had this one uploaded for a couple days now, didnt feel like hitting the "publish" button though, lol i kinda feel like cleaning this week, probably wont bother with much filming.
Cant believe I'm this early, but I can offer some advice. IMO, the best thing for mold removal is roughly an 80/20 mix of plain bleach and warm water. not only will this remove the mold, but the bleach will neutralize the mold and keep it from coming back.
Bleach will attack the cellulose and destroy the book. Ask anyone who lived through the acid-washed/bleached jeans period. I'd ask a librarian how they would handle it.
that may be true but water is generally not too friendly to paper but to sterilize the microorganisms you can just put it in the microwave for 20 sec. doesnt clean the books but its great to do on top of everything else because its so simple
+steffankaizer I looked up the subject and that doesn't look like it is a good idea. Right after remove the items from the water and 'blot dry from sopping until just damp' they get to evaporating away the rest and ways to accelerate it. A must was keeping the room below 60% relative humidity to force the fungus to go dormant (dry powder instead of fuzzy). Circulating the air with fans was OK if you didn't go more than a day or so because it can warp even undamaged book covers. The big no no was heat. Heat increases the fungi's metabolic and reproductive rate so you cause more damage before you can even get to the cleaning stage. What they did recommend with regard to temperature was to freeze the documents/books as they were if you couldn't finish the getting the drying process started within 48 hours. That kills the active fungi and halts the damage. For cleaning, they did seem to recommend methylated spirits over H2O2, which only got a mention with covers.
Being like a self-proclaimed mold removal expert, theres quite a few standard, some exotic, and some funky ways to deal with it. The most obvious and well used is ofc. chlorine, like in bleaching stuff. Kills the shoot instantly, pretty much. And it kills all of it. ALL. The issues with mold is the mycel and the spores. Mycel goes deep, spores are on top and uber-resistant to certain types of treatment. Alcohols for example nuke the myzel and surface mold, but the spores just laugh at alcohol. Alcohol, like Isopropanol and Ethanol can even *activate* inactive spores, creating a back-lash effect. I'm not kidding here. Any "organic made" low-power alcohol like Rum etc. will FEED the mold due to added flavours, sugars, and stuff. Stuff, basically, feeds the mold. Mold gives 0 shits about WHAT that stuff is. Mold feeds on silicone, on paper, skin particles, dust, even itself, so to say. It eats EVERYTHING if it has to. OZONE needs to be in insane high concentrations and or applied punctually and very concentrated. Your household "air cleaners" which use electrodes to ionize the air and therefore generate Ozone as a byproduct of generating "negative air-cleaning ions", come nowhere close to any concentration needed to nuke mold, for example, although those aircleaners claim to work. You basically need a ozone generator which generates several thousand mg / a handful of grams of Ozone per hour. 8000mg/h and 10000mg/h are good bets. Also punctual handheld devices are available, but the price is always an issue, eh. It surely is. Also, Ozone aint exactly that healthy. But after Ozone treatment, the mold spores and all are simply converted into "dirt", and can safely be treated like simple random dust, and sweeped away without contaminating any sweeping appliances or other things. Hydrogen peroxide. It has a slooooooow reaction towards mold spores. It also splits into Water, which is... lets say, experts say H2O2 works good against mold, but anything that leaves RESIDUE or remnants of WATER (prime factor needed for mold growth!) is quite contradicting. As I said, there is the two factors, the actual fungus, and its spores, which are the issue. And since H2O2 works so slow to kill the SPORES!, it is an alternative, but maybe not the best one. I've learned that the best is the chemical club, using bleach, and discarding absorbant stuff like clothes and the likes, if the contamination goes beyond surface. That StarWars book I'd have ditched right away, the mold was not only greyish but also blackish, which means NASTY mold. Greyish mold is so-so, but black one is no-no. Also completely soaking in Isopropanol/Isopropyl alcohol and brushing many times and rinse and repeat eventually whacks all the spores off as well. The safest method and best to deal with mold is, smack all contaminated items into the bin. Mold that once had a chance to settle will come back eventually, given enough humidity and the proper temperature. I've had toasted bread develop mold when frozen in the coldest compartment of the freezer. If one can afford to permafreeze any contaminated items in liquid nitrogen, or store it in scorching hot lava pockets, thats fine, if the items survive that treatment, that is. But for normal household items, bin and be safe. I know that some things are invaluable, but since mold is such a BITCH! to remove, and it REALLY FUCKING IS, and it's basically everywhere at all times, lurking and waiting to grow and spread and fuck your day up, its best to minimize risks. Just my opinion!
