 Ms. Susan Barger from the FAIC. Susan please go ahead and begin whenever you're ready. Hi everyone. I just want to welcome you and say we're really happy to have you. We're really pleased that we could do this webinar on textiles because we haven't done very little on textiles. So I hope you enjoy it. Remember if you have any questions please put them into the box here on the left-hand side of the screen. If you need questions about collections care you can always go to the Connecting to Collections Care website and put questions in the community forum. You do need to be a registered member to do that and that just takes a few minutes and we don't we don't do anything with you. Our community website is connecting to collections.org. We're on Facebook. We're also on Twitter and you can also see we have over 80 past webinars that have been recorded since 2010 and those are also available on the website in the archives and they're also available for free and you can contact us anytime which means contact me. This is my email address and I'm happy to hear what you have to say. Good, bad, and different. And next week we're just having this webinar extravaganza. Next week we're having a webinar with Rebecca Elder on caring for artifacts found in archives collections and the following week we're having one on mannequins. So if you're interested in those please go ahead and sign up and we'll see you next week and the week after. Okay and now we're going to start today's webinar with Jane Hammett and Jane take it away. I'm going to unmute you. Okay, you can hear me? Yep, uh-huh. Oh perfect. Well I'm just happy to be here and I hope my presentation will be helpful for those of you working with small museums or historic house collections. I also think we should start with a special thank you to the foundation of to FAIC for funding this program and for the abundance of online support that they provide for small museums. I put together lots of slides and I'm going to speak from my notes hoping to offer a broad view of preventative conservation as it applies to the house museum as well as various considerations surrounding care of textiles within its walls. We'll have some time. Jane? Yes? Please speak up. All right let me try turning my volume up. Okay or get closer to the microphone and remember if you have any questions if you put them over into the box on the left hand side I'll grab them and I'll make sure that they get answered. Is this anymore? Is this an increase? Yes. Okay. I think it is. Okay, thank you. All right. So I am sorry folks this is the first webinar I've ever participated in so I am struggling with the technology here. Perfect. ICA or the Intermuseum Conservation Association as it was first known was founded in 1952 on the campus of Oberlin College by directors of six major museums as a conservation laboratory to treat their collections. In 2003 the ICA left Oberlin, Ohio and moved to the near west side of Cleveland and currently serves over a hundred individual and institutional members as well as private collectors, libraries, house museum and other non-member collecting institutions. We offer conservation services for paintings, textiles, objects and paper and our outreach educational services are available to anyone in need of information about our preservation at low or no cost. I'm fortunate to have been involved in the preservation and restoration efforts of a number of Ohio's historic houses over the last 20 years. Some of my projects have been large while funded full restoration endeavors and at one of my most recent involvements was a survey of textiles for a newly founded county historical society with only 16 members. House museums tell us about how people lived and what they accomplished and how they expressed themselves in their living spaces. All house museum collections are subject to the natural aging of their materials as well as to outside forces surrounding them. What conservators refer to as agents of deterioration. Often the integrity of house museums especially the small house is threatened by urban growth, increased pollution from traffic, security risks and loss of the historic neighborhood to commercial developments are man-made agents of deterioration. Some of these external conditions can have an impact on the interior environment as well. Disregarding these conditions can be disastrous. Without identifying and correcting structural breaches to the house external conditions will continue to undermine the internal environment of the house and its furnishings. UV radiation entering from windows can be filtered out with polyester-based films that adhere to the that reduce uh-oh. This is embarrassing but I just had my slides out of order. A routine interior exterior inspection might include examination of the roof looking for changes in the chimney flashing or water stains on soffit boards clogged or damaged gutters cracks and exterior walls and finishes can allow moisture to seep into the interior failing masonry can allow pests to enter the house. A visit from a local building inspector could be helpful in identifying structural problems and tailoring a checklist for your repairs. There is also the historic building assessment forum available as a PDF from the national park service website which is listed in the handouts for this program. I also want to present some of the risk textiles on open display are subjected to and how being exposed to uncontrolled environmental conditions can affect them. I've provided resources for self-study to help you put together both short and long term preservation plans for your textiles. Collections may include a variety of objects. You'll have interior furnishings, bedding, clothing, accessories, service and commemorative textiles, flags, toys, all sorts of personal items and most on open constant display. The combination of the manipulations of materials and textile objects is endless. Sown seams can weaken or rot under hot and humid conditions, linings of silk can shatter and fall away, hat brims can collapse exposing their wire frames, glazed and embossed fabric finishes, nap fabric such as velvet are all sensitive to moisture. Embroidery threads, metal hardware, antique