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Your flood disaster will only be made worse if you also lose your precious family
photographs, family papers, and heirloom furniture. DO NOT assume that you have
to discard this material. All photographs have been wet before (in the processing),
paper can be washed and dried, and most other heirlooms can be salvaged as well.
Some of this work is time-consuming, so
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you may not want to waste time on easily-replaceable items (current paper-back books, for example). |
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The greatest threat is mold, so time is important. You can give yourself more time by keeping materials cold. Books, papers, and photographs can be frozen until you have time to work with them. |
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Most materials can be air-dried. If material is dirty, gently wash (rinse) with cold, clean water. Photos and individual sheets of paper can be dried face up on blotting paper or clean newsprint. Books can be set on edge, fanned open, and set to dry with moving air. |
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Furniture can be wiped dry and allowed to dry slowly. |
For more specific information, visit these web sites:
Emergency Drying Procedures for Water Damaged Collections Part of the Library of Congress web site providing basic information on salvaging materials.
Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Collections contains guidelines and a chart for dealing with specific materials. This is part of a larger site with extensive information on conservation of historical materials.
These sites can lead you to much more information or contact us at the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
e-mail: archives@state.nd.us
Copyright ©1999 State Historical Society of North Dakota. You are free to use information or non-copyrighted images from these pages for any non-commercial purpose. Any use of this information should credit the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
This page last updated June 21, 2000