Flood Recovery of Audio Visual Housings

In the flood simulation, we put several different kinds of audio visual housings into the different types of flood water. None of the cases were completely unharmed by the water, but some of them were still salvageable.

• Cardboard VHS box (in oily water) -- a little discoloration and warping, biggest problem is the oil left on it. Not all of the oil would come off the box and the oil seemed to seal moisture into the cardboard. This box would need to be discarded.


• Plastic VHS housing (in lake water) -- in the salvaging process, we removed the plastic (that was holding the paper insert) and let the paper insert dry on top of the container (lower right in the image). The insert has some cockling, but would likely be fine if it were humidified, flattened, and cleaned. The container was left to dry propped on its opening on blotter paper. The container would need to be cleaned to get the dirt from the lake off of it, but then could be used again.


• Plastic VHS housing (in clean water) -- we did not remove plastic film from the outside of the case, which caused more discoloration and more severe cockling than the other plastic case. This type of case would likely be salvageable after cleaning it. The paper insert might be saved if it is humidified, flattened, and cleaned.


• CD jewel case -- one of these was put in the water with the plastic wrapping still intact. When we removed it from the water, the plastic wrapping inhibited the water from draining out of the case. The plastic wrapping would need to be removed promptly after removing it from the item in order to prevent further damage to the CD.


• Plastic cassette case -- similar to the other plastic cases above, this type would likely be salvageable after the paper insert was humidified, flattened, and cleaned and the container itself was also cleaned.