You must be extremely care in the handling and cleaning of any objects that
have mold problems.

Molds and their spores can cause very serious health issues.

If you can detect an odor then it is quite possible that spores are in the
air near the objects.

I woud suggest bagging these contaminated hats in plastic until you can get
professional advice.

You should always wear gloves and dust masks when near mold-contaminated
objects.

Any vacuuaming should be done with a HEPA vacuuam, a regualr vacuuam will
simply blast the spores all over the place.

It is probably best that you consult a professional textiles conservator who
has encounter similar problems with hats and should turn over any treatment to
those qualiified to do it.

Here is a web link on the Conservation Online site that includes almost
everything you would ever care to learn about molds - scrutinize the health and
safety sections.

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/mold/

You can locate a specialist conservator in your region by using the free
"Guide to Conservation Services" on the American Insitute for Conservation web
site:

http://aic.stanford.edu/faic/refer.html

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Artifacts
2930 South Birch Street
Denver, CO  80222
303-300-5257
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