Vol.

12, Issue 4
2
V
o
l
.

1
2
,

I
s
s
u
e

3
Smoke Damaged Books - Contents Pros Get Creative
Most homes will have damaged books
after a fre or food and most owners
will have some sort of attachment to
them.
Contents pros often turn over satu-
rated books to the specialists who have
freeze-drying equipment. Although
such companies are still something of
a rarity, there are frms in the U.S. and
Canada that have earned a unique
reputation for saving valuable books,
manuscripts, fles and documents that
otherwise would have been lost.
And books that are smudged with soot
and grime are sometimes referred to
the professionals who have soda blast-
ing devices that can "dust smoke par-
ticulates from the book without damag-
ing the pages.
But before smoke damaged books
are sent away
to specialists,
there are quite
a number of
things that contents pros can do to re-
store them without high technology.
First, they must be evaluated as to
whether they are worth the time and ef-
fort to salvage them. If they are easily re-
placed for little cost, sometimes the con-
tents pros will simply do a quick hunt on
Amazon or Ebay to fnd an acceptable
replacement. They have found every-
thing from a reprint of Mark Twain's "n-
nocents Abroad to a complete edition
of the "World Book Encyclopedia. They
have located everything from a paper-
back Mickey Spillane novel to a leather
bound copy of "Paradise Lost (and all
at a much lower fee than it would have
cost to restore them by hand.)
But how do you replace a set of law
books, annotated by the owner of the
house, who is a lawyer and relies on
them for his work?
You don't. Their value exceeds the
mere price of replacement, and that is
when the contents
pros are at their best.
f the books are stacked on a shelf,
odds are good that only the outer spine
and the tops of the pages are soot
stained and smoke damaged the ash
and grit have settled on the parts that
are exposed that will save a lot of time
in the cleaning process.
After that there is a sort of natural pro-
gression for removing the particulates.
Blowing the soot off is a good start
sometimes air jets are used.
f that doesn't work, "soot sponges
and soft brushes are used to gently
clean the soot residue off. Some con-
tents pros even use "dry cleaning pads
that architects employ to softly pull dust
and grit from their art work.
f they need to go to another level,
they use art gum because of its mildly
abrasive nature. And if still more ag-
gressive methods need to be employed
a large "rubber (pencil) eraser often
gets the job done and on occasion they
will go as far as using an ink eraser to
remove stains. (Continued on page 3)
Some of our readers might remem-
ber when we offered an article about
the antimicrobial properties of plain
old copper and how some hospitals
were replacing various "touch sur-
faces (door handles, faucets, etc.)
with copper because research had
shown that many types of germs ac-
tually die when they come in contact
with the metal.
We got some "ribbing for that ar-
ticle because many of our readers
did not believe us. But it seems that
someone thought we might be on
to something a few months ago
the U.S. Department of Defense
released the news that, ".copper
surfaces in intensive-care hospital
rooms had 97 percent less bacteria
than non-copper surfaces, result-
ing in fewer hospital-acquired infec-
tions. The copper was found to kill
several types of bacteria.
The Ronald McDonald House in
South Carolina (a boarding house
for seriously ill children) just in-
stalled $400,000 worth of copper
fxtures in order to reduce infections
among their young guests.
So when a contents pro recom-
mends replacing other metal sur-
faces with copper ones, it is an inex-
pensive and valuable upgrade that
could pay for itself many times over!
An Ancient Contents Solution
3
A report from the UK tells us that: The average offce desk is home to
20,000 germs per square inch (400 times more than a school or offce
toilet).
By some estimates, telephones carry up to 1,400 bacteria and an of-
fce phone is often shared by numerous personnel.
Computer keyboards, telephone dial buttons, doorknobs and oth-
er shared germ depositories make it safer to kiss someone than to
shake hands!
We'll bet that the "liquid ozone that we mentioned in the frst story is
starting to look real good to you about now!
Did You Know?
In an upcoming episode of the new ABC comedy
series, Last Man Standing, the producers needed a
stuffed bear in great condition to help forward the plot
line. Fortunately, they had a million dollar rolodex and
called one of our favorite animal fur restoration profes-
sionals to help restore a dilapidated, 60-to-70 year-old
grizzled, grizzly bear that had been mounted on a ped-
estal but had lost one ear, two claws and had been
patched with everything from deer fur to a lions mane.
It even looked as if someone had stomped on one of
the feet and left it crushed and distorted.
The master restorer in California took one look at the
mangy beast and promptly accepted the assignment.
