Tool Talk
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Twilight Fenrir on November 10, 2017, 04:35:06 AM
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I have a vintage piece of machinery, and recently I rescued the owners manual from a storage place where it was covered in mouse excrement... The manual is in good shape, but I feel filthy just touching it, lol
I'd like to clean it, as I need it for reference, but obviously bleaching it isn't an option..
Right now, I'm thinking about tossing it in my oven at 250° F for an hour or two. I've got a guinea pig book I'll experiment with to make sure it won't damage the ink/paper. But this is the only thing I can come up with...
Any input or other suggestions?
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Is it just the covers and maybe the page edges that are dirty? If so, I would wipe it off with some kind of spray cleaner, Mr.Clean or Windex. I'd lightly spray the wiping rag, not the manual. If the inner parts of the manual are nasty that may take a lot more work.
I would still want to clean it after the oven treatment. I don't think mouse poop is as toxic as it is gross.
Al
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Don't think I would use an oven. Likely to make the paper brittle, even at low temperature. How about a light dry wipe. Then the light cleanser wipe. Then put fabric softener sheets between the pages and weight it flat for a fortnight.
I don't think any of this could hurt.
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I would look for some disinfecting wipes at the drug store and use those. You don't need to saturate the paper, just a good cleaning to get rid of ?? stuff.
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Hard cover or soft?
oven outside not for food?
keep the cats away!
Sunshine and time is good to rid the smell!
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Some say you can put it a sealed container of CLEAN!!! kitty litter. Get it out every now to absorb all surfaces. Good sunshine also helps, but none of that til Spring.
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Sorry for delay...
It's paper all the way through, the cover is made out of the same paper the pages are, which is why I am hesitant to use alcohol, or vinegar...
Concern about the pages becoming brittle is why I asked instead of just doing it... I haven't thrown my Guinea Pig book in yet to see what effects a comparatively low temp would inflict...
No sunshine here now :P It's dark when I wake up, and dark when I get home...
Actually, maybe that's the way to go about it... I could wait for one of the below zero days and just set it outside... -40F should kill just about everything :P
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if it is a smaller publication it may be more practical to photocopy or photograph it and keep the original in a sealed bag.
I would copy it through document protectors after taking all the precautions to prevent contamination.
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i would bomb through it with aerosal disinfectant spray (from a far enough distance) and bag it up for a few days in a plastic bag.
Then set it out.