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Emergency response for flooded documents:
The goal of this advice on handling flooded documents is
to preserve the information on the printed page long enough for scanning to take
place after which the document my be destroyed. If you have rare maps and
documents that must be recovered or restored and not simply scanned then call us
for additional advice.
Emergency response to recover flood or fire damaged
facility drawings, maps, books, and files: that have water or flood damage:
- Needless to say, wet
paper is very fragile; carefully handle water damaged drawings, books and
documents to avoid further damage.
- Gently water wash
documents to remove excess dirt and mud, only if necessary. Hand pumped weed
sprayers from a local garden shop are very useful for this.
- Do not attempt to
separate pages of wet material unless bleeding of ink is occurring as with
blueprints. If bleeding of inks is occurring then place plastic, acetate or
butcher paper between pages.
Prepare for shipping:
- Flat or hanging (stick
racks) water damaged materials need to be supported and kept flat.
- Place documents onto a
sturdy pallet but not directly. Separate groups of bound documents from the
palate and from each with layers of cardboard.
- Place rolled water
damaged materials vertically in tall lined boxes or mover’s speed packs.
- If the documents are in
a flat drawer or file cabinet then leave them there. Stack the drawers by
alternating the file fronts onto a pallet. Shrink wrap the pallet to
stabilize for shipping. When materials are stored in architectural files or
drawers:
- 1) Remove the drawer
from the water damaged unit and stack by alternating the drawer
fronts.
- 2) Stretch/shrink wrap
in place on dolly or pallet.
- If drying or scanning
cannot begin within 48hours of documents being removed from water then wet
documents should be frozen, to inhibit mold and bacteria growth.
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Scanning 