+Bender is Playing well if you threw away anything with mold then you wouldnt have anything, a little mold is fine, i just dont like a lot of it. mold is enevitable on earth
Cool read, thanks :) I'm on a mission to get rid of anything with mold I own, some things are easier to part with than others, but reading your comment made me more confident about it (whatever memory I want to "keep" I take a picture of the item so I feel safe - even though I may never see that photo again - and get rid of it, haha)
Is the mold where the typical "old book" smell comes from? I got several very old books from an estate sale and I've been trying to figure out how to get rid of the smell. Only one book has obvious, whitish mold on the outer cover that is visible (it is under a "protective" plastic book cover). Any input would be greatly appreciated! Your comment was a fabulous read :)
FYI: After using any cleaning technique, dry the books in the fresh air and sunshine. Set them up as you would on a bookshelf and open them up like a fan. SUNLIGHT is the most effective, natural sanitizing agent ever.
Having not attempted such cleaning yet myself I'm not sure how long-lasting this treatment will be, but hopefully the oxidation caused by the peroxide will kill the mold, though if it does come back some form of anti-fungal solution or powder might help. Oh, one idea would be to use a vacuum chamber to freeze-desiccate them! Not sure if the spores would die though, tough little buggers!
I stay far away from moldy anything. Mold becomes airborne. If you can smell it it's because the mold spores are in your nose. You can't see it becoming airborne unless it's on bread or something similar. There are different kinds of mold. And there are reasons as to why people put on hazmat suits to deal with it because it gets one everything when you disturb it. I love getting library books just as much as the next person, but IF THE LIBRARY HAS OR HAS HAD ASBESTOS SO DO THE BOOKS AND YOU DON'T WANT TO GET THAT IN YOUR LUNGS. For this same reason, you don't want to buy a used vacuum cleaner or be near one when they plug it in at the thrift store. You don't know if the house it was in had asbestos. Have you ever been in an old bookstore and it smells musty or "old book smell"? That's because something was brought in with it and the spores will get on the nearby other books and start a chain over time. I cringe when I see crafting videos of ladies deconstructing old books. I recently took apart a newer book and once I heated up the spine with the hairdryer to loosen the glue I smelled a bad odor. My dog left the room and my whole room smelled I had to pitch the project and spray Lysol. I just saw a video of a lady that says Lysol will work for the old book smell so I'm going to try that. I accidentally brought a book home today that smells because I was wearing the dumb mask and didn't catch it.
I haven't tried it but vinager is good for mold on soft surfaces. It will kill it where other cleaners will make the mold soak in and hide. Also I have had good luck with Murphy's oil soap mixed stronger then recommended. Magic erasers also work well you just have to be very careful as they take off everything.
I had an antique bible with silverfish bugs. I put it in the freezer for a few days. It killed the bugs and didn't harm the pages at all. I wondered if it would but it was just fine.
I open the book to the moldy pages slap it in the microwave a zap it for 10/15 seconds. Then i wipe the mold off with a dry white terry towel. Repeat if needed until mold is gone. Works with black and red book mold. Do not microwave pages for any longer then 15 seconds at a time unless you want to burn the book.
Possible experiment: Cut one in half and our in the vacuum chamber for 24hrs and keep the other half as a control. See if the vacuum kills the spores and mould.
Freeze drying the books kills the sores and then hepa vac every paper . Very time consuming so its more for books of cent-mental value or high dollar value.
Actually, any good doctor will tell you that one should ALWAYS wash cuts with soap and water first and ALWAYS, then, use peroxide. In fact, not only my doctor, by my father's doctor, AND my cousin who is a doctor of over 35 years ALWAYS emphasize using peroxide on finger/hand cuts.
i'm from Hawaii. we just throw away books...actually we just dance hula. Nah...we read. Anyways. this was the first video i've watched-so thanks. Also, i would use a match . Matches just tend to solve most problems dealing with mold. that and a trash can. Mold sucks...just like taxes.
This is interesting. The thing is that most anti-mold cleaning products are oxidizers (clorox, bleach, peroxide, ozone, etc) which also damages organic inks/dyes (i think?) So you're basically bleaching dyes. So be careful to check that it won't destroy the ink on your books or book covers. Or at minimum don't wear clothes you care about while doing this. But at least with these books it's good to know they weren't affected.