plastic buttons are all especially sensitive to heat and humidity fluctuations. The role of preventative conservation is to diminish cumulative stresses to the object and to offset damages or loss of sensitive material. The goal of successful museum lighting is to reduce the length of time when objects exposed to light, reduce the intensity of that light and eliminate as much of the destructive portion of that spectrum as possible. Daylight is the most abundant source of light in a house museum with quantities of the light varying from time of day, geographic location and whatever the weather is on that given day. Incandescent bulbs are primarily the source of artificial light in houses as well as fluorescent lamps which are commonly used in display cases both are sources of UV radiation that's harmful to textile fibers and dyes. Ideally you want to present your interior settings as they were used and enjoyed by their occupants. It's a delicate balance to present a room in a realistic setting while preserving the collection and today's audience is demand a brighter view. Light is a significant cause of deterioration of textile collections. Its energy causes chemical reactions to dyes and fibers that lead to embrittlement and fading. UV radiation entering from windows can be filtered out with polyester based films that adhere to the glazing. These films don't reduce visible light unless they're tinted which may not be an acceptable look for a historic interior. Films are not permanent solutions because they have about a 10-year lifespan before they need to be replaced. In some cases UV filtering plastic sheets can be placed over existing glazing or hung by hooks from the window frame and used where films won't work. You should also consider updating your artificial light sources by replacing them with modern lamps that produce no heat or radiation. LED technology can offer us today better viewing experiences while drastically reducing heat and radiation output in cases. Many incandescent bulbs can be retrofitted to accept LED lights and the selection shown here is available at 1000bulbs.com but there are lots of antique shaped bulbs that are available online and through catalogs. Occupants of the old house knew light was harmful to their furnishings so they protected them with slip covers and drew drapes when the rooms weren't in use. The age old daily routine of cutting closing shoulders drawing the shades and protecting expensive upholstery with covers has been largely abandoned. Now rather than displaying historic interiors with light intentionally reduced the aesthetic has changed to interior rooms bathed in light and that brightness should flood into every space of the house. One solution to reducing light damage is to consider reintroducing some of these light controls that were used over 100 years ago or perhaps to interpret a bedroom or study in a nighttime setting creating the historic look of an evening at home. Textiles are most stable between 65 degrees and 75 degrees basically the temperatures at which we are most comfortable and those most easily maintained in the living spaces of the house. Elevated temperatures increase the rate of chemical reactions and fibers. It's been estimated that for every 9 degree drop in temperature the deterioration rate of a textile object is cut in half. Mold and mildew are terms used to describe a variety of fungi. There's four bearing microorganisms characterized by fuzzy growth and developed from microscopic pores carried in the air are already present on the textile itself. Before mold damage is visible in a textile there's often a musty odor present. For the spores to become active they have to have a food source in the right environment and most circumstances they appear in moist conditions where the relative humidity is 65 percent or higher and warm air absorbs more moisture. Textiles and leather are very susceptible to fungal attacks because there's such ready sources of nutrients. This paper humidity indicator is available from TALIS a conservation supply company which is listed in the resources portion of your handouts and the small inexpensive meter on the right is available at Home Depot for less than nine dollars. So these are affordable options for placing about the house and especially in areas where you can see visible presence and damages from moisture. The first look to any structural or plumbing plumbing problem that may be increasing moisture levels in rooms can give you all the solutions and directions you have to take. Bands and humidifiers can be added to move air and lower relative humidity in spaces. Curtains, shades, tended UV film can be added to windows to reduce heat caused by daylight in small areas including closets. Again there are numerous rent resources listed in your handouts for presenting and mitigating mold. Outdoor pollutants such as dust and pollen can easily circulate through the house through ventilation ducts or come in from open windows and doors. Dirt and dust can abrade fabric services when the fibers expand and contract with humidity. Dust can also hold moisture on the surface of an object leading to staining and speckling from mold or corrosion of metal threads and ornaments. Actually let me back up and just mention introduce the idea of a HEPA filtered vacuum which is important to have in the house. It's a device that will filter out most small even I think down to 0.3 microns of pollutants, mold, dust, bacteria. It's very effective at removing these pollutants from your objects but also not reintroducing them back into the house. Complete eradication of all past isn't very likely but you should inspect your furnished rooms, storage areas, and collection displays on a regular basis. Look for evidence of insect activity cast off parts, excrement from larva that appears as pottery clumps the same color as the textile. Also look for tiny black granular eggs on or below a textile and hairs extending from furs or pelt or evidence of shedding around the item. Wool, feathers, and leather at a higher risk for infestation. These items need to be inspected more frequently as a new generation of moss can appear as often as within a month. It's also another reason to