Water damaged comic and possible mold/mildew contamination...

[nocutename]

I am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone can help. I purchased some Dollar Detective Comics issues from the late 70's off of someone getting rid of their collection. I received the books from the mail and I tend to re-bag and board them. However, I did not have those size bags so I just boarded them with new boards since they are only bagged.

While doing so, I normally flip through the books to see the general condition. All looks good and the smell is musty but I don't really smell anything foul. I get to the last book and there is water damage. See link to pictures:

Interior Page Cover

I emailed the seller and he told me that some of his comics in the 70's did have water damage and that this is old damage so it should not worsen. I asked how they were stored because I could not understand why I only see damage on one comic. He told me that they were stacked about 50-75 high so the bottom of the stack received the damage. I don't really see any spine rolls that may support that story though. And the one with water damage does not appear to be that old. I would suspect some more yellowing or something, but I am new to comics and never have encountered this problem.

I started reading a couple last night and they do have a heavy musty smell that lingers. I also noticed a few brown spots in the paper on one issue and was wondering if that could be mold.

I have in the past unknowingly purchased a set of comics that had a mold problem and the smell was very vinegary and was strong. I may notice a hint of that with these but I am not sure if I looking for something to be wrong. Right now I have a couple of issues on my computer desk with me and I can smell the books, but again it’s a musty smell.

I love these books and did get them cheap but am not too sure if I should keep them or not and where to store them. I did read on this forum ways to remove the musty smell with baking soda. I am willing to try that.

After this very long post, these are my questions:

 

1) How do I really tell if there is mold/mildew present in these books?

2) Knowing that the seller's collection was exposed to water damage, would you risk purchasing any more books from him?

3) If they were stored like the seller said then whats the risk that the other books are infected as well. Thank you for all your help.

[comicdonna]

I am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone can help. I purchased some Dollar Detective Comics issues from the late 70's off of someone getting rid of their collection. I received the books from the mail and I tend to re-bag and board them. However, I did not have those size bags so I just boarded them with new boards since they are only bagged.

 

While doing so, I normally flip through the books to see the general condition. All looks good and the smell is musty but I don't really smell anything foul. I get to the last book and there is water damage. See link to pictures: http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb173/nocutename/inter2.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb173/nocutename/cover.jpg

 

I emailed the seller and he told me that some of his comics in the 70's did have water damage and that this old damage so it should not worsen. I asked how they were stored because I could not understand why I only see damage on one comic. He told me that they were stacked about 50-75 high so the bottom of the stack received the damage. I don't really see any spine rolls that may support that story though. And the one with water damage does not appear to be that old. I would suspect some more yellowing or something, but I am new to comics and never have encountered this problem.

 

I started reading a couple last night and they do have a heavy musty smell that lingers. I also noticed a few brown spots in the paper on one issue and was wondering if that could be mold.

 

I have in the past unknowingly purchased a set of comics that had a mold problem and the smell was very vinegary and was strong. I may notice a hint of that with these but I am not sure if I looking for something to be wrong. Right now I have a couple of issues on my computer desk with me and I can smell the books, but again it’s a musty smell.

 

I love these books and did get them cheap but am not too sure if I should keep them or not and where to store them. I did read on this forum ways to remove the musty smell with baking soda. I am willing to try that.

 

After this very long post, these are my questions:

 

1) How do I really tell if there is mold/mildew present in these books?

 

2) Knowing that the seller's collection was exposed to water damage, would you risk purchasing any more books from him?

 

3) If they were stored like the seller said then whats the risk that the other books are infected as well.

 

Thank you for all your help.

Welcome to the boards!

 

If the books have a musty smell, I would say that the books do have mold/mildew.

 

I would not purchase any more books from him.

 

Probably all of the books are affected in some way.

[Ogami]

welcome to the boards!

 

 

cute name, by the way.

 

you will get far better technical answers than mine, but just to say old damage won't hurt you too much. Just keep them in their own mylars or polys, their own boards, never cross contaminate them, and determine your level of comfort with keeping them. If they fall within your level of desirability, don't worry too much about them.

 

 

[Schmakt]

if you put some microchamber paper in them, it should help lessen the smell. (I think...)

[nocutename]

Thanks, comicdonna.

 

I always though it was a vingery type smell that indicated a problem. Comics do tend have an old smell to them. I am sadly thinking about not purchasing anymore books from him either. I kinda hate to return these to him because they took awhile to find all the dollar issues at a cheap price.

 

Do you have any suggestions about storage, i.e. should I segregate them from the rest of my collection?

[nocutename]

welcome to the boards!

 

 

cute name, by the way.

 

you will get far better technical answers than mine, but just to say old damage won't hurt you too much. Just keep them in their own mylars or polys, their own boards, never cross contaminate them, and determine your level of comfort with keeping them. If they fall within your level of desirability, don't worry too much about them.

