Should I Clean And Bleach Or Just Keep Em As They Are

I am looking on some opinions here. I think that this forum is good for bouncing off our ideas and problems to maybe come up with answers that would escape the one person mindset.

My problem is I recently bought some pre 40's Brazil cheaply recently. When they came the first thing I noticed was the smell of moldering. As I took the stamps out there was a good portion that looked fairly toned and splotched. So ok I got a batch of stamps that were not taken good care of.

My quandary now that I have them what do I do with them? I took some of the obviously sorry state of stamps and started to experiment with them. The cheaper ones first to get an idea of what I can do to bring them to if not happily to an album page but safely to an album page.

I know you all like pic's and scans and I have one of my attempts below. I used a solution of just bleach and water around a 20:1 water/bleach ratio. Kept a good eye on the results and when I thought it was good enough took it out and gave it a bath in clean water. I basically kept the stamp in the first solution about a minute and rinsed it off in another bowl for a couple of times. The stamp was a common stamp that "was" mint so how much was the gum and how much was the stamp paper itself is unknown. As an experiment I also cut it in two to give me a good idea of what kind of result to expect.

The result I thought was fairly decent but from a collection standpoint the stamps that I can expect to make it out alive are good enough for me to use as fillers.

What I want to know is some opinions. Should I continue or just chuck the whole lot?

If the stamp will clean when using water and a bit of detergent like when removing a hinge I see nothing wrong with this. But anything else....

I know this doesn't answer your question, but if it was me I'd return the stamps no matter how cheap you got them.

Hi to all
I agree, if it want clean with water and tiny bit of detergent then leave it.
Problem also, is that some stamp dyes run, so if the stamp is an oldie, I would leave them alone and keep them till something better comes along.
Horamakhet

For your own use in your personal collection and not for reselling, I am with vacuum man. It falls in the category of restoration rather than forgery. These are two completely different processes. I find it rather unfortunate that restoration of stamps is so looked down upon. However, of all the restoration methods I know of, bleaching can be deceptive. That is because a bleached stamp can continue to change ink color and paper quality long after the bleaching is completed ( and potentially sold).

For your personal use, I would reduce your solution to 50:1 and after 30 minutes remove the stamp. Then soak it in fresh water for at least 6 hours. Check it a few months later to see if it has continued to change. It is does, the 50:1 solution is still too potent.

I'm with Sfgoda, the seller should NEVER have sold you the stamps.

That being said, the following is also my opinion (but please don't let my opinion scare you)...

...unless there is a $100+ stamp in the batch, I would chuck them all because you said they "smelled of moldering" -- or at the very least, isolate the whole batch and any stockpages/albumpages/glassines that came in contact with those stamps. Why risk contaminating your entire collection/room with possibly active mold/mildew?

Sellers don't care because they move inventory out to buyers, so mold/mildew is usually not a concern.

But for a collector who normally keeps what they buy, controlling mold/mildew once it gets a foothold into your collection is not something simple. And keeping molded/mildewed stamps requires some experience and the proper equipment (e.g., UV lamps) to make sure it stays isolated/inactive. I learned the hard way more than once when it spread, so now I'm super careful. Treating it is insufficient, you have to monitor it as well, especially if you live in a humid environment.

In my opinion, if you feel you have anything valuable in your main collection, it is "usually" not worth the risk of keeping anything that has been previously contaminated unless you are really skilled at controlling/isolating it. My opinion -- but again, don't let my opinion scare you. Just consider it a warning to be informed and careful.

In spite of my opinion on bleaching, I agree with khj on stamps with mold/mildew. There is a significant risk to contaminating the rest of your collection. I should have limited my opinion to stamps with toning or other non destructive damaged but not mold/mildew. Thanks Kim for your comments.

Thanks all for your input. In looking over the stamps more carefully there doesn't seem to be a active mold but a musty smell. And a few of the stamps have a splotchy look to them. So mildew at one point in time? The rest just look toned similar to the scan some more toned some less.

Now there are a lot of questions that I have to consider. Seems like the opinion is that bleaching might just be a temporary fix. And in some cases a deadly one for the stamps. I so far have only bleached some of the worst offenders. One was so dark and toned it very hard to see what was printed on it. So bleaching helped bring back that stamp to at least look at it.

But is there a method to "inoculate" the stamps against further molding or even damage after bleaching? I would think that the bleaching alone would destroy any mold as well as the brighten up of the paper. Would placing them for a short time in sunlight neutralize the chlorine in the bleach? I know that my pool chemicals are greatly affected by sunlight.

Are there some sort fungicides available to get rid of any active or dormant mold or mildew? I would think that a disinfectant that kills mold might be ok. I've heard that grain alcohol works as a good mold killer as well. Otherwise would just keeping them dry might be the only thing needed?

I'm along the lines with khj - the faster you get rid of them permanently, the better.

I'm in the habbit of throwing "stamp bonfires" every few monts, and here's a pic I took last nigh. This is all damaged goods (torn, foxed, musty etc):



I think this is a great way to start barbeque season (and celebrate may day), LOL.

Oh now I know why I heard a million little voices screaming last night.

So if I see what looks to be a little water damage on the stamps could be the mold / mildew / or foxing.

Maybe the bleaching serves a greater purpose than aesthetics.... After bleaching the stamps, I would assume the mold/ mildew would be killed. Is that not correct?

I am not convinced by arguments against cleaning or restoring stamps. Restoration is fully acceptable in collectibles where an article's value is enhanced by restoration. Bleaching is one to use, although as the linked article states, a last resort. Interestingly the article is from England and just last week, I read on another SCF post, that for collectors in Britain cleaning or otherwise restoring stamps is simply not done or acceptable. The author is making a case for restoration of stamps.

http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/conse...oration.html

I don't do it. I think the reason for the hesitancy in engaging in such practice is, depending on the climate the stamps are in or will someday be in (selling and shipping to a different locale) the humidity could allow mold to grow where before the bleach treatment seemed enough in the original environment.

The strength of bleach need to totally kill all fungi might, may, maybe work but it may not either and you wouldn't want to take the chance, any chance, that your stamp and the other stamps in the album or on that page would be infected, or, heaven's forbid, you purchased a new stamp to fill that hole or holes and the value of it was something you didn't wish to chance to fate.

Which is what you are doing when you keep mold anywhere around stamps. Usually, I would think, to kill any mold that is on or has grown into the stamp's fibres, you would need a strength of bleach that would do damage to the stamp design itself.

best to isolate and keep any of these mold infected / affected stamps away from you good ones, at the very least.

I enjoyed the bonfire shown above.

I once came into contact with a mushroom in a dirt crawl space under a house. The instant I touched it it sporated or went poof and there was a cloud of mushroom (a fungus) spores floating in the air all around me.

All they needed to spread to new ground was for me to move and create a small air current that carried them (very fluffy and floatable seeds that they were) all around me, on me, and following after me wherever I moved to. The little guys in your albums on your stamps are just miniature versions of this bigger cousin (6" tall and round).

All it takes is one spore to survive (out of millions produced) and land on a new place to take root (your stamps), and have the right conditions for growth also.

After doing some research on mold and its love of paper, I guess I am leaning towards Puzzlers view. Probably to clean them up a bit, keep and isolate them, and check them occasionally for deterioration and/or new growth. Then just keep my eye out for the better unaffected stamps to replace them.

From what I read if I can keep them in the proper humidity/temperature there shouldn't be any more problems. Or at least it should minimize any problems.