I thought I would pass this information on since many throughout Iowa and the Midwest are dealing with flooding.....
The place to start is with photos you know have no negatives available or where the negatives also got wet. These are the images at greatest risk for permanent loss. Be aware that older and historic photos made with a thicker paper base may not be salvageable, but slow and careful work can save some of these, too.
Take your time. Photos that have been waterlogged for more than a day or two can expand and soften. The image side (the photo emulsion) is a gelatin coating on a paper backing and can be easily scratched, so use care and avoid touching the wet image. Gently separate those photos that will come apart easily.
Keep photos wet until you have them cleaned and separated. Stacked photos or photos in albums will stick to each other as they dry out. They may evenbe kept in a plastic container of cold, clean water for a day or two as you work through the stacks.
Remove any photos that are in photo albums and dispose of the albums. If there are stacks of photos stuck together, you can soak them in clean, warm water to help loosen them. It may take several hours of soaking to get the stack separated. Use great care so that you don't rub or scratch the image.
Gently rinse each photo in clear water. Make sure to get booth sides to help ensure the best chance of preventing mold and mildew. Adding a wetting agent like Kodak's PhotoFlo to a plastic bucket for a second rinse can help water spots.
After the print is rinsed, lay it flat, image side up, on a paper towel to dry. Try to use only non-printed white paper towels to prevent transfer of any inks onto your photos. Change the towelling every four to five hours to help speed drying time.
If some photos begin to curl, weigh down the corners with small objects such as shot glasses or forks and spoons. Just be careful to avoid contact with the image.
Dry your prints indoors. You are looking for a slower drying time, so don't use a hair dryer. Fast drying may cause the photos to curl, resulting in cracks when you try to lay them out flat again.
If you have photos in frames, take them out while they are still soaking wet -- otherwise, the image side of the print will stick to the glass. If you have a print that has stuck to the glass, your best chance of rescuing it is to hold both the glass and photo under running water and let the water run between the print and the glass to encourage separation.
There are a few chemicals available that can remove mold or mildew from prints. They don't remove the stains, they do kill the biological culture to prevent further spread into the image.
If there isn't a chance to work on your photos right away, gently remove any mud or debris from your images. Rinse and stack them between layers of waxed paper. Once you have a bundle of stacked prints, put it into a resealable bag.
If a functioning freezer is available, put the bagged photos in it. The bundles may be defrosted later for cleaning and air drying.
To assure a better chance of survival in the future, have duplicates made of all your family photos and keep them in different locations -- or even different cities.
You also can have your images scanned onto CD-ROMs to store the photos.
Stu Eddins, who operates Porter's Camera, 224 Collins Road NE, worked in Des Moines during the 1993 flood, where he and co-workers had to rescue many waterlogged photos. Through trial and error and research, he compliled these tips for saving family photographs damaged by water. Porter's Camera will scan up to 200 rescued images and burn them to a CD for anyone affected by the flood at no cost. You can contact Stu at 319-373-0658 or stu@porters.com.
Copyright 2008 - The Gazette (article featured in the June 16, 2008 issue on page 8B)
