[BCMA] Moth Balls Smell

Thu Jul 14 14:02:32 PDT 2022

Hello Lewis,

Moth ball smell is pretty difficult to get out of clothing. If you have an area outside in the shade where you can hang the pieces, that is probably your best options. I have heard of conservation labs creating a box with an air suction device to help air out objects. I think it took a few weeks running almost constantly to remove the smell. Sadly there is no quick easy solution.
If you do hang them outside do a pest check and put them in the freezer for 2 days to kill anything that might be living in them.

I will say the off gassing smell is harmful when breathed in over a long period of time so I would bag them up until you have a place to air them out. This will also prevent the smell from binding to other objects in your collection.

I know our museum really thinks twice about accepting anything that has a mothball smell. It is unfortunate when you have to weigh the importance of the objects against the risk to staff and the rest of the collection, but sometimes it is better to throw some objects away.

Good luck!

Thank you / way̓ limləmt,
Nikki Bose

[nbose]

From: Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv <listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca<mailto:listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca>>
Date: July 14, 2022 at 12:40:02 PM PDT
To: BCMA List <listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca<mailto:listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca>>
Subject: [BCMA] Moth Balls Smell
Reply-To: listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca<mailto:listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca>
 Hello gang.

Here at HAMM we just received an amazing donation of military history.  Rick James (the author) has donated his father’s sea chest filled with clothing documents, souvenirs, etc from the Second World War and up through the 60s.

We are going to catalog them and prepare them for storage while leaving the digital image on an interactive screen.

However, the person who packed this chest away for so long has put in some moth balls which permeate the museum with that smell.

Is there a way to de-mothball an object without hanging it outside on the line for the rest of the summer?

at your service,

Lewis Bartholomew
Founder & Executive Director

mrbarth at alberniproject.org<mailto:mrbarth at alberniproject.org>

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