OT: dumpster dive and water/mold cleanup

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Wed Sep 4 01:54:00 2002

On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Kevin Schoedel wrote:

> > Ironically, they also accidentally trashed 1000s and 1000s of photos,
> > slides, negatives (both plastic and glass plate), and home movies.
>
> The slides and negatives are also subject to mold, since the emulsion is
> made of yummy gelatin, and should be left out or hung up to completely
> dry. The older ones are likely to be more vulnerable, since modern films
> typically contain a fungicide, and I would guess that color film would
> be more vulnerable than black-and-white.

Most of the negatives were in plastic pages in binders, but not all. 99%
of those are now back in the possession of the family, so I won't be
having anything else to do with those. I've also already given them most
of the slides. About 75% of those had been in 12-14 filled Kodak 140
carousels, and most didn't get too wet. The rest of the slides were in
small cardboard boxes, though I doubt the family is going to clean them
properly. Also, I think all of the slides use a cardboard mount, so *all*
of them would have to be remounted after cleaning.

Of course, glass plate negatives should *never* be washed. Water will flat
out *ruin* them.

> > I still need advice on unsticking/cleaning the home movie films, since
> > none were in water tight containers.
>
> Put them in room-temperature flowing water (e.g. a sink or bathtub that
> has an overflow drain, with the tap running) for about half an hour. A
> minute before you take them out, add a *tiny* amount of dish detergent
> -- dab your finger on the spout and rinse it off in the water -- or
> better, get a bottle of wetting agent for about $3 from a camera shop
> and add according to instructions. Unroll and hang up to dry; probably
> the easiest cheap way to do this is on a series of plastic clothes
> hangers on a shower curtain rail. Shortly before hanging up the film,
> run the shower hot for a few minutes to help keep dust down. Leave to
> dry at least 12 hours. (Obviously, try this out first with one
> relatively unimportant film.)

I'm glad wetting agents are inexpensive. I realized a few days ago I left
30+ bottles of concentrated wetting agent in the dumpster, and I tossed
out another half dozen when I was sorting out other stuff.

-Toth
Received on Wed Sep 04 2002 - 01:54:00 BST