Megan, Another issue with raw wool - other than what has already been mentioned - is that it outgasses sulphur which combines with the ambient RH in the air to form an acidic vapour - this can corrode metal artifacts, especially in a closed case microenvironment.
Cheers, Dave David Harvey Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant Los Angeles, CA On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 6:27 AM, Anne Lane <al...@charlottemuseum.org>wrote: > I recently found carpet beetles and larvae in some raw wool items that > were brought into our historic house. I looked at various ways to treat it, > and settled on “cooking” it in my home oven, since these were not artifacts > and it seemed the easiest way to handle the problem. Assuming other items in > your museum are not already infested, then getting rid of any existing > critters this way should prevent problems, especially if your exhibit spaces > are well sealed. > > > > Anne > > *ANNE T LANE, COLLECTIONS MANAGER* > > *THE CHARLOTTE MUSEUM OF HISTORY* > > *WHERE HISTORY HAS A HOME* > > 3500 Shamrock Drive > > Charlotte NC 28215 > > tel 704-568-1774, ext 110 > > fax 704-566-1817 > > *al...@charlottemuseum.org* > > > > *FEATURED EXHIBITS:* > > *Carolina Mountains - Photography of Margaret Morley* > > *Charlotte Stories - Our Collections, Your Treasures* > > > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* pestlist-ow...@museumpests.net [mailto: > pestlist-ow...@museumpests.net] *On Behalf Of *Megan Mcintosh > *Sent:* Friday, November 27, 2009 4:32 PM > *To:* pestl...@museumpests.com > *Subject:* [pestlist] Using Raw Wool in Exhibit Space > > > > We are developing an exhibit about the woollen manufacturing industry at a > small regional museum. We would like to include wool at various stages of > development, starting with raw wool, to show to visitors how the machines > process it. The curator is reluctant to use raw wool within the exhibit as > someone told him a few years ago that it would attract pests, (though > completed textile pieces are regularly displayed in the museum). Does anyone > have advice on what could be done to treat raw wool so that it would not > pose a threat to other artefacts in the space? If not, does anyone have > ideas on how to realistically recreate wool? > > > > Any input would be greatly appreciated. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > Megan McIntosh (Student) > > Algonquin College, Applied Museum Studies >
