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I can't imagine that RH levels are crucial in an office. In any case, the presence of lots of hygroscopic material makes it easier to keep RH levels even, not harder, because it acts like a buffer. Barbara Appelbaum On May 24, 2012, at 12:12 AM, Margaret Geiss-Mooney wrote: > This is a message from the Museumpests List. > To post to this list send it as an email to pestlist@museumpests.net > To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. > ----------------------------------------------------------- > Good evening, PestList’lers – I also point out that a large expanse of any > floor covering made from a natural fibre, whether sisal or wool, cotton, > jute, etc., will also absorb and hold a lot more moisture out of the > environment where it is installed than a floor covering made from one of the > synthetic fibres (i.e. acrylic, nylon, etc.). So if your floors do not have a > vapor barrier properly installed, the floor covering will act like a giant > sponge, sucking up moisture from the floor/ground. If your building does not > have the relative humidity controlled, the natural fibre floor covering will > make it even more complicated to control. Mould/mildew spores will love it > and flourish with abandon….ugh…especially on the side in direct contact with > the floor and away from the light (mould/mildew is considered a ‘pest’, > right?). > > Any finish applied to a floor covering, whether fire retardant or stain > repellency, will be rubbed off as the floor covering is walked on/have stuff > dragged across it. Meaning it would have to be reapplied periodically. So the > carrier fluid would be contaminating the space again, whether water (raising > the RH in the environment) or some other fluid which would off-gas in to the > space as it dries. > > Feel free to contact me off-list if you need further clarification. > Regards, > Meg > . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___________ > Margaret E. Geiss-Mooney > Textile/Costume Conservator & > Collections Management Consultant > Professional Associate - AIC > 707-763-8694 > mgmoo...@moonware.net > > I am writing about the choice of floor covering requested by the Director's > Office at our art museum. They are interested in installing either Sisal or > Wool sisal in the Directors office. There will also be two or three > accessioned paintings exhibited in this space as well. I am concerned about > the tastiness of both of these choices (sisal and wool sisal) to potential > critters. The Director's office is in a different corridor than the art > collections however I am concerned about creating a potentially amiable > environment for pests in general within the museum. What do people think? > Should I continue to advocate for synthetic flooring options which have > heretofore not been of interest unfortunately? I do not believe that they > will be using a foam pad under the rug which is a good thing to avoid any > potential off-gassing of the foam. I am also concerned that a fire retardant > applied to the sisal may be necessary from a safety point of view. I will > off course follow-up with an exam of the MSDS sheet of the fire retardant. > But basically my question has to do with whether or not a large expanse of > sisal is of concern to nearby collections on display. I don't want to be a > PEST! > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To send an email to the list, send your msg to pestlist@museumpests.Net > > To unsubscribe from this list send an email to pestlist@museumpests.net and > in the subject put: > "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. > > You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. > To change to the DIGEST mode send an > email to imail...@museumpests.net with this command in the body: > > set mode digest pestlist > > Any problems email l...@collectionpests.com or l...@zaks.com Appelbaum & Himmelstein 444 Central Park West New York, NY 10025 212-666-4630 (voice) 212-316-1039 (fax) aa...@mindspring.com website: aandhconservation.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to pestlist@museumpests.Net To unsubscribe from this list send an email to pestlist@museumpests.net and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to imail...@museumpests.net with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email l...@collectionpests.com or l...@zaks.com
