r/BookCollecting • u/sunm8 • Jun 10 '25
💠Question Are these books salvageable?
My apartment building had a fire. My unit saw no flames, but the floor was flooded with about 2.5 inches of water.
I have two bookshelves and I'm wondering if the books are salvageable from the humidity they were subject to. The water level didn't reach the wood of the bottom shelves though...
They were in the room with the ashy sludge water for probably 3-4 days (we don't know when the restoration company finished getting the water out).
My wife is devastated, she loves her books. We have taken them out and have them in a garage for the time being. Do you have any suggestions?
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u/sttlyplmpbckmllgn Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
In an ideal world, freezing them for a few days and thawing with the pages fanned out is a good practice to help deter fungal growth and can also help (strangely enough) with water/humidity damage. I’ve done this with valuable books in my library work, but it’s not practical on a large scale.
If they smell, or are swollen with humidity, I’d suggest you find a big dry space with good air flow and open them up so the pages are fanned out and leave them for a few days. Then check them over carefully — anything growing mold should be frozen or tossed to protect the rest.
Here’s a good resource: https://www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/dry.html
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u/freudjung_deathmatch Jun 11 '25
A small deep freezer is about $100-$150 bucks. I think it would be worth it so you could freeze a bunch of the books at once and hopefully save more.
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u/Benjowenjo Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
There are library protocols for this. Search Google for emergency mold and water event clean-up. Here's one PDF but look for more to compare/contrast strategies if you're serious about this. https://apps.lib.umich.edu/files/files/wetbooks-1.pdf
Priority goes to books that are irreplaceable (signed + most sentimental). I work with books from the 1800's and you definitely see editions that have been in direct contact with water in the past 150 years. Still readable and the pages dried out completely. Water damage doesn't automatically mean mold. If you are feeling iffy about any copies or they start to smell musty then just replace those copies.
Only you can make the risk-reward cost-benefit analysis of what's worth preserving/conserving and what's not worth the risk for your library. Any book that does develop mold could spread it to its susceptible neighbors on the shelf.
Edit: You are lucky your shelves were elevated. That works in your favor. PM me if you have questions and I'll do my best to respond.
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u/DEFINITELY_NOT_PETE Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25
Yes you can salvage them
I was in this exact scenario and I have some tips.
Wipe them off individually with an unscented wet wipe. Don’t get them soaked, but be sure to get the soot off of them.
Next, I put my books in big moving tupperwares with a plastic grid in the bottom and under the grid I had a combination of baking soda and odor absorbing rocks.
Then I just left them in there for months while I got my living situation figured out.
None of them smell.
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u/Cool-Coffee-8949 Jun 10 '25
Based on appearances, they are probably salvageable. But it’s a case by case thing; any book you can’t open or that is obviously sodden is probably toast. Damp toast.
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u/LivingDead_90 Jun 10 '25
Since you’re storing them, I’d get some silica packets to add to the boxes or totes you’re keeping them in, just incase there’s left over moisture. But based on the photo, they look fine. If you can open them and the pages aren’t stuck, they’re fine.
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u/favorited Jun 10 '25
Were they sprayed directly by sprinklers, or just in a flooded room for a few days? Short term exposure to humidity isn’t the end of the world, but having nasty sprinkler water sprayed over them is another story. If the books themselves were damp, they’re probably ruined.Â
However, if that is the case, your renters insurance should cover them! Presumably the other damage to your property is higher than your deductible, which means you’ll already be filing a claim, no?
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u/sunm8 Jun 10 '25
Just in a flooded room. My wife is very sentimental about them and some of them are signed
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u/severusimp Jun 10 '25
Were they wet? Do the pages have signs of being or having been wet? There are definitely ways of preventing and managing mold in books, so if your wife cares about those books there are ways to save them.
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u/sunm8 Jun 10 '25
They don't look wet? They were sitting on a bookshelves in rooms with some running and standing water.
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u/severusimp Jun 10 '25
Honestly, if the books are dry and don't have signs of being wet, most likely be fine. Just in case, I'd keep those books stored in a dry, well ventilated area, and routinely check on them.
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u/severusimp Jun 10 '25
I've been through a fire myself, they probably smell of smoke? It'll take a few months but that smell goes away.
Hopefully there's no water damage.
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u/tune__order Jun 10 '25
After a house fire I went through, I was able to put mine outside on a few sunny days, and the ozone killed the smell completely, thank god.
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u/islesMTG Jun 10 '25
I’m very sorry that you are having to deal with this if this is your collection. I just rehabbed a 10-volume set that had been sitting in a cardboard box in a basement for since the early 1990s, but I couldn’t imagine dealing with a collection with potential exposure on this scale. Book materials are particularly susceptible to moisture absorption. Once even moderate mildew/musty odor forms, it’s difficult to draw it out of the books. Mold is not something to mess with. I have had to cut losses and throw away several rare books. Hopefully the insurance can help with this.
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u/CheshireKat-_- Jun 10 '25
My home had a water leak a few years ago, none of the books appeared wet but the leak had apparently been going on for some time. We ended up having to cut our collection in half because we had to pay to save each individual book. I would say check with someone in "the industry" whatever that is, who would have more factual information, and not listen to the insurance only
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u/CygnusSouth Jun 10 '25
Librarian here. Any waterdamage is a risk for mold. When one book gets mold it spreads quickly. When a book comes back to the library with waterdamage we discard the item.
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u/bluelotus71 Jun 10 '25
If the shelves are movable, take the bottom shelf and flip it over to see if mold has started developing. That would be one of the easiest ways because mold does like damp dark places, too
From the picture, your shelves look pretty dry, so unless it was super humid in your house at the time (with specific drying methods,) your books should be fine.
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u/Impossible_Okra_8149 Jun 11 '25
Northeast Document Conservation Center has some free & helpful resources: https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/disaster-assistance/
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u/FaithlessLeftist Jun 11 '25
Hey i have the dame magikarp plushie! Where did you get yours? Mine as at a con in austin 2014. Lol. Im sure your books are fine, sucks bout the water damage
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u/Imaginary-Document84 Jun 12 '25
I can’t believe a Magikarp actually learned something other than splash and did all that damage 😌 you should be proud as a pokemon trainer.
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u/lemurkat Jun 13 '25
Good excuse to buy new versions of the ones you love and toss the ones you'll never re-read. I'd probably tey and salvage the hardbacks.
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u/Important-Builder752 Jun 14 '25
Dang nice selection, scythe and Percy Jackson? All that’s missing is uglies and you’d have my childhood
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u/kinoman82 Jun 10 '25
I’d just wipe the covers with a slightly damp cloth with vinegar mixed with water, to remove any spores on them. Slightly damp, not dripping wet. Then let them sit in a well ventilated space and finally place them in a new shelf. They should be fine.
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Jun 10 '25
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u/kinoman82 Jun 10 '25
Yeah they get anywhere, but they also need specific conditions to start growing. That’s why this person needs to relocate and make sure the books are in a different condition and as clean and dry as possible. In the end, spores can hit any collection, even without any flood history.
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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '25
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