She only had two weeks, but she trimmed and dyed
and reached into what she calls her, Spare Parts De-
partment, to carefully, painstakingly and expertly re-
build the once noble creature.
I wanted to restore its dignity, she said, and even
with so short a deadline, the folks at ABC studios were
ecstatic with the fnished art work.
As they wheeled the magnifcently restored animal
out, she followed along giving them a verbal list of how
it should be treated. I felt like a mama grizzly, she
explained, I just wanted to be sure they treated him
well.
Her Trophy Hospital has restored furs for such no-
tables as Brad Pitt, Christina Aguilera, Clint Eastwood
and a host of other celebrities. Some call her clinic, the
Fur Hospital to the Stars!
Remarkable Restoration
The Case of the Grizzled Grizzly
During the past decade contrac-
tors have saved insurance com-
panies millions of dollars worth of
clothing, bedding, oriental rugs
and other textiles. They use three
basic methods.
One is a water injection washer,
others use a mechanical agita-
tion type machine and a third
way is to simply bundle up the
fabrics and take them to a com-
mercial cleaner.V All of those us-
ing these methods estimate that
they are restoring around 85% of
the soft contents that would have
otherwise been thrown away and
cashed out, (the owners would
have simply been paid for their
loss).
And all of the soft contents pro-
cessors readily agree that it is
not their machines that eradicate
the smoke odors or high bacte-
ria count from the materials they
clean it is the cleaning solutions
that are used inside the machines.
Most of the new, high tech wash-
ers have computers that mix vari-
ous compounds and release them
into the washers depending on
the needs of the contractors and
the complexity of the task at hand.
One substance is released to ex-
tract smoke, another to remediate
mold and still another (or a combi-
nation) to sanitize and kill as much
as 99% of germs, bacteria and vi-
ruses.
But there are new composites
that are gaining strong interest
among contents pros. Until recent-
ly, one of the most popular germ
killers carried accidental release
warnings such as, Wear impervi-
ous gloves, and ensure runoff
does not reach a waterway. Con-
tractors solemnly assured us that
no bacteria could stand up to the
toxic substances.
More recently though, we are
seeing a new breed of environ-
mentally friendly cleaning com-
pounds that have almost no toxici-
ty at all. One of them boldly states,
Completely safe for humanity and
the environment, fully biodegrad-
able, no harmful alkalinity, acidity,
solvency, or VOC. And adds, No
whiteners, No sour, No bleach, No
alkali, No protein release, No soft-
eners.
And it can clean in low tempera-
ture water as low as 32 degrees
Fahrenheit! So it can save dra-
matically on hot water costs.
This ones secret is that it has
molecules only .01 micron that
can target and penetrate virtu-
ally any type of oil the inventors
even point out that it can break
down and remove the oil from poi-
son ivy!
Another signpost in the treasure
hunt for the ultimate cleaning solution!
The Solution
Solution
3
Contents Pros are used to being shared around. Some companies don't have a contents division. Some don't
want to do contents work (there really is a "knack to doing a good job even though the pros may make it look
easy). And some restoration companies simply don't have the training so they end up with dissatisfed customers,
broken or damaged items and an insurance bill that makes them never want to take another contents job ever!
So the contents pros end up working with these companies, taking up the slack and making sure they look good
to the adjusters, agents, homeowners and building managers.
Contents Pros-
Sharing Their Way To The Top
Most restoration professionals have heard that chlo-
rine bleach does not kill mold. t has been highly touted
as an effective germ killer, but many people mistak-
enly thought it killed mold because it made the mold
spores "disappear, when sprayed on them (actually it
just made them translucent, but they were still there).
And now Clorox Healthcare(TM) has introduced a
new line of activated hydrogen peroxide cleaner/dis-
infectants.
A news release from that company says in part,
"These activated hydrogen peroxide products are reg-
istered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to kill 32 bacteria and viruses in 30-seconds to
one minute, the fastest non-bleach contact time avail-
able.
Dr. William Rutala, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director, Hospi-
tal Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Safety
Program at UNC Health Care System, added "Hydro-
gen peroxide acts quickly against major pathogens, is
odorless and is safe to use on most healthcare sur-
faces. When hydrogen peroxide disinfectants are EPA-
registered to kill pathogens and are used properly, they
can help to fght the spread of infections in healthcare
environments.
