Intermediate Collections Care 4 th November Wiltshire and Swindon - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Intermediate Collections Care

4th November Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

Agenda

10:50 Implementing an IPM system 11:15 RH, temperature and light 11:40 Tea/Coffee Break 12:00 Identifying pests and their damage - Practical 12:30 Using and interpreting environmental monitoring - Practical 13:00 LUNCH 13:30 Museum Housekeeping 14:00 Packing museum objects 14:30 Tea/Coffee Break 14:50 Cleaning museum objects - Practical 15:20 Specialist packing for delicate items - Practical 16:00 Q&A with objects and archive conservators 16:20 Session Feedback 16:30 CLOSE

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

A holistic approach to the prevention of pest infection.

• Requires active participation by all staff members
• Time and energy to monitor and control
• Modifying normal practices

Prevents an infestation occurring, rather than dealing with the aftermath.

Museum Pests

Museum Pests

Birds Rodents Insects Mould Bats

Pest Damage

Woodworm damage Moth damage

Silverfish damage Mouse damage

Bird droppings Bat droppings Mould

Insects

Not all insects are bad for a museum flies lady birds spiders caterpillars Do not eat the museum collection

• Indicate poor household management
• Once caught in traps provide food for other insects which may

be damaging to collections

Implementing IPM

Full staff engagement

• Training of staff and volunteers who are actively in the gallery spaces

day-to-day

Procedures

• Quarantine
• When an infestation is spotted
• Food and drink in the museum

Data Collection

• Data needs to be collected and interpreted!

Implementing IPM – first year

• Set up traps and mark location on a floor plan
• Monitor your pest traps monthly
• Build up a database of every room and the monthly pest count
• Train all staff in pest damage and identification
• End of year – interpret data results
• Identify areas of high pest activity
• Identify types of pest in the museum
• Decide which areas of the museum require most monitoring
• Set up a monitoring schedule (and stick to it)

Blunder traps Pheromone traps

Insect monitoring with traps

Location of traps

• Edges of rooms, particularly underneath display cases.
• Window sill and door ways
• Fire places
• Every room in the museum

Each trap location should be numbered and located on a museum floor plan. Allows for interpretation of data. Bat cages round blunder traps if you have bats

Insect monitoring

Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Very little insect activity Larvae will begin to hatch and eat Watch for insect holes and frass Flying insects noticeable. Webbing and insect cases on objects Insects and pest begin to die as weather gets colder

Insect monitoring

• Check traps at least four times a year (once a season) and

record what you have found

• Use your previous data to locate areas of the museum which

are high or low risk, low risk traps can be checked less often than those in high risk areas

• Check more regularly if possible between May and July
• Replace any traps that have insects caught on them or if over a

year old

If you find insects

• Isolate the affected objects immediately
• Check surrounding objects
• If you think an object might be infested treat it as if it is until

confirmed otherwise

• Check your blunder traps
• Deal with possible sources of infestation as soon as possible

Infestation treatment - freezing

Treatment

• Fill any gaps around the object with acid

free tissue

• Wrap the object in plastic twice
• Place in freezer at -20°C to -40°C
• At least 1 week
• Can double freeze to ensure eggs are

killed

• Vacuum the object to remove traces of

infestation

Infestation treatment - anoxia

• For large or fragile items that wont fit or

survive freezing treatments

• An airtight environment created around

the object – Barrier film

• Oxygen absorbers are used to

chemically trap all the oxygen in the environment

• Treatment is measured with ageless

eyes

Infestation treatment – Thermo Lignum

• For large or fragile items that

wont fit or survive freezing treatments

• Large numbers of items

requiring treatment

• Can be used to treat an

entire building

• Temperature raised to 56˚C

but RH maintained level

Infestation treatment - Chemicals

• Constrain – water based non toxic

insecticide

• Do not use directly on objects
• This is to treat the area, storage and

display cases where an infestation has been found as a protective measure.

