3 Sep
2002
3 Sep
'02
6:54 p.m.
On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Kevin Schoedel wrote:
Most of the negatives were in plastic pages in binders, but not all. 99%
of those are now back in the possession of the family, so I won't be
having anything else to do with those. I've also already given them most
of the slides. About 75% of those had been in 12-14 filled Kodak 140
carousels, and most didn't get too wet. The rest of the slides were in
small cardboard boxes, though I doubt the family is going to clean them
properly. Also, I think all of the slides use a cardboard mount, so *all*
of them would have to be remounted after cleaning.
Of course, glass plate negatives should *never* be washed. Water will flat
out *ruin* them.
I'm glad wetting agents are inexpensive. I realized a few days ago I left
30+ bottles of concentrated wetting agent in the dumpster, and I tossed
out another half dozen when I was sorting out other stuff.
-Toth
Ironically,
they also accidentally trashed 1000s and 1000s of photos,
slides, negatives (both plastic and glass plate), and home movies.
The slides and negatives are also subject to mold, since the emulsion is
made of yummy gelatin, and should be left out or hung up to completely
dry. The older ones are likely to be more vulnerable, since modern films
typically contain a fungicide, and I would guess that color film would
be more vulnerable than black-and-white. I still need
advice on unsticking/cleaning the home movie films, since
none were in water tight containers.
Put them in room-temperature flowing water (e.g. a sink or bathtub that
has an overflow drain, with the tap running) for about half an hour. A
minute before you take them out, add a *tiny* amount of dish detergent
-- dab your finger on the spout and rinse it off in the water -- or
better, get a bottle of wetting agent for about $3 from a camera shop
and add according to instructions. Unroll and hang up to dry; probably
the easiest cheap way to do this is on a series of plastic clothes
hangers on a shower curtain rail. Shortly before hanging up the film,
run the shower hot for a few minutes to help keep dust down. Leave to
dry at least 12 hours. (Obviously, try this out first with one
relatively unimportant film.)