Water damage / paper drying after water damage
Water damage occurs when archival and library materials are exposed to water (e.g., in the case of burst water pipes, flooding or fire extinguishing water). Even brief exposure to water can cause sticking of the paper and warping of the binding.
Water damage requires immediate action to limit subsequent damage. Therefore, all affected materials must be frozen as soon as possible. We can:
- Assess affected materials for extent and degree of damage
- Participate in the coordination of salvage work or carry out the salvage with our own staff
- Freeze in our cold storage at – 20°C
- Provide freeze-drying (for archival and library materials)
- Provide vacuum heat drying (for office records)
- After drying, analyse the condition and make treatment suggestions
- Carry out any necessary cleaning work, replacing damaged folders, archive boxes, etc.
- Carry out necessary restoration work
- Provide return transport and storage in the stack
Downloads:
Read our leaflet “Water damage and its treatment” here (PDF, 57 KiB)
You can find information on precautionary measures and what to do in the event of an accident in our “Precautionary measures” section.