Mould

• Mould spores are always present in the air
• After flood items will become mouldy within 2-3 days

Treatment

• If mould found in storage highly likely it will return, controlled RH

and good housekeeping are your best solution

• Mould should be removed from the offending object – brushed

down outside or treated with 50:50 water and IMS (by a conservator)

• Wear respiratory masks – mould has an accumulative effect.

Other Infestations

• Stop up access for rodents and birds
• Use traps or pest control companies if needed
• Avoid putting poison bait down
• Remove caught animals quickly

– they will encourage further pests and infestation

• If bats are present do not disturb them. Get advice from the Bat

Conservation Trust

Environmental monitoring

RH and Temperature – recap

RH = relative humidity The amount water vapour in the air as a percentage of the total water vapour the air can hold at any particular temperature. RH and temperature are indirectly proportional to each

• ther.

When the RH reaches 100% this is called dew point.

Temp = RH Temp = RH

RH and Temperature – recap

Safe RH ranges for materials (PAS 198 standards)

MATERIAL TEMPERATURE RELATIVE HUMIDITY paper, prints, watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, 5°C - 25°C 30-60% photographs 5°C - 20°C 20-50% textiles 5°C - 25°C 30-60% leather, horn, bone, ivory, wood 5°C - 20°C 35-60% (2) ferrous metals 5°C - 30°C less than 18% non-ferrous metals 5°C - 30°C less than 30% glass 5°C - 30°C 40-60% ceramics, stone, plaster 5- 30°C 40-60% wax 13°C - 20°C 30-60%

Factors affecting RH

In a closed system the only thing to affect RH is temperature:

• completely air tight display case!

In an open system factors include:

Weather Sources of ventilation People – numbers of visitors Cleaning schedule

RH changes in objects

Identify the problem before changes in RH damage objects:

RH - monitoring

Your greatest weapon in controlling RH is knowledge and data!

Annual data Seasonal change Weekly data Weather events Daily data Cleaning routines? Daily heating or opening hours? First Goal Eliminate extremes Second Goal Stabilise the RH

RH - Thermohygrographs

Electric

All monitoring devices will require calibration annually.

Hair

Controlling RH – display cases

Hygrometric half-time

Time taken to halve the difference between an internal and external humidity.

A well sealed display case reduces the hygrometric half- time and creates a ‘micro-environment’ Use silica gel in cases containing metals Buffering materials – wood, fabric, Artzorb

Controlling RH – Gallery spaces

Passive measures: Turn the heating up or down Close doors, external and internal Floor mats at front entrance and coat racks Active measures: Dehumidifiers or Humidifiers Insulation and draft proofing Blinds and drawn curtains (solar heat gain)

Light - recap

Visible light 200 Lux:

• Oil and tempera paintings
• undyed leather
• horn, bone and ivory
• riental lacquer

50 Lux:

• Textiles and costumes; tapestries;

watercolours; prints and drawings; manuscripts; miniatures; wallpapers; gouache; dyed leather; botanical specimens, fur and feathers.

UV – ultra violet light Highest energy light waves – cause the most damage No allowance for UV light in a museum

Light – Allowances

Visible light 200 Lux: 50 Lux:

UV – ultra violet light Highest energy light waves – cause the most damage No allowance for UV light in a museum

• Textiles and

costumes;

• watercolours;
• prints and drawings;
• manuscripts;
• wallpapers;
• gouache;
• dyed leather;
• botanical specimens,

fur and feathers.

• Oil and tempera paintings
• undyed leather
• horn, bone and ivory
• riental lacquer

Light – measurements and allowances

Annual Light Dose – lux hours

(Based on 52 weeks – 6 days / wk, 7 hours / day )

Where the max is 200 Lux, this equates to: 450, 000 Lux hours Where the max is 50 Lux, this equates to: 100, 000 Lux hours

Electric spot reader Blue wool scale

Light – damage

• Causes accumulative damage – no going back
• Fading
• Plastics and resins – crosslinking and deterioration
• Textiles – hardening and weakening of fibres

Light – Controls

UV films on windows – cheap and long lasting, up to 10 years Light bulbs which don’t emit UV – a little more expensive (LEDs are good) If bulbs which don’t emit UV light are too expensive can you put UV filters on your lamp shades – particularly for fluorescent lights Move your lights away from your objects, don’t store light sensitive

• bjects in direct sunlight.

