This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to pestlist@museumpests.net To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- I believe that many institutions keep the things they've frozen in the bags. Given the use of collections, there may be no good reason to go through the time and trouble of handling things, and the plastic bags will keep bugs out as well as dust and gaseous pollutants, at least for a while.
I know that we chronic worriers (conservators, registrars, and collection managers) are always looking for potential damage, but there are a lot of things that aren't as bad as we might think. RH issues often seem troublesome, but when a hygroscopic item takes up most of the space in a plastic bag, the controlling moisture is the moisture content of the item, not the RH of the air. Likewise, I think, with the possibility of thermal shock; it's a highly unlikely problem. It would help us if we could get reassurance about potential problems that , so far, turn out OK. Here's what I think we should do: make a concerted effort to report any damage we have observed on this list, along with reports of large-scale treatments - heat, cold, and anoxia - what kinds of objects were involved, and what the outcome was. Maybe someone can figure out a way to incorporate such a thing on Museumpests.net. I would guess that this dist list includes a large proportion of the people who do this work and who make the effort to examine the things after they have been treated. The information shared in this group is huge, and we should figure out as many ways as possible of making it usable. We need to know as much about good outcomes as bad ones. Barbara Appelbaum On Aug 23, 2012, at 8:49 PM, Neil Carey wrote: > This is a message from the Museumpests List. > To post to this list send it as an email to pestlist@museumpests.net > To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. > ----------------------------------------------------------- > Since implementing IPM a month ago, we've been successfully freezing our > ethnographic collection of mostly wooden African pieces, many with textile, > feather, or metal attachments, at -30c. Thanks to the group for all their > valuable input. > > However, I don't recall any discussion about controlling the defrost cycle. > Are there any special considerations? Off hand, I can think of the > possibility of mold growth if an object is kept double wrapped in > polyethylene after defrosting, despite being wrapped in tissue paper. Am I > overly paranoid? Just how long should a controlled defrost take? Must the > object be removed immediately? If not, how long can it go heat sealed in > bags? It's not like anoxic treatment where a piece can just be kept inside > its polypropylene bag forever. Any input? > > Neil Carey > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To send an email to the list, send your msg to pestlist@museumpests.Net > > To unsubscribe from this list send an email to pestlist@museumpests.net and > in the subject put: > "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. > > You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. > To change to the DIGEST mode send an > email to imail...@museumpests.net with this command in the body: > > set mode digest pestlist > > Any problems email l...@collectionpests.com or l...@zaks.com > Appelbaum & Himmelstein 444 Central Park West New York, NY 10025 212-666-4630 (voice) 212-316-1039 (fax) aa...@mindspring.com website: aandhconservation.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to pestlist@museumpests.Net To unsubscribe from this list send an email to pestlist@museumpests.net and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to imail...@museumpests.net with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email l...@collectionpests.com or l...@zaks.com
