Flood - Water Damaged Documents

Water damaged documents are common after a flood. Prevention of damage by giving some thought to storage is a good idea.  Nothing should be stored in a cellar, and if this is necessary, important documents should be on a middle shelf (in case water comes down from the floor above). Do not store anything within 20 inches of a sprinkler head.

Paper records begin deteriorating in about three hours, and mold and fungus and bacteria begin to replicate.

Recovery is basically to remove the documents from water, and remove the water from the documents. Easier said, I'm afraid, than done.

Remove all metal fasteners. This will prevent rust from forming. Use plastic milk crates to transport wet documents because they permit air circulation. Never pack them more than 3/4 full. If shipping to a professional recovery facility wrap documents in freezer paper and no more than 200 sheets per catron. Wrap books and set them in the crates spine towards the bottom. Mark identity of documents on freezer paper with indelible-ink "sharpie" markers.

Wet paper is weak, and easily torn, so handle with care. Air-dried documents are very susceptible to mold. Consider copying documents and discarding the original. Do not try to remove mud while the paper is still wet. Books and documents on coated paper must be freeze-dried. Air drying will produce poor results. Most bookd will be distorted and require re-binding. Mold can be brushed off dry paper.

To dry paper, thin nylon fishing line makes a good drying line. If you do this yourself, find a small room and put inside a dehumidifier and some small fans. This requires a lot of space and time. Separate sheets of paper. An alternative on a drying line is the use of tables covered with absorbant towels. Move documents by picking up the absorbant towel, not the document itself. Change the absorbant paper as soon as it becomes damp. You will use lots of absorbant towels. Temperature in the room should be less than 70 F. and humidity less than fifty percent.

If you want to try to air-dry books interleave absorbant paper every few pages. Place absorbant paper between the back and front covers. Do not stress the spine. Replace the paper every three to four hours. Dampness in the spine will persist for days. Do not return damp books to the library or the mold will continue to grow and contaminate other books.

If you are in a flood-prone area, locate ahead of time a professional recovery facility. The system used at these facilities is freeze-drying. This is the best solution, especially for books.  Documents should be shipped frozen between 20 and 40 degrees F. Freeze quickly to prevent ice-crystals from forming. Wrap bundles of ducuments in freezer paper and place in interlocking milk cartons. Transport on the favcility as soon as possible. When shipping books, support the bindings to reduce the liklihood of swelling. If freezer trucks are not available use dry ice. DO NOT carry documents with dry ice inside a car, as the ice becomes carbon dioxide, which can asphyxiate.

Freeze drying eliminates mold and takes several weeks.

[caregiver222]

If you place a wet sheet of paper on a towel, do not let it dry completely on the intitial towel or it may stick. You will need a sequence of towels.  Lots and lots of towels. Finding enough paper towels will be a problem. And they can be expensive.

You may have to painfully "triage" and decide what documents and papers are worth the effort to dry out.

You can place a sheet between two towels and use a rubber roller to transfer moisture. Or alternatively, an unheated iron. Heated irons are a mixed blessing. They can char paper and cause distortion. If you choose to use heat, use mild settings and only in the final stages of prerservation when the paper is only damp. Ther is no "right" way to do this. You will always end up with some warping and distortion of the paper and stains.

"Pressing" wet papers between two towels with a weight has advantages, but the final drying should be air-drying. The pressing interferes with air circulation and prolongs dampness, which in turn leads to uncontrolled growth of mold. Yuch. Pressing, if used, should be performed several times within the first hour or two. Then the papers should be exposed to air.

Wooden clothespins (of the type with springs) can be used to clip paper to the nylon cord. The thing to remember is attempt to constantly circulate the air and to maintain a low humidity with a dehumidifier.

Exposure to an ultraviolet light source for a long period can destroy bacteria (do both sides), or alternatively, use sunlight. At least a full hour of exposure on each side of the paper in bright sunlight. Make sure the papers don't blow away.

[caregiver222]

An unspoken hazard is the contamination of precious documents with sewage. If this happens, consider rinsing the documents in a tray of distilled water. If this is unavailable, any clear cold potable (suitable for drinking) water will do. Time is of the essence. Do not allow paper to dry with sewage attached. Ideally this should be done in a brand-new plastic or metal tray, such as that used to handle roller-paints. The document should be supported on a screen and water can be made to flow into the pan and drip over the sides, carrying away debri. Gentle brushing will help. Your fingers can be used if nothing else is available. In an emergency you can use a large plastic bucket. Change water frequently, if an unlimited supply is not available.