Tea and Coffee break!

Practical sessions

Conservation lab: Pest identification Display & Graphics: Environmental monitoring and interpretation

Lunch 13:00 – 13:30

Museum Housekeeping

Museum Housekeeping

Aim of Museum Housekeeping Reduce the level of cleaning required for objects Cleaning objects is bad for them Dust is abrasive and its removal – no matter how gentle will cause surface abrasion

Zonation

Display case Heat loss and gain Exterior room Exterior room interior room

Zonation

Zone 3 Zone 1 Zone 2

Building Maintenance – Zone 1

• A badly maintained building can cause problems for the

collection

• If maintenance is not the museums responsibility report any

problems with explanations of potential damage to objects.

• Protect your collections during building and maintenance work
• Regularly inspect the building for any problems
• Schedule regular tasks such as clearing out gutters

Dust

• Creates a hygroscopic layer covering

the surface of the object. Particularly bad for metals as water increases corrosion

• Dust and dirt can penetrate and stick

to soft surfaces - plastics, varnished

• r painted surface
• Made up of organic materials dust

will attract pests to objects

Dust Monitoring

• To locate the main sources of dust in

your museum

• Use double sided tape on a slide
• Place monitor in various locations

around the museum where it will not be disturbed

• Analyse the surface of the tape under

a microscope

Reducing dust levels

Less dust means objects at lower risk and can be cleaned less frequently Eliminate dust sources

• Mats at the entrance to the museum
• Move objects away from visitor routes, dust decreases by

50% for every 0.5m you move away from a visitor route.

• Paint or varnish all exposed plaster or concrete surfaces

Filter air Air filtration/conditioning units Inside display cases or sealed rooms only

Housekeeping

• Regular cleaning to remove excess dust and dirt, or organic

matter attractive to pests

• A deep clean should be undertaken periodically to remove dirt

from difficult to reach areas

• Use vacuum cleaners with HVAC filters not brushes

Cleaning the Museum

• Create a housekeeping schedule to make sure all tasks get

done

• Regular vacuuming and dusting to avoid build up of dirt
• Microfiber cloths to pick up dust
• Frequent cleaning of door mats and entrance areas
• Avoid untested chemical cleaners and polishes
• Use Kleenmaster Brillianize Cleaner for Perspex cases and C49

Glaze for glass cases

• Avoid mopping floors or using steam cleaners as this will affect

humidity

Putting to Bed

• If you have a closed period you can

protect displays by putting them to bed

• Pack away items on open display or make

dust covers for them

• Close shutters and curtains to protect light

sensitive items

• Use the closed period to do deep cleaning

and maintenance

Packaging techniques Matching the packaging to the object

Large objects

Specialist made crates

Packing for transport

Dry boxing – Archaeological metals

Box making

Conservation Lab

Object cleaning

Display and graphics Specialist Packing

Practical sessions

Cleaning Objects

Cleaning Objects

• Do not clean collection items more often than necessary
• Some items may need to be cleaned once or twice a year

particularly if on open display

• Use the appropriate method for the type of object. Contact a

conservator for advice on assessing the stability of an object and appropriate cleaning methods

• Do not clean an item if you are not sure of how best to do so
• Robust items can be cleaned using the brush and vacuum

method

Brush and Vacuum Method

• Check the object is in sound enough condition to be cleaned

this way

• Use a low powered vacuum cleaner with variable suction
• Put a piece of net over the vacuum cleaner nozzle to avoid any

loose fragments being lost

• Use a brush soft enough not to damage the object and cover

the ferrule (the metal band holding the bristles in place) with masking tape

• Use the vacuum cleaner to catch the dust as you brush it off the
• bject
• Use the vacuum cleaner on its lowest effective setting and do

not touch the object with it

Q&A

Gabrielle Flexer – Objects conservator Sebastian Foxley – Objects conservator Sarah Volter – Archive conservator

End of session