Re: How to Protect Important Papers that Are Moldy

[Guest guest]

Could you just put them in one of those plastic letter size paper

holders and then tape the side that is usually open shut. This might

be better than having them plasticized as some agency may not accept

the plasticized versions as true documents. I know for example

pharmacies takes perscriptions that are written by doctors and put them

under special light to make sure the prescription is real, i.e. written

in ink, not copied. Of course I think you could make copies to keep at

home for situations when a copy is acceptable also.

>

> I have a small vault filled with birth certificates, marriage

> licenses, etc. We of course need to keep them because they're

important.

>

[Guest guest]

I read about this awhile back when I was taking chlorine dioxide

(www.miraclemineral.org) in small dozes to kill fungus that had

colonized in my body. This stuff is very interesting and libraries

will use as a timed gaseous release. It is about the only thing that is

safe for books and important historical papers.

Chlorine dioxide is commonly used as a biocidal agent in water

treatment applications, paper manufacturing, and many branches of the

food processing industry. It can be used in both aqueous and gaseous

forms, and has recently gained notoriety as the agent used to combat

anthrax in the Hart Senate Building on Capitol Hill, and U.S. postal

facilities in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Because of its history of

use by various industries, statistical data on chlorine dioxide's

safety is available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and

the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Agency. A chlorine dioxide wet

wipe solution was used by workers to clean the exterior of each book in

the affected section of the 1932 decks. Employees wore gloves and

applied the chemical with cheesecloth pads. The books were spread out

and dried, then reshelved. Shortly thereafter, additional problems with

the air handling system occurred that permitted more mold to grow in

the same area. Once the system was repaired, a hand-held fogger filled

with a gaseous solution of <0.02% activated, stabilized chlorine

dioxide was used to fog the decks, as well as the air system's intake

and outtake vents. Despite a later problem with the air handling system

that caused temperature and humidity to fluctuate, no further mold

outbreaks have occurred in this area.

http://www.archival.com/newsletters/apnewsvol10no3.pdf

>

> I have a small vault filled with birth certificates, marriage

> licenses, etc. We of course need to keep them because they're

important.

>

> However, they are contaminated with toxic mold dust. I have gotten

> very sick from that mold and even had the house eradicated because of

> it. Just last week I had to go into that box to pull out my BC. Just

> from handling it, I had mold spores in my sinuses and I still can't

> get rid of my cold sores.

>

> Any ideas on how to cover these papers and still keep them in my

> vault? If they were tightly covered with plastic, I would not need to

> touch the paper itself.

> llaci

>

[Guest guest]

>

> I have a small vault filled with birth certificates, marriage

> licenses, etc. We of course need to keep them because they're

important.

>

> However, they are contaminated with toxic mold dust. I have gotten

> very sick from that mold and even had the house eradicated because of

> it. Just last week I had to go into that box to pull out my BC. Just

> from handling it, I had mold spores in my sinuses and I still can't

> get rid of my cold sores.

>

> Any ideas on how to cover these papers and still keep them in my

> vault? If they were tightly covered with plastic, I would not need to

> touch the paper itself.

Can you obtain potassium permanganate? It can be found in any pharmacy

in my country, but I heard it might be more problematic in USA after

9/11 because it is a strong oxidizer. It might be available in the form

of tablets in pharmacies or in camping stores for purifying water:

It can be dissolved in water and applied to paper documents. Then when

it dries up, the brown stains can be removed with a weak acid, such as

lemon juice or diluted vinegar.

Potassium permanganate will kill any spores and, more importantly, it

will probably destroy toxins (MVOCs) that are most likely your main

problem.

Be cautious when handling contaminated items, though - it is always a

risk to touch them. I suggest doing this in an open space with

disposable clothing, and performing full decontamination afterwards.

Wrapping papers in plastic foil may stop spores but won't help with mold

MVOCs at all - they go right through plastic.

-Branislav

[Guest guest]

" they go right through plastic. "

I didn't know that. Even if it's carefully sealed with duct tape? llaci

[Guest guest]

> " they go right through plastic. "

> I didn't know that. Even if it's carefully sealed with duct tape?

>llaci

Mold toxins (MVOCs) will penetrate and go through most types of cheap

plastic - especially the types that are used for packaging. Any mold

sensitive person will attest to this.

As I said, a plastic foil and duct tape will stop the spores, but will

not stop the volatile compounds that make us sick. If you are

sensitive only to spores maybe it will solve your problem....but I

doubt it.

[Guest guest]

I say just take them to your local county code enforcment office and ask them to

use thier copy machine. They seem to think its so safe and all see how they feel

about that??

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

       

From: barb1283 <barb1283@...>

Subject: [] Re: How to Protect Important Papers that Are Moldy

Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008, 7:57 PM

Could you just put them in one of those plastic letter size paper

holders and then tape the side that is usually open shut. This might

be better than having them plasticized as some agency may not accept

the plasticized versions as true documents. I know for example

pharmacies takes perscriptions that are written by doctors and put them

under special light to make sure the prescription is real, i.e. written

in ink, not copied. Of course I think you could make copies to keep at

home for situations when a copy is acceptable also.

>

> I have a small vault filled with birth certificates, marriage

> licenses, etc. We of course need to keep them because they're

important.

>