Removing mold and odor from books- Use Dryer sheets?

[Lakewood90712]

I inherited a lot of books, stored in a damp environment. The few I am interested in keeping are on building model ships, and ships in a bottle. Unfortunately they stink like mold/ mildew, even with little visible signs.

Heat above 165 F will kill mold, so I tried baking in the oven at 200. Really stunk up the house, so that is out unless I can find an old stove to set up outdoors. I think this really could work.

On the internet and youtube, some demonstrate freezing the books in a bag with baking soda. Haven't tried that yet.

Intense UV light should do it, but this is an expensive service.

How about dryer sheets in the pages, in a bag and put in the sun for several says ?

 

[CRLLS]

You might want to read the below paper on mold remediation of books. It is focused more on the large, library sized collections. You may find some of the techniques helpful. They don't mention heat. I have never tried any of these.

http://library.albany.edu/libdru/files/MOLD IN THE LIBRARY 2013.pdf

Disclosure: I recently purchased an ozone generator to remove some smoker smell in a car. The jury is still deliberating on the effectivity of ozone on smoke.

 

[GrayHare]

Baking has worked for me, but the stink was not fun. Leaving in the sun for months has also worked but does cause some fading of exposed areas. I would worry about dryer sheets leaving residue.

 

[Winemaker]

I purchase mining antiques and have quite a collection of ancient mining books. It was suggested to me several times, and I have tried it with good success, was using Pond's hand cream in a jar. Using a paper towel, dab some on the covers to clean any dirt or mold. Do it several times if needed, the only problem I found was that your books will temporarily swell like Ponds when you are done.

 

[pb4uski]

How about indirect heat on a grill.... same as an oven but you can do it outdoors... lowest indirect setting would probably be well over 165F.

 

[braumeister]

No direct knowledge of this, but I have heard that freezing will do the job, and is especially effective if you vacuum seal the book in a bag first.