In addition to normal dust, make a deeper clean clean one or twice a year. This project eliminates a larger dust structure and enables you to check insects. You also have the option of taking inventory and deciding which books you want to keep, save, sell or donate, said Keith Lavecchia, inventory manager at McNally Jackson Books, in an e -mail.
At the beginning, take off your books from every shelf. Vacuum the shelf or wipe them down with a damp cloth and let it dry completely.
Then dust off each book before put it on the shelf again. You have a few ways to do this, and it can be as easy as a dry microfiber cloth over the book. To capture the largest dust, you can follow a method that the New York Public Library uses: Use a softbistling brush like a Hake brush to sweep the closed sides of the book and to spin the book in the direction of the intake nozzle of a vacuum.
In general, experts do not advise you to suck books, except with very special attachments because they can tear or bend them. If you have to vacuum your books, McCarthy suggested putting cheese cloth over the hose to reduce suction and operate the vacuum in its weakest environment.
As a nature conservation specialist, Fifield does not recommend any damp books. But other experts that I spoke to did not completely discourage the practice as long as they let the books dry thoroughly before forming them again. “Because if they are damp, they stay together,” said Charles. “You can damage the cover.” She advised with a barely damp cloth.
If you encounter mold, silver fish or signs of other insects such as detritus and dark spots, the affected book is not a lost thing, said Fifield.
Seal the book in an airtight bag such as Ziploc or another zipper bag and put it in the freezer for 72 hours. As soon as 72 hours have passed, remove the bag from the freezer and – that is important! -, don't have it off. Let it seal it for another 24 hours to prevent condensation from forming, said Fifield. “You want this condensation to be on your pocket and not in your book.”
After 24 hours you can remove and clean the book to remove the remaining detritus. In this way “if there is a new infestation later, they will not be confused,” said Fifield. McCarthy said that you may have to repeat this process to tackle uncommon insects or larvae.
If you remove mold, clean the book outdoors while wearing a protective mask.
If you go through your books, you can also find that some of you need a precise editor. The experts I have spoken differently differed about how highly artificially they should get with top cleaning, but the general consensus was that they use their distinction for mass market books that can easily be replaced and that can be tried out at least intensive method that you can first. Often a barely damp paper towel or a microfiber cloth is everything you need, said Weinstein.
For stubborn dirt or pen stains on mass market book covers, especially for those with “painted” covers (those with shine), you can upgrade to purell (recommended) on purell (recommended by pongrace) or from Sartwell). All of them serve as a cleaning agent on a non-water-based one that dry quickly and do not have a water-enemy of the book's book. They also do not leave an oily deficit. They are not recommended for non-shiny books, rare books or those with fabric or leather covers.
Avoid using adhesive tape to repair torn covers or dust jackets, said Weinstein, as this can damage and discolour the pages.
If you turn into perfectionism while cleaning your books, Sartwell offered a little perspective: “If you are not here one day, he will be happy to know that this page looks like this because it was a recipe that you loved.”
But some books that are irreplaceable need TLC. In this case, contact a book protection officer before trying to have DIY, Fifield said. She recommends the American Institute for Conservation that has a database for finding experts in her region.
How to cover your books: “If you want to organize your books by color, you can do that,” said Charles. “If you want to organize Dewey Decimal, you can Dewey Decimal.” If you are the tracking type, you recommend the open source app library form with which you can create your own catalog.
“Basically, your home library is your expression of your intellectual passions and activities,” she said. “You obviously want to take good care of it, but how you want to organize it works for you and your household, it's great.”
Here is for you and your books. Have fun cleaning.
This article was edited by Megan Beauchamp and Maxine Builder.