sticky/humid covers
ConversazioniBook Care and Repair
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1melannen
I'm deep cleaning the library for the first time in awhile, and when I took down the shelves that store a lot of my older books (50-150 year range) I found that many of the covers felt sticky/tacky, almost like they were slightly damp.
We had a very humid summer, but it's October so they have had a chance to dessicate a bit, and the pages don't seem damp or anything. There's no sign of mold or any other physical damages, just the feeling of tackiness on the covers.
Any advice on how to clean this off of cloth boards and keep it from happening again? None of the books are super valuable individually but I like then as physical objects and would like to keep them in good condition.
(There were other old books in the room that were fine; the only thing I could think of with these is either something about the shelves they were on or that they're right under the ceiling.)
We had a very humid summer, but it's October so they have had a chance to dessicate a bit, and the pages don't seem damp or anything. There's no sign of mold or any other physical damages, just the feeling of tackiness on the covers.
Any advice on how to clean this off of cloth boards and keep it from happening again? None of the books are super valuable individually but I like then as physical objects and would like to keep them in good condition.
(There were other old books in the room that were fine; the only thing I could think of with these is either something about the shelves they were on or that they're right under the ceiling.)
2moibibliomaniac
Try putting a couple of books in the sun for a few hours–not too long because you don't want the color of the cloth to fade.
Clean your books with Absorene (available at Walmart) or other similar book cleaning product.
If you don't have air conditioning, a dehumidifier would be best to control the humidity, but might be too costly.
Try putting moisture absorbents on the shelf nearest the ceiling–behind but not touching the books. Periodically inspect to ensure the books are dry. Replace the moisture absorbents as required.
Clean your books with Absorene (available at Walmart) or other similar book cleaning product.
If you don't have air conditioning, a dehumidifier would be best to control the humidity, but might be too costly.
Try putting moisture absorbents on the shelf nearest the ceiling–behind but not touching the books. Periodically inspect to ensure the books are dry. Replace the moisture absorbents as required.
3MarthaJeanne
In my experience moisture absorbents are much more expensive over time than an electric dehumidifier. And they are much less effective.
But check before buying that the container for the water is shaped in such a way that you can get into all the corners for cleaning.
But check before buying that the container for the water is shaped in such a way that you can get into all the corners for cleaning.
4melannen
We've actually got an electric dehumidifier (and have also used chemical dehumidifiers, which I don't like around books because they draw the dampness to them and end up getting soggy on really humid days) but it still gets humid on the bad days. (Central air is not an option, so we have windows open and the dehumidfiers can't keep up.)
The books themselves aren't actually damp anymore and don't seem to have any of the usual moisture damage (warping, etc) which I have seen many times; they just have this odd, invisible tacky residue on the boards. I connect it with humidity because it "feels" like the stickiness of a humid day, but drying them doesn't make a difference to the feeling.
Stuff in my grandparents' house would get like that in the summers and we'd blame it on cigarette tar, but this is a no-smoking house and also there's no color to it (like with the tar.) (And no, we're not in forest-fire smoke territory either!)
The books themselves aren't actually damp anymore and don't seem to have any of the usual moisture damage (warping, etc) which I have seen many times; they just have this odd, invisible tacky residue on the boards. I connect it with humidity because it "feels" like the stickiness of a humid day, but drying them doesn't make a difference to the feeling.
Stuff in my grandparents' house would get like that in the summers and we'd blame it on cigarette tar, but this is a no-smoking house and also there's no color to it (like with the tar.) (And no, we're not in forest-fire smoke territory either!)
