Cleaning up
- Disposable materials, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be sealed into refuse bags and disposed of outside of the building
- Tools and equipment should be washed thoroughly in hot water with domestic detergent and left to air dry
- All work surfaces should be wiped down using a 70% industrial methylated spirit (IMS)/ethanol-in-water solution and disposable tissue
- Good hand hygiene should be practiced at all stages
Post-treatment activities
Things to consider or undertake after treatment:
- Document all findings and treatments carried out for future reference
- Plan for future spot checks to ensure regrowth has not occurred, or that mould is not present elsewhere in your collection – where relevant, this should include building checks
- Be aware that reactivation of mould growth may occur if treated material is returned to unsuitable environmental conditions – ensure affected housing materials are replaced and that storage environments are monitored
- Isolate and examine new accessions on arrival to limit cross-contamination
- Implement education and training for staff in mould identification, recovery and remediation to underpin preservation of the collection
Additional resources
Below are a few examples of commercial services and suppliers that can assist with treating mould, as well as some external articles offering further advice and guidance.
Commercial services
Harwell Document Restoration Services
Suppliers
Environmental monitoring equipment:
HOBO Temperature/Relative Humidity Data Logger
Tools & Equipment:
HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners and accessories
Further information on addressing mould in historic collections
Mould Prevention and Collection Recovery: Guidelines for Heritage Collections
How do we assess mould levels? – Canadian Conservation Consortium