Mold In An Archives

Mold in an Archives: Identification and Treatment The appearance of mold on archival materials is a prevalent problem for libraries and museums alike. Unfortunately, it is an often overlooked problem, because it is seen as typical for older materials or it goes unrecognized altogether. The fact that mold is preventable, although not always easily so, should encourage those who want to protect documents to ensure the environment they are held in are unsuitable for mold growth. Mold often needs a trained eye in order to be properly detected. It can be mistaken as age spots on materials and thought to be a natural process that comes with age. Knowing what causes mold and the steps to take to prevent mold from germinating will protect archival
Now the material of the item will decide who treatment will take place. Textiles, film, and paper are affected by mold differently and therefore require different approaches on treatment. Mold on textiles should be isolated, sealed in a polyethylene bag until treatment. Treatment can be removal with a low powered vacuum suction (Harvey and Mahard, 324). For the surface cleaning of paper the NEDCC staff suggests if the mold is active it “should first be stabilized by providing the affected materials with a prolonged environment of low relative humidity, generally below 50 percent, so that the mold goes dormant”. Lavendar suggests freezing the material after loosely wrapping in freezer paper to cause the mold to become dormant (58). Now that the mold is dormant the process for eliminating it can take place. Since the mold is dry and powdery it can be extracted from the material with more ease and precision. Rubber cleaning sponges without additives can be used to clean light mold. The sponges must be dry and as the surface gets dirty, cut it away. Do not wash and reuse, throw away in order to avoid spreading the spores (Balloffet and Hille, 84). Other options for cleaning mold suggested by Harvey but have some negative effects are gamma irradiation which is an effective non-chemical method, but has possible harmful effects on cellulose and protein and has not yet been widely adopted. Fungicides used by conservators have their problems. Thymol is toxic and banned in some places, orthophenyl phenol can cause health problems. Ethylene Oxide is a carcinogen so toxic to both humans and fungi (Harvey, 133-134). So, if the mold cannot be cleaned with a dry sponge or brush it is advisable to entrust it to a professional conservator to