carefully inspect and surface clean any new textile entering the collection. Food and drink spills, body fluids, all provide essential nutrients for insect larvae and they will chew through other inedible materials to get to a food source. Rodents tend to be nocturnal and secretive. Telltale signs are black droppings, a musky odor, and gnaw marks around entry points. Their droppings and urine can permanently stain textiles. Mice and rats and small animals usually damage textiles by chewing away materials for their nest. As they can carry serious viral diseases, they should be dealt with quickly and cautiously. Again, good housekeeping and awareness of entry points should greatly reduce any risk. In addition to sites in your handbook, you may also want to contact centers for these disease control and provincial websites. For insects, setting out and closed sticky traps and pheromone traps is critical to monitoring rooms. They're your best indicators of the type and number of pests in the house. Place them at entry points and at various heights on floors, shelves and window sills to get an idea of where they're coming in. Trap should be inspected weekly or monthly and the captives identified. A good insect reference guide is a must-have for your library. There are links within your handout, pest identification, or you can contact your state college entomology department. In addition to the most obvious just mentioned insects of moths, beetles, crickets, silverfish and roaches also feed on textile collections if the right conditions of nutrients are available. The assessment of your collection is really the first step in determining what your needs are and how they are being affected by the exhibition or storage environment. An organized work area is essential to really having a safe and thorough examination of your textile collection. If you don't have a space large enough in your storage area you can set up something within a display room, setting up some folding banquet tables, a dining room table that's properly covered and padded, and having your boxes and articles brought in and carefully placed around the room. First you want to practice on perfecting, you want to practice not perfecting your preservation methods but rehearsing them. A baseline record is your best reminder of any changes during conditions. Photo documentation is very important keeping records of conditions as you find them. Damages, label instructions, any special marks that would identify the piece. These can also be handy references later to use instead of actually having to handle the collection itself. Also within the folder is an assessment form which you can adapt and edit to fit whatever your own collection needs are. And as you're examining your collection and taking notes, take time to make note of any surface dirt or pollutants that may be on the textile that you don't want to put away with the garment. On the left is a micro tool attachment which is available from a number of conservation supply catalogs but also you can get them at OfficeMax and RadioShack, some of the computer supply stores. And with that is a square of hardware cloth screening which and in the very back of this little section of nylon tool which can be fitted into drapery hoops to place over delicate surfaces to keep them from being pulled or dislodged by vacuum suction. This micro tool attachment also has a baffle at the very end that fits over the canister hose nozzle that you can use to reduce the air pressure even more. And on the right are a variety of dusting tools including microfiber towels, cosmetic sponges which have micro pores that easily pick up and hold a lot of embedded dirt from textile surfaces. You can get them at the drugstore, you want to make sure though that you get the kind that does not have any oils or lotions added to it, any vitamin E. Also a variety of brushes, cosmetic brushes, unused of course. And there are also polyethylene fiber swiffer type cloths that are available without additives and oils that can be used for cleaning surfaces. You have to be cautious in using swiffer on textile collections because of the fibers that can be left on the surface of textiles are not really very good products to use. There's so many ways to look at an artifact and good condition reporting can help you categorize easily overlooked damages. And as you do this, think about agents of deterioration that may be affecting them or sensitivities that need to be addressed. You can update your report form as you need adding new materials and notations as you encounter them. Again that form is attached to your handouts. And in the upper left you can see corrosion reactions that have been absorbed into the plastic outer blades of this early plastic fan. And on the right are sections of silk that are most likely weighted silk and have their own structural problems. But this piece has been damaged in part by having been moved unconsciously behind other barrier materials out of sight of the custodians. On the left you have very sensitive surface that is disintegrating due to light damage. And you'll often hear conservators talk about inherent vice which is an inherent flaw that is built into the material itself often having to do with the manufacture of the object. And the upper left are crazed and cracking glass beads from the 1920s. On the right is a section of woven tapestry from excuse me a 15th century tapestry where the silk wealth left is deteriorating because not of just its age but because of its manufacturing and die processing. On the left is loss of painted silk from a civil war flag where the iron based mordant and pigments used in the ground fabric have eroded and broken away from the flag body itself. All materials age and break down over time but some have started to deteriorate because of residual chemicals from the tanning process itself. I was looking for my storage, my slide information. Addict closets and crawl spaces are poor environments for storing textiles. The best really space that you can provide for textiles is the spaces in which you are comfortable living. Household closets, storage furniture that can be adapted, basements are far too humid and poorly outfitted for