I have searched the ConsDist and Museum-L archives and
various Conservation websites but have not been able
to find a solution to our problem.

I found a small mold bloom on the wall behind a framed
historic lithograph (and on the backing of the
lithograph) in our restored historic house.  The mold
is mostly grey with some greenish-yellow color at the
center.  I am fairly confident we can treat the
lithograph based on excellent resources found for
treating paper products, but we have not been able to
determine what to do about the wall.

Gutters are being cleaned and the roof checked to stop
the leak which lead to the growth; however, we have
not been able to determine how to deactivate the mold
growing on the wall and wallpaper behind the
lithograph for vacuuming.  We obviously cannot freeze
the area and are worried that regular exposure to
sunlight will not be enough to deactivate the mold.
Additionally, there are some sort of insects--1mm in
length, practically transparent, and
ant-shaped--eating the mold and we don’t know if
ultraviolet light will get to them at all.  We have
read that isopropyl alcohol or Lysol are good
disinfectants, but are worried about what they would
do to our wallpaper (dates to the restoration in the
early 1980s, not the original paper).

Also, the Lysol described in many manuals is supposed
to contain o-phenyl phenol, but the Lysol at our
grocery store has Benzyl ammonium chlorides (n-Alkyl
dimethyl) listed as the active ingredients.  Would it
still be effective and relatively safe?  Can it still
be used in the wet/dry vacuum as a fungicide for
clean-up?

And then there is the possibility of mold growing on
the wallpaper adhesive.

As usual, we are a cash-poor historical society and
need to do the best we can to treat it ourselves.
Does anyone have suggestions?

Thank you for your advice!

Stacy Klingler
Assistant to the Executive Director
Montgomery County Historical Society

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