How Can I "Deordorize" An Old Album?

I apologize that I never checked this thread again. Well, the answer is a hard one to tell and this is why. "Mildew" is more or less a generic blanket term for quite a few different strains of a fungus and they each have their own degrees of tolerance and that Concrobium is normally used as a PREVENTATIVE and should not be marketed as anything different However it is probably a peracetic acid (which is also found in Tylenol like products) it's a high pH antimicrobial agent also. I would be careful using such stuff on stamps. I'm sorry I cant be of more help; unless I physical sample to see exactly whats bothering your collection. If you absolutely know it's a mildew keep it separated from your other stuff. remove the stamps, soak in a 1:60-ish part bleach and put in another album.

Also, carbon works like an air/water scrubber. It has a LOT of real tiny holes that basically captures the physical smelly particulates out of the air. "mildew" spores are probably too large to get in the tiny holes with any sort of success but it will move a new mildew colony where ever you dispose of it. Be careful. If you try this use ACTIVATED carbon that way when your done with it you can basically use your oven like a ghetto autoclave and cook it for an hour or 3 at 500 degrees.

I just thought of something- Maybe try Hydrogen peroxide! Here's why I think it has a potential to work- It is basically water with an extra Oxygen atom and it is also a strong oxidizer because of it. Straight Oxygen, in concentration, is a deadly poison to these small organisms (any organisms) and might not hurt the most of your stamps. Although you may have to soak them for a little while though to make sure they're dead & gone. If you make it diluted don't dilute it too much and only use the OTC stabilized H2O2 @ 3% or less. If you would use it any stronger it would also act as a bleaching agent as H2O2 can be almost as bad Chlorine bleach in higher concentrations, it is also used as a solid in rocket fuel.

ILS, does that mean when my shower curtain liner starts to get grubby, I can clean it with hydrogen peroxide? ;)

Well I suppose it's with the range of possibilities but then again your shower curtain isn't (hopefully)made of very old paper with inks that could be potentially hurt by more preferred cleaning agents that are much better suited for the job.

ILS,

Thanks for your interest... I did some checking up of this product and it is supposedly a "tri-salt polymer" that "crushes mold spores" and is more of a base at a little over 11 PH.

I do know that the company makes a companion product that is a mold stain remover whose main chemical content is peracetic acid. The stuff I am looking at is the stuff that contains a solution of Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bi-carbonate, and Tri-sodium Phosphate.

It would sound like the stuff is more of a mold preventative than actually cleaning the stamp. I do think that this solution might not clean out the organism but stave off an infection.

I also don't know if it will affect the stamp paper or inks but maybe because it is more of a base it would also neutralize some of the acid in the paper.

Ahhh, the saga continues..............
Picked up a large container of activated charcoal today. Put the album pages on a dish in a cardboard box, and spread the charcoal on the wax paper bottom, using about 2-3 cups. Put the top on the box and sealed with tape. I'll let this "cook" for a few days, or until I finish doing other related stuff. And, of course I'll let you all know the results..........

That's exactly what I just said. It would be more a preventative measure more than a fungicidal. Well, a common misnomer is that a base is less dangerous than an acid or alkaline and that simply isn't so. If it was more on the neutral side I would trust it more but still wouldn't recommend it (plus it probably would totally suck at doing it's job...lol)

A long dip in Hydrogen peroxide will help your situation vastly then a soapy warm water bath then into a press book. The more I think about it the more I'm certain it will work but you should still keep them separated until they are completely dry as dry atmospheric air can also help to stave off organisms and if the smell is gone your in good shape however the bio-load of spores (usually measured inPPM 3yd) might still be high enough to spread? If you think so just repeat the whole process again. Not a sure-fire solution but better than tossing them out is it not? I'll ask some friends that are still practicing what they think and get back to you. for now, -Cheers.

ILS,
Thanks much. And sorry Mobilman for sort of hijacking this thread.. The reason I brought this up was a while back I got a load of stamps off of ebay. When I opened the package I knew something was up with them because the stamps had a strong musty smell. They showed no signs of active mold but some of them were badly foxed. Though I did not want to do the slash and burn treatment someone suggested, I thought If I kept them separate it should be ok. Most the stamps were of minimal value and I did not pay much for them. So I did give them a quick dip in a very very weak solution of bleach. Then I left them out to dry in the air for a day or so. It did take away the musty smell. Afterward placed them in a separate album. So far I have noticed no visible change in the stamps, which is great. But what kept nagging at me was the thought of if I could do more. So when I saw this Concrobium stuff I thought of these stamps and if it would help.

I cringed when I read that you used bleach..Anyways..You should try that other stuff if the stamps aren't real expensive and see what happens? Might work might not, we'll know one way or the other right? Might be good information to have? If you do please post your results?

Like I said it was a real weak solution.. Haven't noticed any problems yet.. I did rinse them out a few times in clean water every 10 or so stamps so I am not too worried. If it happens again will try the hydrogen peroxide. Any particular strength... The 3% is easy to get. Any stronger might have to go to the stuff they use for hair. I think that goes to 6%.

Hi,
I just realized I never followed up on the results of my "mildew smell removal" project. Well, after sitting in a closed box of baking soda and expensive activated charcoal for a few weeks, the results were less than satisfying. The odor was reduced - no question about it. But, it is still there. I suspect most folks would just ignore it, and perhaps with time it would diminish even more, but I am not happy with it, and am going to replace it.

I suspect other odors like smoke would be easier to remove, but the mildew is (in my opinion) imbedded in the paper, particularly the edges.

Here's a crazy thought...a custom print shop (and maybe even a regular copy shop) would have a large guillotine cutter that could trim a tiny edge off of each side of the paper. The ones I've seen could handle several hundred pages at one time, so the pages would be sure to be the same size, and barely smaller than standard.

Someone who didn't know what you did wouldn't notice the difference in size.

In my (extremely limited) experience with these, the machine puts quite a bit of force on the stack of paper, so I wouldn't want to try it on pages with very many stamps on them, and I don't think I'd even consider it if there were any mounts on the pages.

If you really think it is just the edges that are problematic, it might be worth checking into this...

Thank you! I've just fanned thru every page, and the odor is more than just the edge (from what I can smell). Your idea is a good one, and while I don't think it would help me much on this, it would help on removing those frayed edges that result from decades of wear.

Just remember that when hydrogen peroxide and bleach get together they react to form a poisonous gas. Take a little care with them.

...Just in case you don't remember from chemistry 101...