Dear Janice and Others with smelly books. This is not an unusual problem.
Just a month ago I received a list of 22 things you can do with a sheet of Bounce. Bounce is a product name for a square of material saturated with scented chemicals that we put in electric laundry dryers with our wet clothes to prevent static cling in our everyday clothing -- things like knee sox clinging to pants legs. This list included putting a Bounce sheet inside a book or photo album to remove unpleasant odors. I would place it inside the back cover, between two sheets of Bounty paper towels. Bounty has claimed to be acid-free. Not all paper towels are. We - on Arachne - have tested Bounty. In countries with different product names, use your pH testing pen to see if paper towels are acid-free. I just found that my pH pen has dried out, and I could not test the Bounce. Would someone please do this and report back to Arachne????? I realize the scented chemicals may cause the pH mark to turn yellow, but we really should test it. I would suggest you put a reminder in your appointment book to remove Bounce from book - within 30 days, just in case long-term it would harm the book. By the way, these sheets are said to repel ants and mice (and maybe other critters that get into our collections), so you might like to try placing some sheets near areas where you do not want ants and mice, between paper towels or some other barrier -- never directly on collectible textiles, or inside archival boxes meant to protect (it might negate the purpose of the protective box). I must recommend you to check regularly, to see if Bounce is doing any damage, and do not leave it permanently. Warning: This information did not come from a qualified expert on how to conserve books and papers. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center In a message dated 6/12/2009 3:34:41 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jbl...@sbcglobal.net writes: Hi, I just received a couple of books from England from my SIL. One of them is The Identification of Lace by Pat Earnshaw. A paperback which smells really musty. She bought it in a little museum for .99 pence. What should I do to air the book and get rid of the smell? It really pongs. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA www.jblace.com http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com **************Shop Dellâs full line of Laptops now starting at $349! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221881320x1201406166/aol?redir=http :%2F%2 Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fclk%3B215218036%3B37264217%3Bz) - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachnemodera...@yahoo.com
