[Nhcoll-l] Mold on specimens (skeletal, taxidermy) and cardboard boxes

[Simon Moore]

Hi Chris,

You’ll probably get many responses over this. 

If the shells are robust enough, then a light spray with 70% ethanol will loosen and neutralise the mould so that it can be wiped away but if it has somewhat destabilised the scute layers, then it will be cotton buds dipped in alcohol.  Once the scutes are dry and clean, then a light dressing with something like 10% (emulsion of) Optimalin will prevent the scutes from drying and delaminating. Bear in mid that Optimalin is an oil used in taxidermy but is much too sticky per se, hence the reason I dilute it. The water then slowly evaporates away allowing the oil to penetrate just far enough into the organic layers without leaving a sticky and dust-attractant residue.

With all good wishes, Simon

Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian,

www.natural-history-conservation.com


> On 20 Sep 2022, at 16:32, Chris Evelyn <christopher_evelyn at ucsb.edu> wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> We have a pretty serious mold issue. Everything in the room has some mold. The jars and surfaces can be cleaned but a few items are trickier so I'd love some feedback:
> 
> 1) Skeletal specimens (will 10% bleach solution work?)
> 2) taxidermy specimens (will 10% bleach work?)
> 3) cardboard boxes with small specimens (replace the boxes or just clean them off?) I
> 
> Attached are some images of the current situation.
> 
> Thank you for your assistance!
> 
> Chris
> 
> Christopher J. Evelyn
> Vertebrate Curatorial Manager & Asst. Researcher
> Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration
> University of California Santa Barbara
> Ancestral Lands of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation
> <turtle shell mold.JPG><Turtle taxidermy mold.JPG><Turtle_skull_mold.JPG>_______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.