<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">Ben's advice is good, but you might want to consider using full-strength ethanol (95.6%) rather than 70%. At 70%, ethanol is a good biocide, but the advantage to full-strenth is that it evaporates faster and therefore is less likely to affect the specimen or be absorbed deeply into the specimen. I also recommend cleaning the specimens by rolling a cotton swab (Q-tip) over the mold rather than brushing.<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000">--John</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#000000"><br clear="all"></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br><i>and</i><br>Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Jul 3, 2024 at 5:42 PM Benjamin Hess <<a href="mailto:bmhess@umich.edu">bmhess@umich.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="auto">Jessica,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I treated an entire cabinet with mammal specimens, which included several bats. I am listing our process steps below. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am happy to share more specific details.</div><div dir="auto"><ul><li>Isolate the cabinet out of the collection (if possible). We moved ours to our preparation lab.</li><li>Remove moldy specimens from the cabinet and place inside a fume hood.</li><li>Discard any archival trays that may hold mold spores. Place in a sealed trash bag.</li><li>Use 70% ethanol to wipe all surfaces of the cabinet including seal. If possible, you can spray the cabinet with 70% ethanol. Use HEPA vacuum after each treatment. Repeat 2-3 times depending upon mold severity.</li><li>If this is an older cabinet, consider improving the seal.</li><li>Check the temperature and humidity conditions of the cabinet location. We discovered an airflow issue and resealed a collection door that contributed to the issue.</li><li>Specimens:</li><ul><li>Under the fume hood, use 70% ethanol and a small brush like a toothbrush (soft brush or Q-tip for bat membrane) to coat all surfaces of specimens with mold. Use new ethanol frequently based upon mold coverage.</li><li>Leave specimens in the fume hood until dry.</li><li>With a dry brush, brush specimens toward HEPA vacuum with screen over tip to prevent unwanted vacuuming (e.g., specimen tags).</li><li>Depending upon the severity of mold, repeat 2-3 times.</li><li>Once complete, dry specimens under fume hood with a drying method for specimen preparation including compressed air and additional drying "dust" for skins.</li><li>No paper material beyond specimen labels should be retained.</li></ul></ul></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br></div><div>Ben </div><div dir="auto"><br clear="all"><div dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | </span></b><font face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-size:13.3333px;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">EEB Museums Safety Representative to the RMC </b></span></font></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">University of Michigan
| LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research Museums Center</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif">3600 Varsity Drive,
Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228</span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><a href="mailto:bmhess@umich.edu" style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif" target="_blank">bmhess@umich.edu</a> |
734-764-2432</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:107%"> <br></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div><div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Jul 3, 2024 at 2:56 PM Jessica E. Light <<a href="mailto:jessica.light@ag.tamu.edu" target="_blank">jessica.light@ag.tamu.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><u></u>
<div>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Anyone have any advice for the best treatment for mold on preserved skins (small mammals, primarily bats, mostly on exposed wing and tail membranes and ear/face tissue) and skeletal elements (mainly skulls)? I'm looking for advice for treating the specimens
themselves as well as the cases in which the specimens are stored.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance for your help!<br>
Jessica<br>
</p>
<pre cols="72" style="font-family:monospace">--
Dr. Jessica E. Light (she/her/hers)
Professor and Curator of Mammals
Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology
Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
<a href="https://lightjessica.weebly.com" style="font-family:monospace" target="_blank">https://lightjessica.weebly.com</a></pre>
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