the storage of the conditions that fragile textiles that you would find in a house with sand would be. Also the outbuildings on properties, barns, garages, storage units often get called into service but again they should not be used under any circumstances unless they have some sort of humidity control built into them. As I said those within the main body of the house former living spaces are the best suited for collection of storages. Closets are more offer hanging solutions but with limited internal dimensions they often have to be adapted and buffered to accept clothing without causing problems. Linen and pantry drawers offer large open spaces but they too usually have to be adapted and if they are near kitchen areas or where food is stored they can be particularly at risk for attack by pests. So random closets throughout the house often get repurposed for makeshift storage with little thought to their contents or preservation they become catchalls. Crawl space all bedways and hallways also get appropriated but they're problematic because condensation issues because of cold external walls can attract mold, mildew, objects touching, boxes touching those walls are prone to condensation and absorption of moisture and they're also impossible to monitor thoroughly. Dresser drawers are usually made of wood but they're often very deep and encourage over stacking of items and they're also hard to monitor for insect activity and they're easily stained by contact with the wood surface unless they are somehow buffered. Some textiles, flat textiles in particular small ones are best stored flat in drawers or boxes, uncovered support or padded boards. Some objects like the GAR banner on the right are too fragile and too brittle to support their own weight and until they have proper conservation treatment or some sort of dedicated support they should also be stored flat which is obviously a space problem within the historic house but they certainly should not be rolled. Small leather items that have become brittle like this hanging pouch on the left are unsuitable now for suspended display because they can no longer support their weight. Padded hangers and special supports can be added to garments that need to be hung for garments that are heavily constructed or have lots of surface ornaments and heavy you may need to add or consider adding cotton tapes to the waistbands to offset additional weight on seams that may be weak. We need to make sure that the construction of the garment is capable of displaying its full weight. The garment on the right is hanging from wood hanger that has been wrapped in some cotton but it's inadequate and it's hanging from what was once a coat rack next to an entrance door. It's possible to enlist volunteers or yourself to make customized padded hangers within your handouts is a link to the National Park Services Conservatgrams which have handouts for padded hangers, dust covers, clothing and garment racks and they're also commercially made padded hangers available. This one on the right from Etsy which was manufactured handmade by Rita Marks. There's also on this website as Susan mentioned earlier archived programs for on care and handling and construction of costume mounts plus the upcoming program that's being offered on April 14th. When rolling is an option for your flat textile certainly not something that's dimensional or has a heavily embroidered surface rolling a textile may be a safe and space efficient option. You need to make sure your tube is wide and long enough to provide adequate support. The roll textile can be stored wrapped in a dust cover muslin or archival film and stored on little risers of cardstock to keep the weight of the textile from resting on one edge. Archival boxes are also available for storing rolled textiles in groups or individually and each roll textile should be secured on the tube with cotton tube with cotton twill tapes and protectively covered to prevent abrasion of surface embellishments. On your left is an early 20th century commemorative national flag wrapped around its standard and a very dirty plastic cover was removed in order to take this photograph. On the right the Civil War flag that's rolled without a support and twisted to fit its box took a week of treatment steps to unroll, humidify and restore to original shape. It's counterproductive to make the object that's the box even if the box is a museum box. Commercial hat box even the hat even the boxes hats come in are usually of inferior material. If the original hat box is spacious enough it can be adapted by buffering the interior and supporting the hat with tissue. There are numerous materials that you can employ as a barrier for acidic materials. Marvel seal which is an aluminized plastic film and even aluminum foil under acid free tissue or a sheet of muslin can prevent the migration of acidic materials or keep them from being in contact with your artifact. The object on the right was stored unsupported inside a tube and consequently slipped down and produced damages along the salvage edge and into the weave structure. Even if a roller is wide enough a rolled textile stored on its edge on a tube can still slip down undetected. This fan had its own custom box made simply by adapting the measurements to a larger surface and the textile itself had numerous problems with moth damage, drying and brittlement. The plastic is breaking. It's really too fragile to be handled so storage was adapted that would allow it to be viewed and examined without having to be lifted. There is a sheet of tissue under it which would allow it to be removed from the box without having to be touched. I think the tendency especially sometimes because of the cost of them is to try to maximize the storage space within an archived box. You really should designate boxes to outfits even in the case of a bodice and skirt it's safer practice to have a box for each. Certainly you don't want to stack your boxes so that any kind of moisture when boxes are stacked this way and against the wall it's hard to see what conditions are behind the boxes it also increases tipping and handling problems when trying to remove them from storage and in the bottom slide all the