Clorox wants us to know that their technology and
delivery system is not like the hydrogen peroxide prod-
ucts available to the public, "Clorox Healthcare(TM)
Hydrogen Peroxide products are registered with the
EPA as disinfectants, a requirement for any product
labeled as a disinfectant. Most hydro-
gen peroxide products
available to consumers are
not registered disinfectants.
These new wipes and sprays
don't leave corrosive residues
and are safe to use around pa-
tients and healthcare workers.
They are slated to appear on the
market this month and the line
forms right behind the contents
pros!
Contents Pros
Latest Secret
f the book is valuable enough
(but not so valuable that it needs
to be sent to a conservation ex-
pert), some contents pros will
clamp smooth wood along one
side of the book and will carefully
sand the stains away.
Of course once we have reached
that level, the next stage is to
have a bindery trim the edges of
the pages to remove the damaged
paper fortunately, contents con-
tractors usually have a good book
repair company in their "million
dollar rolodex.
No matter which level of clean-
ing the pages works the best, we
are still left with the question of
how to remove the smoke odors.
Historically, placing books, bottom
end down, pages fanned open, in
an ozone chamber has been the
standard choice. The reason they
are placed low in the chamber is
that ozone is heavier than air and
tends to accumulate at the bottom
of the chamber -- then fll upwards.
And there are some new tech-
nologies that contents pros are
checking out with promising re-
sults. One of them is the use of
solvent deodorants combined with
thermal foggers.
But there is a second type of
fogger called a "wet fogger,
which works by breaking a
water-based chemical solu-
tion into an ultra-fne mist of
particles several microns in size.
Wet foggers leave a wet residue,
so you don't want them anywhere
near books, documents or fles.
Contents pros are also taking
a good long look at the new "hy-
droxyl machines, chlorine dioxide
pouches (that some libraries are
now considering) and "dry vapor
(that is created using essential
oils). One of the advantages of the
dry vapor technology is that work-
ers can still remain in the building
while it is being used.
Some books can be restored
right on the premises, but others
need to be transported to an area
where they can't contaminate any
other articles around them and
they won't be contaminated by
other smoke damaged articles in
the home or offce.
Watch for a future article about
the "insider's secrets for pack-
ing, protecting
and transporting
smoke damaged
articles!
Smoke Damaged Books
(cont. from page 2)
2
V
o
l
.

1
2
,

I
s
s
u
e

3
Smoke Damaged Books - Contents Pros Get Creative
Most homes will have damaged books
after a fre or food and most owners
will have some sort of attachment to
them.
Contents pros often turn over satu-
rated books to the specialists who have
freeze-drying equipment. Although
such companies are still something of
a rarity, there are frms in the U.S. and
Canada that have earned a unique
reputation for saving valuable books,
manuscripts, fles and documents that
otherwise would have been lost.
And books that are smudged with soot
and grime are sometimes referred to
the professionals who have soda blast-
ing devices that can "dust smoke par-
ticulates from the book without damag-
ing the pages.
But before smoke damaged books
are sent away
to specialists,
there are quite
a number of
things that contents pros can do to re-
store them without high technology.
First, they must be evaluated as to
whether they are worth the time and ef-
fort to salvage them. If they are easily re-
placed for little cost, sometimes the con-
tents pros will simply do a quick hunt on
Amazon or Ebay to fnd an acceptable
replacement. They have found every-
thing from a reprint of Mark Twain's "n-
nocents Abroad to a complete edition
of the "World Book Encyclopedia. They
have located everything from a paper-
back Mickey Spillane novel to a leather
bound copy of "Paradise Lost (and all
at a much lower fee than it would have
cost to restore them by hand.)
But how do you replace a set of law
books, annotated by the owner of the
house, who is a lawyer and relies on
them for his work?
You don't. Their value exceeds the
mere price of replacement, and that is
when the contents
pros are at their best.
f the books are stacked on a shelf,
odds are good that only the outer spine
and the tops of the pages are soot
stained and smoke damaged the ash
and grit have settled on the parts that
are exposed that will save a lot of time
in the cleaning process.
After that there is a sort of natural pro-
gression for removing the particulates.
Blowing the soot off is a good start
sometimes air jets are used.
f that doesn't work, "soot sponges
and soft brushes are used to gently
clean the soot residue off. Some con-
tents pros even use "dry cleaning pads
that architects employ to softly pull dust
and grit from their art work.
f they need to go to another level,
they use art gum because of its mildly
abrasive nature. And if still more ag-
gressive methods need to be employed
a large "rubber (pencil) eraser often
gets the job done and on occasion they
will go as far as using an ink eraser to
remove stains. (Continued on page 3)
Some of our readers might remem-
ber when we offered an article about
the antimicrobial properties of plain
old copper and how some hospitals
were replacing various "touch sur-
faces (door handles, faucets, etc.)
with copper because research had
shown that many types of germs ac-
tually die when they come in contact
with the metal.
