Just a reminder that mold is a function of relative humidity.  Once you have
cleaned the mold residue off of the uniforms make sure they are stored
somewhere without the high relative humidity that allowed the mold to grow
in the first place.   You cannot eliminate mold spores from the air, you can
only keep them from growing on your collection by storing the objects
appropriately.

Janice Klein
Director, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, Kendall College
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
www.mitchellmuseum.org <http://www.mitchellmuseum.org>
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of camille hunt
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 9:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mold Problems


Hello,

I am posting this for a colleague.  Please direct any responses to her.
Thanks!

Camille Hunt
Collections Manager
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
1720 Gendy Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
(817)336-4475  FAX (817)336-2470


Subject:  Mold on Wool

Recently we found a collection of military uniforms (wool) that have been
shoved into a duffle bag for quite some time.  Most of the pieces are
covered in mold.  I wanted to ask what the best way to clean this and get
rid of the mold spores might be.  My curator wants to take them home and
wash them in hot water.  I've told him that this will cause wool to shrink,
and it's probably not best for the fibers.  (These uniforms date to WWII and
possibly earlier).  So then he asked if there was a solution we could use,
which I also don't think is a good idea.  But if anyone knows of the
safe/correct way to remove mold from wool, I would love any suggestions or
just documentation to take to him as to why we can't wash these items in a
washing machine.  Is vacuuming the only recourse?  And will these
permanently remove mold spores? (We will be moving our collection into a new
storage facility and obviously do not want to take any mold with us.)  Any
help is appreciated.  Feel free to respond to me off list.

Misty Tilson
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>



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