Even though books and documents may be old, it is not normal for them to smell musty. They start to smell when mildew grows between the pages. This normally happens when they are kept in places where there are high or even relatively high levels of humidity.

Signs of mildew and mold

• Pages stick together
• Discolouration happens
• Musty smell
• Spine has signs of mold and mildew, often in the case of leather binding

How do we repair mold damage?

Stand the book upright on a table with the pages fanned out. Try to get all the pages unstuck by using tweezers or even a letter opener to separate them.

With the pages fanned out, place a fan in front of them on the lowest setting and leave for several days.

Avoid direct sunlight as this will cause further damage.

Place books in an airtight container with an open box of baking soda. Leave for at least a week so that the baking soda absorbs the moisture.

For documents

• Place on a flat surface with good air circulation until dry.
• Line the base of an airtight container with crumpled newspaper.
• Line the sides with kitchen paper.
• Place the documents on the crumpled newspaper.
• Top with more crumpled paper.
• Seal with the lid and leave overnight.

If still smelling musty the next day you can lay them on a flat surface and sprinkle with talcum powder and use a dry towel to wipe off an hour later.

Final thoughts

While this is a good idea to try with older books and papers, if you have antique documents or rare books, or any that are part of a valued collection you should seek the help of a document restorer as they will have a different process for that type of work.

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