Ageless and mold

Sophia Pauk <sophia.pauk [at] konbib__nl> writes

>Usually, we treat the occasional cases of mould in a book in our
>library in the following way: we allow the book to dry in a chamber
>with a very low humidity (without raising the temperature).
>...
>We are considering to use Ageless (to create an oxygen free
>environment) instead of the described drying.

I have been consulting with various conservators on this subject,
and still don't have a definitive answer on mould and anoxic
conditions.  The consensus is that the lack of oxygen should kill
"live" mould, but the rate of survival of the mould spores is
unknown.

Ageless does need some humidity to function- the manufacturer
recommends at least 45% RH for optimum performance.

I might also advise that the choice of the correct barrier film may
be useful in maintaining/modifying the moisture content of the
atmosphere surrounding the object, especially for long term storage.
Whilst some barrier films are both excellent as moisture and oxygen
barriers (eg. foils & glass films), others (like EVOH) will allow a
small amount of water vapour to migrate through.

Anyone else with experience of Ageless and mould is invited to
contact me personally.  May I also take this opportunity to announce
that our new Anoxic Supplies Catalogue is now ready for mailing.

Jerry Shiner
Keepsafe Systems

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:48
                 Distributed: Monday, December 11, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-9-48-002
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