If you answer yes to all questions, then you need to know the basics of document drying. Any type of paper is vulnerable to water damage. In fact, it can even be damaged without direct contact to water, so you need to be extra careful in dealing with these documents.



Unfortunately, not all documents can be restored to its original state. Obviously, soaking wet documents cannot undergo document drying because they are already non-salvageable. These papers may have already become distorted, and the ink may have faded, resulting to a non-readable document.

Hence, it is very important to act quickly when it comes to water-damaged documents. Document drying must be quickly initiated so as to minimize the damage incurred by the paper. The more damage that a paper has, the less eligible it will be for document drying.

You also have to keep in mind that successful document drying is important in order to prevent the growth of mold. Mold starts to develop as early as 24 to 48 hours in the spines and gutters of reading materials, quickly spreading until the while paper is covered with mold. You don't want to read a mold-infested book, do you?

Document drying starts with proper inspection of damaged documents. Inspect your documents for dampness. Plainly looking at the papers would get you nowhere, since humidity is invisible. You have to touch the paper to see if it is damp and needs document drying. The best drying technique that must be employed in documents is the freeze drying method.

You also have to know whether the kind of water that damaged your paper is clean or contaminated. This will dictate the cleaning method that will be used. Since not all documents can be easily salvaged, prioritize them according to the most important or valuable documents. Remember, the trick is to act quickly, so those that can be easily replaced must take the back seat, while those that are priceless and irreplaceable must be dried first.

Document drying does not stop there. You also have to check the odor of the paper. Usually, a water-damaged document emits a residual musty odor that is difficult to remove once it is already absorbed by the paper. What you need to do to eliminate this odor is to increase air circulation. Keep your document in a well-ventilated place to allow it to breathe. An alternative to exposing it to the outside air is to place it in a container beside an open box containing baking soda. The baking soda will absorb the musty odor, thereby rendering your document odor-free. However, when you utilize this method, you need to make sure that the baking soda and the paper does not make any contact at all. You also cannot leave it like that for a long period of time, since growth of mold may occur.

To avoid going through all these processes, it is better to place your documents in a safe, dry place to avoid being damaged by water in the first place.