 

 

Thanks for the advise. The books are in great condition so its a shame. The musty smell actually did not bother me while I was reading them. But I have some of them on my desk right now and my nose is starting to itch a bit.

[Ogami]

welcome to the boards!

 

 

cute name, by the way.

 

you will get far better technical answers than mine, but just to say old damage won't hurt you too much. Just keep them in their own mylars or polys, their own boards, never cross contaminate them, and determine your level of comfort with keeping them. If they fall within your level of desirability, don't worry too much about them.

 

 

Thanks for the advise. The books are in great condition so its a shame. The musty smell actually did not bother me while I was reading them. But I have some of them on my desk right now and my nose is starting to itch a bit.

 

most low to mid grade collector's and even a couple of high grade collector's have a few smelly books,

 

It won't kill you (unless it does, in which case my above comments are nonbinding in a nonmedical, nonprofessional, legal disclaimer sort of way).

[MR.COMICBOOK]

welcome to the boards!

 

 

cute name, by the way.

 

you will get far better technical answers than mine, but just to say old damage won't hurt you too much. Just keep them in their own mylars or polys, their own boards, never cross contaminate them, and determine your level of comfort with keeping them. If they fall within your level of desirability, don't worry too much about them.

 

 

Thanks for the advise. The books are in great condition so its a shame. The musty smell actually did not bother me while I was reading them. But I have some of them on my desk right now and my nose is starting to itch a bit.

Go to this thread, you will find plenty of lovers of that old musty mold smell of comicbooks, I am sure you will find a buyer thier.

lovers of old musty moldy smelly comic books

 

[nocutename]

Go to this thread, you will find plenty of lovers of that old musty mold smell of comicbooks, I am sure you will find a buyer thier.

lovers of old musty moldy smelly comic books

 

Thanks for the link, it was a fun read. I not looking for a seller. I came to this forum by way of removing musty smell from comics topic. BTW, I left you a message on that other thread

[nocutename]

Does anyone have any experience with water damage comics? I am not sure how to store it, etc. There are two pics of the comic in my original post.

[Domo Arigato]

 

There are two pics of the comic in my original post.

Cover

 

Interior page

 

[rodan57]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

[nocutename]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

 

That's what I am having trouble determining is difference between the two scents. But I honestly don't think that normal old comic smell is strong enough to infiltrate the nostral canal from a foot away.

 

I buying baking soda tomorrow!

[rodan57]

If you can smell the book from 6" away...

[JvR11]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

 

Do you think contamination can happen between Mylars?

[nocutename]

If you can smell the book from 6" away...

 

I did not notice how strong the odor was when I was boarding them or even as I was reading them. However, I put them away and the smell sorta lingered a bit. This morning I had them on my computer desk and that's when I really noticed that there is definitely some funk going on here. The books are in great condition though. Like I mentioned before, I have some bad experience with smelly books and these are tame compared to those. I have no luck getting books on line.

 

So now I have to decide if I want to return them or not.

 

[nocutename]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

 

Do you think contamination can happen between Mylars?

 

Anything I have read about mold/mildew contaminated books state that they should be stored away from your other comics. While I am making light of my situtation, it is not a laughing matter. If you have suspect books you should never store them with your other books.

 

I just with they had a some type of testing strip to see if there was mold/mildew present. Why don't they have that?

 

[JvR11]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

 

Do you think contamination can happen between Mylars?

 

Anything I have read about mold/mildew contaminated books state that they should be stored away from your other comics. While I am making light of my situtation, it is not a laughing matter. If you have suspect books you should never store them with your other books.

 

I just with they had a some type of testing strip to see if there was mold/mildew present. Why don't they have that?

 

Yea, I'm still unsure about when mold/mildew is present vs just a plain smelly book. If you don't see warping or any indication of wetness or mold then I have no clue.

[nocutename]

There's old comic smell and then there's musty. Any mold is a bad thing. Spores go into hibernation when dry but they don't die...and spores can contaminate.

 

Do you think contamination can happen between Mylars?

 

Anything I have read about mold/mildew contaminated books state that they should be stored away from your other comics. While I am making light of my situtation, it is not a laughing matter. If you have suspect books you should never store them with your other books.

 

I just with they had a some type of testing strip to see if there was mold/mildew present. Why don't they have that?

 

Yea, I'm still unsure about when mold/mildew is present vs just a plain smelly book. If you don't see warping or any indication of wetness or mold then I have no clue.

 

That is one of my initial questions. My first encounter with contaminated books was that some of the comics had rusty staples. I noticed that first and the smell even while faint had a vingery sour smell. My books now I think I detect that note but I am not sure if I am being cynical about the books because of the water damage. I would suggest that you bring couple of books that you believe may be infested to your LCS. They should know right off the bat.

 

Does water damage = mold/mildew? Anyone? I really have no experience with water damage. Thank you,

[Comicdey]

I'd spray it with clorox