For the recovery exercise to progress well, it is important that the environmental conditions be improved by completely drying out the affected area. In addition, it is important that the number of books to be dried be small enough to fit in a home freezer. For books to be dried at home and salvaged from flood damage, it helps if the books are only damp or lightly wet. Collectibles, antiques and other books with sentimental value might be a bit harder to salvage.
The first step in saving books from flood damage is to remove them from the flood water. When doing so, you must not open or close the books and neither should you remove the covers. The salvage exercise should be properly prioritized so that high value books are removed early together with those books that have lower water resistant covers. When books have been damaged by dirty or contaminated water, you should rinse the papers in tubs of cold running water immediately after you remove them from the dirty water. Stubborn mud and debris should be gently sprayed away using a sponge, making sure that you are not using the sponge to rub mud or debris because this only damages the books further.
To dry books, you could use one of three common book drying techniques by choosing the technique that is most suitable for your situation. Choice of a drying technique is dictated by three factors:
- How important the books are and therefore how urgently they need to be dried
- The strength and stability of the books, as some methods work well for stronger books than they do for books with weak bindings and vice versa.
- The time that you are willing to dedicate to the salvage exercise
One drying method is freezing. This method is ideal when the work is urgent to be saved from flood damage as it allows you to start the drying process faster. Under this process, the book is sealed in a zip-lock bag and placed in the freezer. This stops the deterioration of paper and it is especially effective if a frost-free freezer is used.
The books can also be air dried. Air drying is, however, only used for books that are strong enough and have stable bindings. The process involves gently opening book and placing it on the driest edge to provide support and prevent further flood damage. To promote air circulation and therefore speed up the exercise, fans can be used.
Books are also dried using absorbent materials in which case every 10-15 pages are interleaved with white absorbent paper. After every hour, the absorbent paper is replaced as it will have become saturated.
Finally, books are dried by applying pressure on them once they are no longer wet. To achieve best results with this technique, it is important that books are properly bound.
