Treatment of water damaged cultural heritage

• Wet artworks and photographs should be air dried face-upwards as soon as possible – within 48 hours.  Handling must be done with care as the paper fibres will have softened and become weaker with wetting.  Place a card support under wet paper items to carry them safely.
• Wet books should be stood up with the wettest end at the top and fanned out with several layers of paper towelling, or unprinted newsprint, or blotting paper under the book.  Set up a fan to facilitate the drying process.   It should blow onto the books thus creating a draught.  If the book is too weak lay it flat. Interleave pages (every 3 to 7) with paper towel which should be changed frequently.  When interleaving is changed, stand book on other end (i.e. alternate between standing on top and bottom edges)
• Magazines, brochures and pamphlets can be placed over suspended strings or washing lines.  As they are drying, change the position of the line through the pages.  If in doubt lay them flat.
• Documents, certificates, newspapers, etc must be laid flat on a table with paper towel underneath and on top.  The towelling must be changed frequently.
• Coated paper is the white glossy paper used in magazines, posters and picture books. This paper has a starch and clay coating which causes the pages to stick together like glue when it becomes wet and then dries.  Pages need to be interleaved while wet with greaseproof or baking paper in between every page to avoid sticking.
• Photographs which have been made dirty through contaminated flooding should be carefully rinsed with clean cold water before being air dried.  Initially try submerging the photographs in the water and gently move the photograph backwards and forwards to create a gentle motion.  It is important to remove any dirt before it becomes ingrained.  Items which cannot be submerged should be very carefully rubbed with a cotton bud or a soft cloth.
• Items in frames should be carefully removed from the frames before drying the contents, unless the item is stuck to the glass – in this case, keep the item wet and consult a conservator immediately.
• When books, magazines etc are almost dry they should be closed and the drying finished under light weights (i.e. covered bricks).
• If air drying is not immediately possible, wet items can be placed in polyethylene bags (eg garbage, zip-lock or freezer bags) or plastic tubs, sealed and then placed into a freezer.  Separate items, or stacks of items, using greaseproof or baking paper.  When air drying becomes possible the bags/tubs should removed from the freezer and thawed at room temperature.
• Air dried paper items may become warped and the services of a conservator will be required to remove the distortions.
• Before attempting any action which entails using water to clean photographs or digital prints it’s a good idea to first test this treatment on a less important section of the item.