artifacts have been individually wrapped so each has its own internal protection with the box. Another way to protect your textiles from environmental fluctuations is within a frame. Mat packages can be used to protect humidity sensitive flat textiles and especially those that have been exposed to mold and in a mat package you would have a padded support board the textile attached to the mat or sandwiched into a padded sink mat spacers added around the outer edge acrylic glazing or UV filtered glazing placed over that that the object is sealed to moisture resistant or impermeable backing board so that humidity remains as a constant. You can also include within that blue wool strips and moisture sensitivity strips to to monitor the internal conditions decorative textiles and historic frames can be glazed with the filtering acrylic the rabbits buffered with barrier tape and a dust cover added to the back. This is two examples where historic framing is not providing protective protection to the textile. The first textile the sampler was exposed to decades of soot from a coal burning furnace because the glazing cracked and was removed but not replaced. The second sampler which is mounted in a modern frame is sewn to its support in a such a way that the linen ground fabric can't re is that the ground fabric of the sampler can't readjust to the seasonal swings and humidity so you also need to preserve sometimes historic framing elements while not compromising the textile itself. We're looking at a cut panel of plain weave linen that was laid over the reverse of a 19th century suffragette motto that was embroidered on perforated card. The piece had been exposed to a lot of dust and insect damage it was mold and foxing so it was prepared as a matte package but the original linen and wood backing were incorporated separately in the reframing as documents so look for changes in your mount material discoloration staining along the edges of the framing where support boards may be becoming acidic also evidence of water moisture entering the frame insect casings in the corner or on wool surfaces any changing in plastic elements such as fan in this case fan blades materials that can't breathe within a frame can off gas and initiate changes in other materials in your storage area it's going to take time to identify your needs and establish a preventative conservation plan and get the support you need to implement it as you set guidelines for your environmental conditions you can implement your pest management plan there's more available about that and your handouts there are lots of resources in your information list to detail that you can begin by identifying objects at risk begin to prioritize that objects that need to be retired or removed to a more stable environment need to consider how the setting can be adapted to reduce risk would a window shade help in the case of this 19th century doll would reproduction overlay over the dress provide an aesthetic alternative while protecting the garment itself certainly you need to address structural problems in the house immediately especially humidity that may be at risk put objects at risk you need to consider moving them away from the other areas moving them away to other areas of the house as soon as possible until the situation is resolved avoiding sources of heat it's important to move objects away from heating vents and radiators which can cause cracking of wood furniture splitting a fabric monitoring storage area as part of your regular housekeeping is an important practice you know good sight good sanitation is vital to pest prevention you can use a flashlight to scout out ventilation dust ducts window windowsills any place dust collects dark undisturbed areas are all prime spots for pet entries when activity is found say a carpet beetle on a wool rug the rug and surrounding area should be inspected for additional infestation and the rug itself and the floor beneath it should be thoroughly vacuumed ideally an infested item should be removed from the area isolated and watch for additional action this removal is not feasible then focus monitoring should be applied followed by increased safe vacuuming if the object can withstand it should signs and occurrence reappear practice safe and effective cleaning procedures in your areas um help have a filtered vacuum that can pick up small particulate matter without reintroducing it into the collection dusting cloths that won't snag or catch on objects or leave fibers within their structure certainly you wouldn't want to use them on surfaces of textures that are embroidered without some sort of barrier in storage areas you want to avoid storing your objects directly on the floor for obvious reasons of moisture and pest damage you want to be able to monitor what's under your your storage units they need to be at least four inches from the floor to protect them from moisture and you also need to check the upper corners of your closets windowsills in your closets be aware of where water pipes might run through your ceilings keep an eye on changes in the plaster any cockling or bubbling or any staying on wallpapers that might indicate that there is a concealed leak assess your storage containers you can use the measurements that you gather from your survey to determine what sort of storage boxes and containers you need to have on hand to accommodate sort of average container sizes you can buffer non archival boxes with barrier material such as aluminum foil mylar and other plastics until you can afford better and sometimes you're just forced budgetarily or architecturally to improve that which you have to live with in this case this is an inaugural gown or gown wall or into an inauguration that is displayed within a house closet that has been adapted as a showroom the collections care manager was able to adapt the space by placing protective cloths under the gown providing the the gown itself was actually stored on a padded hanger which was then inserted over a chair so inside that dress or behind that dress is a chair so the chair ended up being padded buffered with batting and a muslin cover and an interior support provided for the dress as well as padding for foes and