Have 50 yrs. of mrr magazines. Most have mold smell [ Put dryer sheets in tubs to see if things improve ]. What to try next?…Tom
Sorry to hear your health and hobby are at odds with each other.
Do know what you mean about the musty smell. Had some papers in storage after a house fire. Things that survived the fire, were dampened by the supression, some lost, some in exile, except when needed.
The only thing I can think of, is that if you have a paint booth, could you read the mags while they were in it and use the exhaust fan to keep the musty smell away from your asthma? You could make a small booth near a window with an exhaust fan in it. Wouldn’t have to be as safe a booth, since reading mags shouldn’t present a fire or explosion hazard.
Just a thought.
Good luck,
Richard
THANKS for Good Idea! …Tom
A two-stage respirator filter should give you relief from both the odour and any particles which may be emitted from the mouldy paper. These cartridges are good for organic vapours, acid gases, and particulates (dusts, fumes, mists, asbestos-containg dusts and mists, and radionuclides - I use them when airbrushing any kind of paint, and they block completely any particulate matter and all odours, including that of lacquer thinner.
Unfortunately, they work only for the person wearing them, so your family may not share your enthusiasm for your magazine collection. [swg]
Wayne
I remember a thread where people seemed almost proud that they gave or threw Model Railroader magazines away. I’m with you and save them, I enjoy model train magazines. I keep them in cardboard boxes in the house and havent had the musty problem.
Dennis San Fernando Valley CA.
[:-^]
and if you can cobble together a few bucks you could buy the new DVD that MR is producing with all the issues on it, and the smell would really be a thing of the past…[xx(]>>>>>>>>[:)]
Johnboy out…and to bed.
One tip I read was that you remove the magazine staples and microwave the whole magazine on normal power for 10 seconds.
You can probably buy a magazine stapler (long throat) at an office supply store/catalog for restapling or manually insert and bend over the prongs.
I haven’t tried this. If you do, please report back.
Good luck
Paul
If they are giving off a nasty mold smell then I would burn them. Why would you store them on a dirt floor anyways.
[%-)]
Hi!
I have hauled an MR mag collection around with me for years, and upon getting married (#2) in 2001, finally realized I needed to do “something”…
Utilizing two portable filing cabinets, I decided to pull needed articles from the mags to save, and throw the remainder away. I made up a list of topics and labeled folders for each, totalling about 40 or so folders.
The object was to keep articles of present or forseen future use, and I began going thru the mags - taking me a few months to complete. One thing about the MR mags, is the pages tear out neatly, and the articles are not broken up on several unrelated pages - as some mags do. So with the help of a stapler, I reduced several boxes of mags down to two half full file cabinet sections.
I started this 10 years ago, and about every two years since I go through the previous MR mags and do the same. It really has worked out quite well, and I have actually used a number of those cut out articles in recent years - with them being “just what I needed” and “easy to find”.
BTW, I’m currently doing this with my Classic Toy Trains mag collection, and that too is working out great.
It would help if you would put the tubs outside with the lids off in the sun for a few days. cover them at dusk & obviously if rain is expected.
Thats not going to work. The mags are ruined, throw them out and get the new MR DVD set.
Yeah, they’re already a lost cause and there’s nothing that can be done about further aging. There’s a reason that libraries have that library smell. The storage that ruined them really just accelerated a process that is going to happen on its own anyhow.
A couple of thoughts that might help. Damp Rid (available at a hardware store) or silica gel (the same stuff packed with electronics- available at a Hobby Lobby or Michael’s in their floral departments) might help to take away the mustiness if put in the tote. If there is actual mold on the pages corcanbloom might work but I’d test it first- not sure how it would work spraying on paper. Jim
Heres an idea…spread ou the magazines to the ceterfold page laid open on tables and the floor of a small, but tight room. Run a dehumidifier on high to draw off the moisture slowly, the pages should peel apart easily enough. them maybe use something like clorox wipes to know downthe mold dust that remains. pages will fry independently and can be turned up one direction of another.
Then copy what want on the scanner and build your files.
you might could then sell them for a buck or two at a nearby train show…IF they reamain in any decent condition and the smell and “mold dust” has gone away.
Other than that, I have to wonder why people store things like paper magazines in a damp ridden basement, plastic tubs or not.
Here’s another thought: if they are MR mags or TRAINS mags, Kalmbach will have them out in an electroonic format DVD. Easier to purchase a complete volume set like that. I am sure other magazines will follow suit of they are still in business.
Just some thought and ideas from the roundhouse.
[8-|]
Where I am humidity is the beach that spoils everything made of paper and if magazines and newspapers are kept for any time the musty smell is every where so I don’t keep much paper stuff that will get to smell after a while. So its just not worth the bother. But sometime before I clear filed some interesting pages or since I got a scanner I do that now too. A few yeras back paper mache was bad for that with mold using flour/water glue, now its much better with carpenters glue.
So long.
Dusty