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

[Joachim Händel]

Hello all,
 

There is a study on mold on paper. (University of applied sciences and
art Hildesheim, Study of Conservation and Restoration)
It says that 70% ethanol must be used, 

The 30% water content transports the alcohol into the fungal cell, the
proteins in the membrane are denatured and the metabolism
of the molds is prevented.
With higher percentage alcohol (> 70%), the water concentration is too
low for transport into the cell.

It was also shown that spraying with 70 % alcohol does not work.
Apparently, the alcohol evaporates too quickly to enter the
cells. At worst, additional mold growth may even occur due to the high
water content. A bath in 70% alcohol was most effective.

As I said - the study refers to mold on paper, but probably also applies
to bones or e.g. insect specimens.

Good luck
Joachim

 
--  
Joachim Haendel
                                                       
Center of Natural Sciences Collections
of the Martin Luther University
- Entomological Collection -

Domplatz 4
D-06099 Halle (Saale)
Germany

Phone:  +49 345 - 55 26 447
Fax:  +49 345 - 55 27 248

Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de
 
 

>>> Simon Moore <couteaufin at btinternet.com> 20.09.2022, 18:12 >>>
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.

_______________________________________________
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
naturasociety. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20220926/7437cdfe/attachment.html>