During a flooding event, your documents and books are at great risk. These personal artifacts may maintain value beyond measure and we understand the importance of maintaining their sentimental weight.
It is very important to begin salvaging your water-damaged photos, publications, and files in just two days, or else they will begin to become deteriorate and moldy. Both the water and the consequent humidity in the atmosphere can cause permanent deterioration. The great thing is that there is a way how to save water damaged photos, papers, and publications, but only if you act quickly and operate with care.
Saving Water-Damaged Photos
- Save pictures in frames when they’re still drenched, otherwise, you might hurt the photos when trying to eliminate them. To safely separate a wet photo from a photo frame, gently rinse both photo and frame with water, and carefully remove the photo.
- For rescuing very old photos, consult a professional conservator first. These historical photographs are more sensitive to damage and recovery.
- When you are ready, remove the photos from the sand or water being careful not to touch the very front of these photos.
- Place the photos picture side up onto a rigid surface such as aboard.
- If photos have dirt on them, rinse them gently using clean water in a sink or bucket.
- After cleaning the photos, place them on blotting paper, like a paper towel.
- Dry the photos indoors. Do not take them outside as the sun and wind may cause photos to curl more quickly.
- Let photos air-dry, but change the paper towels each a couple of hours.
- If drying the photos is not your priority, you can purchase them some time by freezing them. Just ensure that you wash them of dirt and stack them between sheets of wax paper. This will make them easier to separate when handled.
Saving Water-Damaged Books and Documents
- Eliminate your documents from the water with care. If the papers are dirty, gently rinse them and lay them on a level surface at the top of the blotted paper. Use paper towels without prints and avoid paper.
- Don’t dry them outside where the sun and wind can curl these products. Let them air-dry indoors and run an oscillating fan in the area to increase air circulation and speed up drying.
- For waterlogged novels, place one absorbent paper between every 20 to 50 wet pages and put the books flat to dry.
- If you can put the books at a vertical posture, attempt to fan the pages out and let to air-dry. Speed up the drying process using a fan. This helps preserve them and prevents mold from growing until they’re ready to be restored.
- If newspapers and books smell musty after drying, place them in an open box and then put that within a closed container using baking soda to absorb odors. Don’t let baking soda signature the books.
For Professional Water Damage Restoration, Call PuroClean
Even though you may be able to follow all of these steps yourself, employing a record and photo recovery specialist is generally a safer choice. PuroClean’s trained technicians have the equipment and experience to purge sensitive files and bring them safely back to life. If your house suffers from water damage in Springfield, call the pros at your regional PuroClean or visit this website.
