read 632 times)

Offline WuZhuiQiu

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Mildewed magazines and books: any restoration?
« on: December 30, 2019, 06:05:46 PM »
Hi, while sorting-out more old boxes, I've found a copy of GDW's Over the Top WW I rulebook, as well as some copies of Military Modelling. Unfortunately, they are mildewed, i.e. smelly, yet dry. How might they be restored? I gather that baking soda might be used to absorb the odour, but would there be any cheap way of killing the mould spores? I may just scan the interesting articles from the magazines, but it would be nice to be able to restore the otherwise intact rulebook. Thanks!

Offline Westfalia Chris

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Re: Mildewed magazines and books: any restoration?
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2019, 07:17:36 PM »
Hi, while sorting-out more old boxes, I've found a copy of GDW's Over the Top WW I rulebook, as well as some copies of Military Modelling. Unfortunately, they are mildewed, i.e. smelly, yet dry. How might they be restored? I gather that baking soda might be used to absorb the odour, but would there be any cheap way of killing the mould spores? I may just scan the interesting articles from the magazines, but it would be nice to be able to restore the otherwise intact rulebook. Thanks!

For my day job, I work for a company that (among other services) conducts document restauration, most commonly mould decontamination. To my knowledge, the only way to properly get rid of mould contamination is a freeze-drying process (first freezing at -15 to -20 degrees Celsius over several days, then, using a vacuum chamber, sublimating any humidity in the material to be dried) followed by radiation treatment - most other methods either damage paper (e.g. chemical anti-mould agents such as hydrogen peroxide, apart from its potential combustibility) or don't remove the items fully.

Note that microwave radiation doesn't reliably kill mould spores. I'm afraid I don't see any long-term solution except with a specialist company that caters to small-volume consumer orders.

In your case, I would probably bite the bullet, dry the items thoroughly, then vacuum-pack the books, keep them in cold storage for a month or so, then scan the interesting parts and dispose of the originals.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2019, 07:20:14 PM by Westfalia Chris »

Offline WuZhuiQiu

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Re: Mildewed magazines and books: any restoration?
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2019, 07:32:15 PM »
Thank you for your detailed reply! I will wait for January and February's -30 C weather to freeze-dry them ...  ;)