How to get mould off books
Bag and isolate the books, take them outside, keep or bin, clean covers and the shelf, then dry the room. First Light is for hard covers and timber shelves you can safely wipe, not for soaking pages. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact.
The usual scene is a closed Australian bookshelf on an exterior wall, or boxes in a spare room after a wet week.
Keep the book, or let it go
Foxing is not always active mould. Books that are wet-through, fused, or crumbling should go. A smell that stays in a sealed box is a sign the stack is still damp.
Clean the cover and the shelf, not the paper stack
Wear protection and work outdoors. Do not dry-brush spores in the house. Spot-test a hard cover. Do not pour oil into a book.
Treat the shelf, not the paper
First Light on hard covers and on the timber shelf, after a spot-test. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact. The Protection Kit is for the still room that caused it. Free standard shipping. 60-day money-back.
Shop First Light, from A$39.99 Shop the Protection Kit, from A$79.98
The shelf that caused it
Pull the unit forward off a cold wall. If the wall is mouldy, use how to get rid of mould on walls. The bookshelf as furniture is mould on wood furniture.
Questions people ask
Can you save a mouldy book?
Sometimes, if the pages are still sound and you dry it out of the house. Books that are wet-through, fused or crumbling should go.
Can I wipe the pages with First Light?
Do not soak paper. Use First Light on hard covers and on the shelf. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact. Pages need a dry, conservative clean, or a conservator.
Why do books go mouldy on one wall?
The wall is colder and the shelf is closed. Pull it forward and dry the room.
Aurala is a Gold Coast business. Shop First Light or shop the Protection Kit.
