Ways to Protect Your Books from Mildew

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Books are assets for book lovers. Sometimes, they are more valuable than money. If you have a good collection of books, you need to maintain them regularly. Now, how you can keep your books in good condition. Before that, you need to know the things that can damage your books.

Mildew is one of substances that can harm your books. Do you know what mildew is? Sometimes, you can see some white fungus on the covers of the books. These are mildew. They also grow inside your books, over the pages. How will you know that your book is mildewed? You can know from the musty smell and yellowish or brownish pages.

Do you know why mildew attack books? It’s because of the damp and darkness. It is important to remove mildew. If you don’t remove mildew from your dear books, it will grow and damage your valuable collection.

Moreover, when you read such books, these particles can enter your body and cause various health problems. Besides, the musty and irritating smell is another reason to remove mildew from your books.

Here are some tips to remove mildew from your books.

Keep it in open place: The main reason of mildew attack is the dampness of the place where it is kept. You can keep your books in some warm place so that air can pass through them. Turn over the pages and keep it in a warm place.

Use soft brush: Remove mildew by using soft bristle brushes. Just brush the whole book along its cover, pages and edges. Soft brushes can definitely brush away the powdery white substance from your books.

Use hydrogen peroxide: It cleans the stains of mildew. Take three part hydrogen peroxide along with 1 part distilled water and mix it. Then, apply it gently on the stains by a cotton swab. But use the chemical carefully as it can weaken the pages.

Use baking soda: In a cardboard box, sprinkle some baking soda. Open your books and close the lid. Keep the box in an airy and non-humid area for 2-3 days. The irritating smell will not disturb you further. Don’t forget to wipe away the baking soda.

Check the storing place: It is important to check the place you store your books. Damp and wet place can cause the same problem. So, always keep your books in an open place where air can circulate and light can travel.

Keep dry red pepper: This is quite a handy tip to remove mildew and its smell. Keep some dry red peppers in between pages. The books will not catch fungus and the smell will remain natural.

Use zipper plastics: Mildew attack mainly happens to older books that have organic covers such as leather or paper. You can always keep those books in zipper plastic jackets to prevent them from mildew.