Helen,
It will do no good to clean the books if they are in an environment with moisture issues as mold will simply continue to develop. The key is to monitor and control the environment by reducing the RH to below 50%, either through an HVAC system, a dehumidifier, or by setting up a special storage area with climate control for your most important books. Once the humidity is lowered and controlled the mold will die. Some molds do have health effects, so any object that has a lot of mold should be isolated from people and other objects. Once you can control the environment then you should seek advice from a book and paper conservator, because what you do to remove mold will vary whether the books are hardback, paperback, or leatherbound, and if they have any other issues.
Cheers!
Dave
David Harvey
Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA
www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com
Dear all:We have a small research library for our volunteers to check out books in the "docent lounge" in our museum. The library and docent lounge are in a room that has previously had moisture issues and unfortunately, many of the books have pink mold spots on them. Is there a good, inexpensive and easy solution to clean these spots off the books?And how harmful are these little pink spots to people, not just the books? I have spoken to the person who is reorganizing the library and offered her the option of wearing a mask.Thank you,HelenHistoric Site Specialist / Curator
Carlyle House Historic Park
A Property of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
121 N. Fairfax Street
Alexandria VA 22314
Phone: 703-549-2997
Fax: 703-549-5738
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