[Nhcoll-l] Sea Turtle Shell Mold

[Christina Giovas]

Hello Kayla,


The Canadian Conservation Institute has a comprehensive technical bulletin on mould mitigation which you can find here https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/technical-bulletins/mould-prevention-collection-recovery.html#a3c


Section 2.2 deals with small outbreaks, which is what it sound like you have. While alcohol is one solution (I've used this in the past for skeletal collections)  the CCI also recommends a combination of freezing to break the life-cycle and vacuuming with a hepa filter to eliminate spores and further outbreaks. Bleach (sodium hypochlorite) should not be used on organic materials. Hope this helps.


Best,


Christina M. Giovas, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University
National Geographic Explorer
Co-Editor, Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology


________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Simon Moore <couteaufin at btinternet.com>
Sent: February 17, 2023 9:00:01 AM
To: Kayla Sanders
Cc: NHCOLL-new
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Sea Turtle Shell Mold

Hi Kayla,

Alcohol is what I would use as it’s quick, easy and effective.  This would be followed up by giving the scutes some dressing to replace any lost natural oils and there will likely be some discussion over which is best.  In the UK antique trade they recommend odour-free almond oil, rubbed in using the cotton buds / Q-tips, even though this is obv a veggie-based oil, it does work well.

With all good wishes, Simon

Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR
Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian,
www.natural-history-conservation.com<http://www.natural-history-conservation.com>


> On 17 Feb 2023, at 16:28, Kayla Sanders <kayla.sanders at mods.org> wrote:
>
> Good Morning,
>
> My name is Kayla Sanders and I am the Assistant Manager of Exhibits Collection and Development at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I would like to find out if you have any recommendations on cleaning mold growth from a taxidermy sea turtle shell. We have come across mold growth on several of our preserved sea turtle shells.
>
> We were thinking possibly using rubbing alcohol and Q-tips to clean the areas, but wanted to hear the advice from other museums.
>
> If you could please let me know what you think might work best without damaging the shell, I would appreciate it.
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
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_______________________________________________
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.
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