Dealing with wet records

Air-drying is the safest method for salvaging wet records if you have the space and can dry them within 48 hours; most records can be air-dried without sustaining much further damage. You will need a room with good ventilation and air circulation. Pedestal fans and portable dehumidifiers can be used to increase the air circulation and speed the rate of drying by lowering the relative humidity in the room.

Lay out blotting paper or some other absorbent material on large flat tables or dry floor spaces. Change the blotters regularly to aid in the drying process and to prevent mould growth. Some records, such photographs and negatives, can be pegged on to washing lines or string lines to dry.

As a general rule, if you cannot dry your records within 48 hours you will need to consider freezing them to prevent mould growth and other problems. Freezing does not dry the records and the records will need to go through other drying processes to recover them fully. Blast freezers are preferred as they cool the records very quickly reducing the growth of ice crystals that can cause damage.

Freezing is an option that can be used to buy time for some records; however some records should never be frozen when they are wet as they will sustain permanent damage.

Be very cautious when freezing architectural plans, especially those of mixed format. More modern types of plans such as coated plastics and papers can block stick together permanently with other records if frozen together. If freezing is absolutely necessary ensure that all sheets are interleaved with waxed paper prior to freezing.

Freezing is an option for

    • Records that have already developed mould

    • Records printed on coated paper

    • Records with water-soluble inks and dyes

    • Leather and vellum bound books

Never freeze

    • Photographs, film, glass plate negatives (including microfiche and microfilm)

    • Records with painted components

    • Electronic media

    • Magnetic media

    • Vinyl records

    • Records with mixed media (e.g. wood and metal components together)

    • Veneered wood (e.g. volumes with decorative wooden covers)