You may consider placing a sheet of paper in a tray with cold water, adding a teaspoon of bleach (NO MORE), and then allowing the paper to soak for five to ten minutes, and then thoroughly rinsing. And I mean thoroughly. This will degrade and weaken the fibres, but may be necessary if raw feces have contaminated the paper. You might want to experiment on some test papers.

[caregiver222]

If you live in an area prone to floods, consider pre-treating special family documents, diplomas and certificates with one or more light coats of Krylon, or a similar, clear-coat, moisture-resistant art spray.  Apply on both sides, and allow to dry well between coats. Follow instructions closely!  With some sprays there is a "window" for a second coat. You can coat again within an hour or else you have to wait 24 hours. With other products you can re-coat as soon as it is dry. These excellent products, available at art specialty stores, differ primarily in the degree of glossiness. They do not damage the document or alter its appearance while imparting significant moisture resistance.

[caregiver222]

There are numerous pages on the internet with information on dealing with waterlogged documents. After reading most of them, it occurs to me that many of the authors have never dried a document in their lives. I have done so, and not with the greatest results, but I will share my recomendations.

First, triage, just like an emergency room. You won't be able to save everything. This is painful, but life isn't always fair. I would chalk-up most books and files. You simply won't have the time. If you have the resources, freeze these as quickly as possible for delivery to a professional recovery service.

The recovery steps for a homeowner with limited resources are essentially as follows:

(1) Act as quickly as possible. Triage documents, Books will often only have the edges wet and can be stood on their edges, opened and placed in front of a fan.

(2) Rinse documents in a tray filled with room temperature distilled or potable (drinkable) water. Rinse several times if necessary.  After the first rinse, if there is fecal matter, remove with a "Q" tip soaked in a very MILD solution of bleach. Then rinse again, several times, changing the water every time. Be VERY CAREFUL with the mild bleach solution. It may completely destroy the paper. But it is the only way to remove feces.

(3) Now we come to the essential part of the process, which consists of two procedures. Those procedures are: (a) "wicking" and (b) air-drying.

(4) "Wicking" depends on capillary action to draw water from the paper. Most sites simply recommend putting dry paper on top of the water-soaked paper. Surpise. Dry paper does not "wick" well. To "wick" with capillary action there must be fluid connecting the two sheets of paper. I like to use a pad of four or five ply strathmore. Do not use the type with a smooth calandered finish. Take two sheets, and use a damp cloth or sponge to dampen one side of each sheet. Now you need some soft surface, such as a newspaper or blotter. Place one sheet of strathmore damp side up on this soft surface. Put the document on top. Then place the other sheet of strathmore damp side down. The degree of dampness is controversial, and requires some judgement. At this point the opposite sides of the strathmore are completely dry.

(5) Then place weights on top of the upper sheet of strathmore. The upper weight should be a book that is larger than the sheet below it. A part of a telephone book works fine. Then place weights on top. Think 20-25 pounds. Seven to ten kilograms. Let the package "wick" for two hours. Remove the strathmore and replace with new strathmore. The old strathmore can be returned to serviceability to use again by placing in an oven.

(6) You will have to do this at least twice, perhaps three times. On the last time, you can consider pressing the two sheets of strathmore with a warm iron. Do not use too high a setting or you will insure distortion of the surface of the document.

(7) The very slightly damp sheet now has to complete it's recovery by air-drying, either hung from a nylon string, attached by spring-clip wooden clothespins, or placed on a table secured with small weights (quarters work well) while a small fan blows air over the surface. Ideally this is in a warm room with a working dehumidifier.

(8) As soon as possible, expose the sheet for two hours in direct sunlight or under an ultraviolet light source.

(8) Do not let the sheet dry in contact with another sheet.

(9) When everything is dry, spray with an art shop non-glossy preservative, such as Krylon, in accordance with instructions on the can. Do one side, let dry compl;etely, then do the back.

Currency, or course, can be rinsed of dirt and feces and brushed with an ordinary handbrush under water, then left in the air to dry, and ironed.