PRESERconVersATION

Water Damage at Home - You can Recover
Part 1: Response

Preservation Services staff are often contacted for advice on how to recover paper based materials that have been water damaged at home. Family papers, important documents and certificates, books, bibles, art works, stamp and other collections, and personal records are included in the range of paper items that can be seriously damaged or lost when water damaged.

But you can recover! Here are some tips that may help when disaster strikes your paper treasures at home.

  1. If possible stop the source of the leak. It may be as simple as closing a window or turning off a tap. If a leak is beyond your control, either try to protect material from further exposure or carefully move it.
  2. When you find wet material don't panic:
    • Carefully move it to a clean dry area but be very careful as wet paper items can be extremely fragile.
    • Make sure the area is away from direct sunlight as this can cause uneven drying. Allow fresh air flow or use fans to circulate the air. Never use warm air fans and blowers as this will raise humidity levels and increase the risk of mould growth.
    • Assess the situation and decide what material needs to be saved and what can be disposed of.
    • If the material can't be moved easily cover it with plastic sheeting to prevent further exposure.
  3. Some items will need specialist treatment: You should refer items with water soluble media, photo albums, stamp collections, art works and any other items that are very important to you to a paper conservator as soon as possible. Preservation Services can supply a list of qualified conservators or they can be found in the Yellow Pages under Antiques- Reproductions &/or Restorations.
  4. To reduce the risk of your paper based treasures being damaged by water, store them in an area away from windows, wet areas and plumbing. Don't store them on the floor, under the house, in the roof space or the garage/ garden shed. Protect them as much as possible with good packaging such as polyethylene plastic bags, watertight boxing or enclosed shelving.

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