We got some "ribbing for that ar-
ticle because many of our readers
did not believe us. But it seems that
someone thought we might be on
to something a few months ago
the U.S. Department of Defense
released the news that, ".copper
surfaces in intensive-care hospital
rooms had 97 percent less bacteria
than non-copper surfaces, result-
ing in fewer hospital-acquired infec-
tions. The copper was found to kill
several types of bacteria.
The Ronald McDonald House in
South Carolina (a boarding house
for seriously ill children) just in-
stalled $400,000 worth of copper
fxtures in order to reduce infections
among their young guests.
So when a contents pro recom-
mends replacing other metal sur-
faces with copper ones, it is an inex-
pensive and valuable upgrade that
could pay for itself many times over!
An Ancient Contents Solution
3
A report from the UK tells us that: The average offce desk is home to
20,000 germs per square inch (400 times more than a school or offce
toilet).
By some estimates, telephones carry up to 1,400 bacteria and an of-
fce phone is often shared by numerous personnel.
Computer keyboards, telephone dial buttons, doorknobs and oth-
er shared germ depositories make it safer to kiss someone than to
shake hands!
We'll bet that the "liquid ozone that we mentioned in the frst story is
starting to look real good to you about now!
Did You Know?
In an upcoming episode of the new ABC comedy
series, Last Man Standing, the producers needed a
stuffed bear in great condition to help forward the plot
line. Fortunately, they had a million dollar rolodex and
called one of our favorite animal fur restoration profes-
sionals to help restore a dilapidated, 60-to-70 year-old
grizzled, grizzly bear that had been mounted on a ped-
estal but had lost one ear, two claws and had been
patched with everything from deer fur to a lions mane.
It even looked as if someone had stomped on one of
the feet and left it crushed and distorted.
The master restorer in California took one look at the
mangy beast and promptly accepted the assignment.
She only had two weeks, but she trimmed and dyed
and reached into what she calls her, Spare Parts De-
partment, to carefully, painstakingly and expertly re-
build the once noble creature.
I wanted to restore its dignity, she said, and even
with so short a deadline, the folks at ABC studios were
ecstatic with the fnished art work.
As they wheeled the magnifcently restored animal
out, she followed along giving them a verbal list of how
it should be treated. I felt like a mama grizzly, she
explained, I just wanted to be sure they treated him
well.
Her Trophy Hospital has restored furs for such no-
tables as Brad Pitt, Christina Aguilera, Clint Eastwood
and a host of other celebrities. Some call her clinic, the
Fur Hospital to the Stars!
Remarkable Restoration
The Case of the Grizzled Grizzly
During the past decade contrac-
tors have saved insurance com-
panies millions of dollars worth of
clothing, bedding, oriental rugs
and other textiles. They use three
basic methods.
One is a water injection washer,
others use a mechanical agita-
tion type machine and a third
way is to simply bundle up the
fabrics and take them to a com-
mercial cleaner.V All of those us-
ing these methods estimate that
they are restoring around 85% of
the soft contents that would have
otherwise been thrown away and
cashed out, (the owners would
have simply been paid for their
loss).
And all of the soft contents pro-
cessors readily agree that it is
not their machines that eradicate
the smoke odors or high bacte-
ria count from the materials they
clean it is the cleaning solutions
that are used inside the machines.
Most of the new, high tech wash-
ers have computers that mix vari-
ous compounds and release them
into the washers depending on
the needs of the contractors and
the complexity of the task at hand.
One substance is released to ex-
tract smoke, another to remediate
mold and still another (or a combi-
nation) to sanitize and kill as much
as 99% of germs, bacteria and vi-
ruses.
But there are new composites
that are gaining strong interest
among contents pros. Until recent-
ly, one of the most popular germ
killers carried accidental release
warnings such as, Wear impervi-
ous gloves, and ensure runoff
does not reach a waterway. Con-
tractors solemnly assured us that
no bacteria could stand up to the
toxic substances.
More recently though, we are
seeing a new breed of environ-
mentally friendly cleaning com-
pounds that have almost no toxici-
ty at all. One of them boldly states,
Completely safe for humanity and
the environment, fully biodegrad-
able, no harmful alkalinity, acidity,
solvency, or VOC. And adds, No
whiteners, No sour, No bleach, No
alkali, No protein release, No soft-
eners.
