# Help saving books please



## BlueRose (Mar 7, 2013)

I had my books in storage. I bought some of them home to find out that the box they were in was wet.  Now I have part of my collection of Clive Cussler and others with black looking mold and covers stuck to each other and pages stuck together.:hair Is there some way I can save them or do I need to start my library over, again?:sob:

A few of the books just has a small amount of mold would a lite mix of bleach help them?

Thank you for your help.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I have tried life support for books after a flood with some success but not much. I did use bleach- a dilute mixture spritzed on each page and left to dry. I have tried that spray with paper towels between each page and pressing with weight to flatten. I placed books opened with pages seperated in a plastic bag with a dish of bleach to fumigate.
The best success was to spritz with a 1/8 (?) solution on each page, one at at time, blotted dry after about 20 minutes or so then exposed to the sun to dry. Some that were wet but not yet molded were saved by the bleach spray and pressing.
But I ended throwing out all but the most dear as the mold would come back with any exposure to damp and a lot of the pages were so water wrinkled that the book wouldn't close. And a few books were actually more damaged by my attempts than helped.

You might try asking the local libary for their ideas. 

Good luck- if you find a magic solution to book mold, I still have a few books that are dear but make me sneeze when I open them.


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## BlueRose (Mar 7, 2013)

The local book 'restorer' is on vacation until the 22nd. Hopefully he will have a way. I will let you know what he says.

Thank you for your answer


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## biggkidd (Aug 16, 2012)

I also lost a few hundred to this problem. Lucky it wasn't more. We had to store my books in a tent for a year when we first moved. Whole 12 man tent was full of books. So glad they are back inside now.

Larry
A World Away


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## tc556guy (May 28, 2013)

As part of my recent divorce I had to dig out many boxes of books that had been placed in cold storage by my wife while I was overseas and then never brought back into the light of day for several years
I found many of the books had been gnawed through by mice
I simply tossed those in the fire and made a list of stuff to look for at the next Friends of the Library used book sale, a semi-annual event here.
OP if you need some titles replaced, send me a list and I will look for you at the next sale


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## Bloom (Jun 7, 2015)

I had books that were put in storage while I was working overseas. After I returned home, I brought my boxes of books home and saw they were smelly and some had been wet with others only exposed to the damp conditions of the storage unit. 

To save my books I first opened them up to the air to completely dry. YUK Then I began with a shaker bottle full of baking soda. While I fanned each book, I sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda throughout the book. Where there was black mold growing, I used dry baking soda with a paper towel and scrubbed off the mold. With a firm but fine bristled brush, I scrubbed the dry baking soda into the leather covers. After I had them covered in baking soda and the mold scrubbed off, I put them into plastic bags and closed them tightly for a few months. 

They came out saveable. I can get a whiff of mildew on the more severely damaged books but on others, I can't even tell. I reread a few titles without any offensive odor.

its what worked for me. It wasn't easy or fast but I love my book collection.

Bloom


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## gibbsgirl (May 1, 2013)

I wonder if those packs that pull out the oxygen would work if you boxed them up with some in each box.


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