there is a cloth underneath the hem of the dress to keep it from touching the wood floor many house museums are forced to store family textiles in the drawers in which they they lived while the family was there many of these doors are deep and encourage overpacking overfilling it's important to provide some sort of moisture and acidic barrier to keep resins from wood surfaces being absorbed into the textiles themselves in this case marvel seal has been used to line a drawer and a protective dust cover will be placed over when they're not open you need to protect furniture from visitors and furnishings considerable damages caused by humans don't let visitors sit on the furniture the low quality and aged materials and antique under upholstery is usually deteriorated and easily collapsed by weight the damage on the left was actually caused by a tired security guard who felt he needed to sit down after hours so signage or arm ropes can deter the urge to rest you need to make sure that porters door curtains and similar hanging textiles don't obstruct traffic and aren't being abraded by guests being forced to press against them while viewing a room or listening to a tour guide determining the maximum body count to safely fill a viewing area and make sure that your upper limit can be accommodated with a space within a space will certainly reduce some of these damages and also you want to make sure that items are placed more than an arms reach away and the visitors know not to touch objects especially textile items which can absorb their body oils and acids the effect of light heat and humidity have probably been damaging furnishings in your house museum since the first curtain was raised many house museums are fortunate to have historic photos that show how their interiors initially looked residents undoubtedly updated decor and replaced upholstery fabrics so interpretation of a room can be challenging there are numerous resources available certainly call other historic homes talk among your colleagues as to what sources for interior furnishings they reference when replanting or recreating a look for a house museum preparation for potential emergencies like fires floods and other disasters could be one of the most important plan you put together for your museum the american institute for conservation has a 24-hour volunteer program designed to help assist collecting institutions on an emergency basis this is also funded by the f a i c and conservators are available to provide advice by phone or email around the clock should you have an emergency situation also information about the national heritage responders the n h r is listed in your handouts and it's also and there's also a two part webinar archived on this site there's some things that are simply beyond the help of curators and preservation staff at historic homes there are many things you can do to take care of heirlooms in your collection sometimes it may be necessary to contact a professional conservator for advice or conservation treatment in some cases an object is going to require require a conservator's attention in this case there was you know sit back up in deposits from that unframed partially framed photograph when there is physical instability in this case a fire screen was which was attached to a wooden support was stored in front of a heating register and when drying and constricting times forced the fibers to contract they were nailed to the edge and shattered on the frame when treatment requires wet cleaning or altering physical damages you certainly would want to talk to an authority or a textile conservator about introducing water or applying any kind of cleaning techniques to your textile especially when even careful handling is possibly going to result in more damaging loss of fiber to a textile advice and choosing and finding a qualified conservator is available on the AIC website as well as search tools to help you find professional help near your area I think there are numerous resources for books books the google books resource has many conservation journals that you can view partially online and decide if you'd like to invest them or have them added to your collection thank you thank you so much for your time and attention in this rather awkward webinar which is as I mentioned my first experience I'm hoping that we can have a bit more relaxed and casual time now together to openly discuss any kind of questions or comments you may have at which point I'll turn this over to Susan who I think will moderate and present our questions to us as well as some topics that we may have time to talk about okay um I am going to start at the with the first question which is what is the best type of lighting to use to highlight a display without fading the objects well can you hear me now as a response yeah I think the trend now is certainly toward introduction of LED lights um within the handouts and within the resources listed in the handouts there are a number of organizations and professionals to contact for their feedback in terms of what sort of light sources are being introduced into their collections and institutions but of technology lighting technology that's available today I think LED sources offer the coolest and coolest temperature-wise and lowest destructive radiation emissions that are available and an and an historic house where appearance is important they actually offer more profiles of historic light bulbs than are available commercially often today you see the corkscrew lamps and incandescent bulbs and especially old fluorescent tubing used in display cases and often especially in the use of fluorescent light often those objects are quite damaged and faded so hopefully that answered your question okay um what is the best material for dust covers there was a discussion about um getting old sheets and also using muslin that you've washed um is there anything else I think probably the most direct and trustworthy source of unsized virgin fabrics that have no chemical finishes that are affordable would be to go to a company that provides grege fabrics which basically an altered on the halt or um archival fabric such as companies like test fabric and they are I believe listed