Thanks for the video. I have many old photos from 100 years ago which were stored in a basement so they have that musty smell. I'd like to try cleaning them but I will do a test first with peroxide on a photo that I'm not particularly fond of. I know that white vinegar and peroxide work well to kill mold on furniture, floors and walls. The books that I had which were moldy were tossed out because they were too far gone.
A lot of people assume 'foxing' on books is mould. It is caused by a damp environment and can accompany mould but is not mould itself but a rusting of tiny metal impurities in the paper. So you can have foxing without mould.
Ideally, you'll want to wear displosable gloves and an N-95 mask (and protective eyewear). Why? Unless you can identify the mold specifically, you really don't want to agitate the spores. For instance, mold can affect the lungs and skin. Once established on the body, the medical relief can be limited to only management of symptoms (or spread of the disease) for the rest of your life. Protect yourself!
The mold remediation business uses baking soda. Put a light dusting, (in the manner of bread bakers when they "dust" their bread boards) between the pages and set it on a dry shelf for some time. When you get back to it, the mold will be dead and the book possibly usable. This is a last resort effort, so save some time and apply only to very valuable, cant live without it books. Or just try for an ebook replacement.
I have to give you kudos for the idea but mold is so hard to kill but it's still a micro organism and I wouldn't go by what I can "see". Also, mom's mold causes cancer - they knew that in the 18th century. Tons of books on the subject, but many are out of print. The Pharma cartel will deny it to their dying breath since admitted it would mean having to give up the bulk of their drug arsenal - not only all the antibiotics but a ton of drugs are based on mold. I'm with everyone who said it's best to toss. I understand the love of books but it's not worth the risk - your health is invaluable and worth more than gold - certainly more than a cheap book. We have plenty of books and there's always another library sale around the corner. If there's one thing I have a healthy respect (and fear of) - - it's mold! Toss it, toss it, toss it - and hold your breath while you do (don't breathe in the mold!) and wear gloves to handle anything moldy while you're tossing - even your moldy fruit and veg. And don't toss it into the garbage inside your house or garage - get it outside! Tfs and hope this helps. :)
Rinoa Super-Genius sweet, I'm self taught in mostly everything I do as well. Best advice I ever received was to just go do it. I've never shied away from anything. Keep up the learning, and I think you are doing a fine job.
Wet washcloth? Yeah, but you've only introduced the two main conditions favorable to mold; moisture and heat. I'd use a mildly abrasive cloth, like those 2 sided sponges, to scrub off as much dry mold as possible first. Use compressed air (it's cold!) to blow out any other spores, etc. Then use a wipe to clean. Dry Ice freezing the book in a plastic beforehand might assist in removing mold and spores. Not sure about peroxide on paper; the thing here is that book pages are themselves treated with chemicals and solvents that peroxide may react to, completely destroying the book. You can shake the book all day and never see any spores, and what you _do_ happen to be able to see are clusters of millions of spores, so don't go crazy trying to see any. It only takes two mating spores to start the process all over again, and as long as the book is supplying food, it will colonize. The best you can hope for is to remove as much as you can and slow or stop germination of any remaining spores by proper storage of the book. Hope that helps.
You should never blow out anything that has to do with mould, not even if you're doing it in a fume hood. You should use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to get the surface mould and then you can use a something like hydrogen peroxide (if the patch test comes out ok) to treat it further. I would rather use a cotton swab than a cloth to do it to have more control. Even a mildly abrasive cloth/sponge can damage fragil paper.
embalming gloves you say I recall you mentioning your family was in the business is there a specific brand or manufacturer can we buy these on eBay or somewhere in particular thanks
Short of gassing the book, a wet wipe method seems the like best method because anything else, that might otherwise send those spores into the air, and subsequently your lungs, is probably not a good idea.
Mold sucks ass. Why did they have to attack some of my favorite books I want to re-read as well as the ones I got from my grandma that I haven’t gotten a ch ace to read yet. Fuck mold
Rinoa Super-Genius same as all people fill a pot with bleach put it on the stove light it taste your product and if it works out The books in it!(if it's not obviously don't believe this comment it's a troll :))
mix 1/4 water and bleach in a steamer and lightly hit the affected areas, this prevents the pages sticking together and the steam drys so fast the wrinkling is minimal
