TIL most tap water has way more chlorine than paper archives can handle

Ran across a study from the Library of Congress that said even trace chlorine in humidity-controlled rooms can speed up document decay by 40%. Has anyone else checked their restoration space's water source for this stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.robert5d ago

I feel you on this. You mentioned "trace chlorine in humidity-controlled rooms can speed up document decay by 40%" and that honestly made me stop and think. It's scary how something as small as the water we use to clean or humidify a space can eat away at things that are supposed to last forever. I've seen old letters in my own family that got crumbly and yellow way too fast, and now I'm wondering if it was the water in the house that did it. Makes you wonder if we should all be using distilled water around anything paper or old.

noahpark4d ago

Started using distilled water for my humidifier after noticing the same thing with some old books. Made a huge difference, the pages don't feel as brittle now.