Oh dear! Don't fog your stuff! It really is not all that effective for what
you are wanting from it, and regardless of the label, these products have
the possibility to be quite damaging to your stuff, as well you!!
Here is a very labor intensive, but worthwhile way to go. Clean each item
well with your vacuum, using a screen as necessary. If you have any way to
cycle freeze your larger pieces as well, I would. The state I lived in
before this had a very robust state museum with a large freezer and the
head curator was a dear when I got a dermestid infestation. I have also
used a meat locker at a store your own place where you get an individual
room you can padlock (usually for a side of beef/hog/elk/etc.)
Before freezing, wrap each item in plastic, I like 4mil contractor bags for
this, evacuate all the air you can and seal well!! Sheeting can be taped
into very large bags as well. The key is to evacuate as much air as you can
and seal it air tight. D a couple freeze thaw cycles. Unwrap, re vacuum if
needed (dead critters), then rewrap items in clean plastic with some sort
of moisture inhibitor, I like knee socks full of silica gel. If you can,
bag a humidity logger in it as well you can remotely access, but this is of
course not mandatory. The wrapping without freezing after cleaning would
be a second option, anoxic environments will kill many things. Use packets
of oxygen absorbers with your silica gel.
Regardless of what route you choice, be sure to check your items frequently
while stored and take humidity readings regularly if you do not have
loggers in place (a simple analog hydrolog will do even, just throw it in
the bag for a few minutes and then look at it thru the plastic).
here are some conserv-o-grams you may find helpful!
Using silica gel in microenvironments
http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/01-08.pdf
Anoxic microenvironments: a treatment for pest control
http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/03-09.pdf
Creating a microenvironment for oversized museum objects
http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/04-04.pdf
Good luck! This is a big project! Contact me if you have any questions.
Cheers!!
Sarah
Megan Maxwell
<megan.maxwell@AT
T.NET> To
Sent by: Museum [log in to unmask]
discussion list cc
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM> Subject
[MUSEUM-L] moth infestation
08/31/2010 07:42
AM
Please respond to
Museum discussion
list
<[log in to unmask]
SE.LSOFT.COM>
Hello. I'm the curator at a house museum in east Texas, and we will
shortly be moving our artifact collection to prepare for a major
construction project on the museum building. In order to deal with a
clothing moth infestation before the objects are stored, we plan to freeze
all of our textiles for the prescribed two-week period. Our main concern
now is how to deal with the furniture that has fabric and stuffing, as
well as the mattresses, that the moths may be feasting upon. Nearly all
of the musem's furnishings will be stored for the duration of this
project.
My manager has found the Hot Shot-brand "No Mess" insect fogger that says
it uses a non-staining dry mist to kill the insects. He'd like to use
these in the museum before the collections are moved into storage.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how best to handle this problem without
damaging the collections? Do any of you have prior experience with
something like this? We're collecting information to figure out how we
should proceed.
Thanks very much in advance for your input. Feel free to contact me off
list if you prefer.
Megan Maxwell
Curator
Starr Family Home State Historic Site
Marshall, Texas
[log in to unmask]
========================================================= Important
Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
