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

[John E Simmons]

A little clarification about Val's concerns: The reason I recommended using
ethanol at a strength greater than 70% was to prevent it from penetrating
into the bone (and thus degreasing it or otherwise affecting the tissues).
Surface grease should be removed from bone in any case because it traps
dust particles, which may be abrasive or acidic, and contaminate the
specimen. I do not recommend soaking bone in water or any other chemical,
as this will likely promote cracking as the bone goes through a
hydration/dehydration cycle, and the mold spores will be on the surface of
the bone, and are not likely to be so deep into the bone that soaking is
required. Efforts should be directed to removing the mold growth from the
surface using 95% ETOH and cotton or polyester swabs.

Although I did not mention addressing the source of the mold problem, I
agree with Val and the others who mentioned this that it is very important
to determine as soon as possible what the source of the moisture is and
address that problem immediately.

--John

On Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 9:13 AM Valerie Tomlinson <VTomlinson at nature.ca>
wrote:

> .
>
> -70% ethanol kills mould. However it also degreases. If it is important to
> maintain fat content, then just control the rH and vacuum off the visible
> mould. Possibly freeze things first.
>
> Val
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20220921/c43a7f7c/attachment.html>