Picture Credit: 139904
Books collect a lot of dust when you do not read them! It does not matter whether you suffer from allergies or not when storing books, it is important for everyone to observe several simple rules.
Why is it important to look after books?
An excellent solution to the problem of storing books can be an electronic device – and takes up little space, and does not cause allergies. But for many of us, every book is part of a large home library. How to be a collector who is important to keep a book in his hand, smell paper and rustle pages with rustling?
Home library can become a real pride, decoration of the interior and the subject of conversation. Only if its owner does not forget about how important it is to carefully store books. If you do not care for the collection, between the paper pages there will be dust, mites, mold spores and pollen, which will become a nightmare for an allergic person. And if the dust from the table can simply be wiped off with a damp cloth, then the books are all much more complicated.
What to look for when storing
Temperature and light. Keep the books at home so they do not collapse, you need at a temperature of 60 – 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Take care not to fall on them direct sunlight. Because of them, the paper will fade faster and deform.
Moisture and mold. If the book is a long time in a damp room or in a humid atmosphere, it is often affected by mold. Books with stains of mold should be urgently isolated from other books, thoroughly dried and disinfected. In no case should you try to wash the mold with a damp cloth – this will only make you worse. The mold can be treated with a two- or three-percent solution of formalin, and then removed with a cotton swab with hydrogen peroxide. After that, the book must be dried outdoors.
Distance between books. Do not put books too tightly to each other, leave room for air circulation. If the books are too close – the bindings, especially their bulging parts, may be damaged. Put books so that any of them can be easily removed. In addition, a dense arrangement can provoke the multiplication of microorganisms.
Distance between shelves. Leave at least three centimeters between the binding and the upper shelf. And do not put other copies on vertically standing books to save space.
Picture Credit: Marisa_Sias
Books on each other. Do not put books on top of each other in batches of more than ten pieces. This leads to deformation of the lower specimens.
Glass on the bookshelf. If you keep books at home behind the glass, do not forget to ventilate the shelves, wipe the dust and vacuum. In addition, now there is a special dust-collecting equipment, which removes most allergens in the most inaccessible places.
Restoration of the book. If you see that mold has appeared on your book or they are deformed – send it to the restoration. For a real collector, every copy is on the account!
Materials for storing books. If the shelves are out of stock and you decide to put the unwanted books in a box, do not use cardboard. Polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester are suitable for long-term storage. Wrap the most valuable books with polyethylene – so they will be less prone to damage.
Another rule that will help you keep books unchanged is quite simple. Be sure to wash your hands before reading! Oils that are on your hands can not only smudge the pages, but also speed up the aging of books.
Enjoy your reading!