And it can clean in low tempera-
ture water as low as 32 degrees
Fahrenheit! So it can save dra-
matically on hot water costs.
This ones secret is that it has
molecules only .01 micron that
can target and penetrate virtu-
ally any type of oil the inventors
even point out that it can break
down and remove the oil from poi-
son ivy!
Another signpost in the treasure
hunt for the ultimate cleaning solution!
The Solution
Solution
3
Contents Pros are used to being shared around. Some companies don't have a contents division. Some don't
want to do contents work (there really is a "knack to doing a good job even though the pros may make it look
easy). And some restoration companies simply don't have the training so they end up with dissatisfed customers,
broken or damaged items and an insurance bill that makes them never want to take another contents job ever!
So the contents pros end up working with these companies, taking up the slack and making sure they look good
to the adjusters, agents, homeowners and building managers.
Contents Pros-
Sharing Their Way To The Top
Most restoration professionals have heard that chlo-
rine bleach does not kill mold. t has been highly touted
as an effective germ killer, but many people mistak-
enly thought it killed mold because it made the mold
spores "disappear, when sprayed on them (actually it
just made them translucent, but they were still there).
And now Clorox Healthcare(TM) has introduced a
new line of activated hydrogen peroxide cleaner/dis-
infectants.
A news release from that company says in part,
"These activated hydrogen peroxide products are reg-
istered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to kill 32 bacteria and viruses in 30-seconds to
one minute, the fastest non-bleach contact time avail-
able.
Dr. William Rutala, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director, Hospi-
tal Epidemiology, Occupational Health, and Safety
Program at UNC Health Care System, added "Hydro-
gen peroxide acts quickly against major pathogens, is
odorless and is safe to use on most healthcare sur-
faces. When hydrogen peroxide disinfectants are EPA-
registered to kill pathogens and are used properly, they
can help to fght the spread of infections in healthcare
environments.
Clorox wants us to know that their technology and
delivery system is not like the hydrogen peroxide prod-
ucts available to the public, "Clorox Healthcare(TM)
Hydrogen Peroxide products are registered with the
EPA as disinfectants, a requirement for any product
labeled as a disinfectant. Most hydro-
gen peroxide products
available to consumers are
not registered disinfectants.
These new wipes and sprays
don't leave corrosive residues
and are safe to use around pa-
tients and healthcare workers.
They are slated to appear on the
market this month and the line
forms right behind the contents
pros!
Contents Pros
Latest Secret
f the book is valuable enough
(but not so valuable that it needs
to be sent to a conservation ex-
pert), some contents pros will
clamp smooth wood along one
side of the book and will carefully
sand the stains away.
Of course once we have reached
that level, the next stage is to
have a bindery trim the edges of
the pages to remove the damaged
paper fortunately, contents con-
tractors usually have a good book
repair company in their "million
dollar rolodex.
No matter which level of clean-
ing the pages works the best, we
are still left with the question of
how to remove the smoke odors.
Historically, placing books, bottom
end down, pages fanned open, in
an ozone chamber has been the
standard choice. The reason they
are placed low in the chamber is
that ozone is heavier than air and
tends to accumulate at the bottom
of the chamber -- then fll upwards.
And there are some new tech-
nologies that contents pros are
checking out with promising re-
sults. One of them is the use of
solvent deodorants combined with
thermal foggers.
But there is a second type of
fogger called a "wet fogger,
which works by breaking a
water-based chemical solu-
tion into an ultra-fne mist of
particles several microns in size.
Wet foggers leave a wet residue,
so you don't want them anywhere
near books, documents or fles.
Contents pros are also taking
a good long look at the new "hy-
droxyl machines, chlorine dioxide
pouches (that some libraries are
now considering) and "dry vapor
(that is created using essential
oils). One of the advantages of the
dry vapor technology is that work-
ers can still remain in the building
while it is being used.
Some books can be restored
right on the premises, but others
need to be transported to an area
where they can't contaminate any
other articles around them and
they won't be contaminated by
other smoke damaged articles in
the home or offce.
Watch for a future article about
the "insider's secrets for pack-
ing, protecting
and transporting
smoke damaged
articles!
Smoke Damaged Books
(cont. from page 2)
Contents Solutions! may not be reproduced in whole or in part except by prior written permission of the
publishers. Contents Solutions is created each month by the research team at Total Contentz who are
solely responsible for its publication and the material contained within 2012.
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