in your resource sheet it's possible to there are instructions available for removing sizing and additives from fabric but it's really hard to know you really can't generalize as to what finish might be on a fabric I think muslin because it's fairly low grade if you will tends not to have the specialty finishes that some of the cotton other cotton unbleached cottons can have but I think it's easier just to go directly to an archival source for your muslin if you do have to wash there are instructions within the handout on how to proceed with that you want to use hot water and you want to dry the problem is in using detergents is that they are residual and they can be difficult to remove and so you may be actually wrapping removing one material to introduce another that you'll be then be wrapping around your textile we had a whole side discussion about orvis and where to get it well orvis I get locally in bulk from a dry cleaning supply company um it's manufactured by proctor and gamble and it was not developed for the conservation industry actually I believe was formulated for washing race horses quite sometimes that's right I I get it at a ranch supply house and somebody else suggested getting it at a farm supply it is very residual there's been a lot of research testing it's you know long-term retention and fabrics I do use it but I use it only when the textile can withstand considerable soakings or rinsing aha it so is there a way that you recommend to make sure that detergent or any residuals are out of a textile I'm sure that there are methods of testing well I shouldn't be sure I assume there are methods for testing detergent residues I am not aware of them nor do I practice them I I tend to follow protocols that I use the minimum amount of soap and only when it's necessary to remove something that water can't leach away I find that many byproducts of aging byproducts of deterioration from the fibers themselves are easily soaked out with oily residues orvis is not necessarily going to be effective in that I think again research before you began to wash something before you submerge something in orvis I encourage you to use some of the websites that are are attached to this program to research its benefits and risks I deliberately stayed away from recipes and treatments because there's so many variables and what is safe for one material is not necessarily safe for another especially with textiles which have so many components of dyes threads that hold them together various embellishments it's much more complex and just simply wetting and soaking and washing okay and so someone says we don't use orvis for the actual textiles just for the muslin sheets used to drape over artifacts and hanging textiles but let's go on we have a question what sort of commercially available vacuum cleaners do you recommend for maintaining clothing on dress forms well I think nilfisk is somewhat the industry conservation industry standard it's manufactured and sold primarily as to reduce irritants and allergens within household and sick room environments it does come equipped with a rheostat which can be very helpful in terms of reducing risk to fragile surfaces but now there are numerous HEPA filtered household models that are available and using they aren't equipped with rheostats but I find that some reduction of suction and control over air pool can be achieved by the use of the keyboard the little tubular computer keyboard cleaning kits that you can get a variety of sources and also brushing the surface of a textile into the nozzle of HEPA filtered vacuum I they've become quite affordable now and I have one that I take on site with me you have to be careful in terms of keeping its canister clean because it doesn't have the chamber volume that obviously the larger ones have and you have to be more diligent about changing the filters okay um we have a bunch of questions about how to get wrinkles out can you iron with a low iron is steaming better is some people say steaming can introduce too much humidity and risk issues such as mold you know are there any I'm just going to give you this whole list well so are there any yeah I just was interrupting to say if you could sort of curate the list for questions that really have to do with more more of the topic that you know the larger portion was about I I would like to stay clear of recipes for treatment because I don't think they can be safely addressed without more information about the piece and photos and seeing the piece and I'd be happy if the participant would like to email me or contact me outside of this I'd be happy to answer questions but I hesitate to generalize with answers and solutions that may not may not apply okay so that this whole group of questions about steaming ironing spreading things out to dry so they're flat you think it's best to avoid it unless you have some more information about the textile I I think that is the sort of question that could be directed specifically to a textile conservator okay so that information can be gathered about the materials in that object if there's embellishment if there are dye sensitive issues if there are materials that um I I'm assuming we're not talking about just washing bed sheets but the the complications and variations um in cleaning textiles really can't be generalized so if you know I'd be happy if you want to direct some questions to me I'd be happy to try to answer them specifically or perhaps um your your guests could consult you know the AIC directory for textile conservators in their area that would be willing to perhaps look at some photos some even cell phone shots okay to advise them more specifically about a textile I I really would like to stay away from generalizing about cleaning techniques okay there's one question here about steaming and mold and because that was brought up by several people is and mold mold yeah can steaming enhance mold or make it make a textile more vulnerable to mold I see um certainly if if if a textile is steamed and put into an environment where any moisture that is retained in that fiber can enhance an environment that would be attractive to mold I would say yes um I don't know if that would you know say the