Learning About Building Repair Techniques

If you get a book wet, you don't necessarily have to throw it away. But you will need to act quickly to minimize the damage done. Otherwise, whole pages could be ruined, your pages could wrinkle and mold and mildew might grow inside your book. Mold and mildew usually will force you to throw away the book because it will be a health hazard to those with allergies.

Wet Book First Aid

First, if the book is wet, you should remove the source of moisture as quickly as possible. For example, if you dropped the book in a puddle, remove it from the puddle as quickly as possible. Do so gently so that you do not tear pages. If the water was dirty, rinse the book off with clean water. Avoid opening the book unless you need to rinse off the pages.

Books and Humidity

Your book does not have to be in water to experience water damage. High levels of humidity can also damage a book, so pay attention to your book to make sure it does not appear wet or have wrinkling pages.

Drying the Book

Keep the book closed and blot the outside of the book with a paper towel to remove as much water as possible. Do not wipe the pages because you're more likely to tear and ruin them. Then, open the book and carefully place absorbent paper in-between every 20 pages. The water will seep through the pages, but will be caught by the absorbent paper, causing them to dry faster. Then, run a fan to increase air circulation so that the pages dry more quickly.

Removing Wrinkles and Bad Odors

For the pages that are partially wet, carefully try to straighten the pages out so that they do not wrinkle while drying. After the book has dried, it might have the smell of mildew without having clear, visible signs of mildew. If so, leave the book out in the sun for a few hours and this might eliminate the smell. If you are still not able to eliminate the smell after this, place the book in a container that has an open box of baking soda inside. The baking soda will absorb the odors.

If the book is very damaged and you are concerned that you will not be able to restore it, take your book to an archivist. Also, if other parts of your property have been water damaged, speak with a water damage restoration specialist, like Central Flood Management Inc, so that you can have your home returned to new.