The Aftermath of Experimental Floods: Salvaging Our Materials

This week we salvaged the materials that had soaked in lake water, clean tap water, and water contaminated with motor oil.  These materials had been placed in their respective bath for a designated time period, for example 2 days, 5, days, or 7 days, to illustrate the severity of the damage water can cause.

In preparation for salvaging the wets materials, we took safety precautions before we entered the room.  The materials had been in water for several days and most likely were covered with mold and mildew. In order to protect ourselves, we made sure to have protective face gear. We were instructed about the full range of personal protective equipment (PPE), from head to toe. However we decided that face and hand protection were satisfactory for our situation. Each member of the salvage team wore a respirator or taped a face mask taped to his or her face; some wore protective gloves.

We also made sure each person knew their duties while in the flooded area to ensure chaos or mistakes were avoided. Here was our roster:

•  Lead conservators – Michael and Crystal 
• Registrar and Curator – William 
• Safety Officer – Megan
• Media Specialists – Shanda, Megan, Alia, Karen
• Field Workers – Bridgette, Jamie, Alia, Sarah, Megan, Shanda, and William 
• Supervisor - Karen

We also wanted to have a plan about how we either salvaged our discarded items. The order was as follows:

1) Remove moldy items and evaluate the extent and severity of mold damage.

2) Remove items in cardboard boxes, plastic boxes, and metal trays.

3) Remove paintings.

4) Remove the electronics.

5) Remove books and other print materials.

We began with the materials submerged in clean tap water, moved on to items in then lake water, and lastly dealt with objects in the oily water.

Many items were not salvageable, especially if they had severe accumulations of mold.  We did retain several moldy specimens for experimentation. 

Some common methods we used were:

• Isolating items, especially mold damaged objects, in clean plastic bags or plastic containers
• Drying objects with blotting paper, paper towels and newsprint
• Packing electronic materials in rice to dry
• Arranging items to air dry      

 


 

You can view this short video produced by the Northeast Museum Services Center if you’d like to see example salvage techniques we employed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQctO6LHo1o

The very last thing we remembered to do is clean! It is so important to remove items that cannot be salvaged, old (and probably moldy!) water, and also to sanitize our containers and surfaces that materials were either placed in or on. We did not want to risk the spread of mold to non-contaminated areas in the lab area.