case of steaming a garment um in preparation for exhibition in a gallery that has conditions that would encourage mold growth after having taken it from a you know a dry more stable environment yes that could be damaging um okay I don't know if that's answering the question um I think it does um there was a question about is there a source for long shank hooks on hangers that you can make into padded hangers um standard hangers don't have enough clearance in the collar area between the hanger um that may be something that other um participants may be able to weigh into I know that it's possible to I have actually removed hangers from remove the metal shaft and hook from hangers that were drilled and could have another wire introduced into it it's a matter of flattening the tip and embedding that rough metal surface within the padding but there may be commercial models available I see what others say you know I think I've seen something like that at container store it'd be worth checking out um it says we have mannequins that are white cotton is there a problem with um when trying to dress slaves or is it okay to have brown cotton does it always need to be white um this might be a question for a mannequin uh well well I know that there is is there you have a program upcoming don't you on mannequins yeah that would certainly be something worth presenting to um that conservator I I guess in in lieu of a longer answer I would say that um I think it's quite acceptable and if not usual for the white for the exposed white areas to be somehow cosmetically covered either with gloves or perhaps a scarf or even an additional piece of fabric that is sewn over the exposed areas but I think it's more a matter of reaction and compromise that would encourage the use of stockinette or white fabric I'm assuming you mean white fabric yeah I think so the body okay so there's um there've been a bunch of questions about how you can determine whether you should store something flat or roll it and um and then also or fold it and then also in about how you get out wrinkles if if they've been folded and well let's let's address the um just the larger issue of the different storage types um certainly um well I'll tell you why don't you present them to me individually and I'll try to give you some quick answers okay let me go through I forgot how do you determine whether an item in good condition should be hung or boxed or does it matter um well certainly there there are garments that should not be hung that have bias cuts you know want to make sure that the weight and construction of the garment is not going to be adversely affected by suspended hanging often hanging is really more a matter of well I guess it's foolful it's a matter of convenience but they're especially some of the more elaborately constructed Victorian dresses it prevents compression of one's side because regardless of construction at the back side of a textile within a box is your weight bearing side so yeah um I think in many cases it's an issue just available space certainly to minimize this folding as much as you can and if if a garment has seams that or construction that seems to be jeopardized by the hanging weight of a guard a garment you would not want to use that um one person says I just wondered if it was strictly a space issue that we even hang garments at all as it's just that hanging garments take up less room or do they we have a combination of hanging and flat storage both are pretty jammed well I think with flat storage um you certainly well hanging storage is also at risk for damage but certainly textiles in boxes face the risk of distortion and compression transfer materials from you know the either the textile or above or below to once from one surface to another um even with careful interleaving this can occur I think um ideally if a garment can hang in the hang suspended in the shape in which it was intended to be worn um really preserves more of the appearance you know of the outfit it's possible to add sleeves and sections of colors to keep them you know to support weight that highs can be placed around highs can be standing collars to keep them upright sleeves can be I think it's easier to inspect and monitor textiles that are hanging but again especially within a house museum which was really the intended focus my presentation today most house don't have designated storage spaces for hanging closets they the smaller more modest home tends to have in-house closets accommodating or good um we had several questions and then a side discussion about the turn of the century hats that had taxiderm birds on them and there were some questions about what what you do to preserve the hats and the taxidermy and I said we did a thing on taxidermy last year but is is there something about the birds that people need to be cautious about yes well you know this is definitely a multimedia question but a red and alarming flag that is going up for me is especially in 19th century and even early 20th century skins and animal artifacts is the use of arsenic and right as a preservative so certainly I think most small museums are not equipped to have their to have the testing that's necessary to determine if that's a presence but I think anything that has you know taxidermy elements and even even certain dying techniques of fabric incorporated poisonous chemicals you know there's there's certain green dyes and applications to fabric flowers that include arsenic and I think they need to be approached cautiously certainly to avoid you should wear gloves when handling them if you can possibly afford to have them tested as a concern I would you want to have them you know isolated in boxes or some sort of protective cover just to not possibly contaminate poisonous powders or introduce that into the collection I you know I think you should contact a textile professional I think that's too complex a question really to sort of address casually here I but I certainly would attach a warning that any kind of specimen or taxidermy element on a garment or in a collection from the 19th century is at high risk of having poison threatening poisons within yeah no and just just so that everyone knows on the beginning in May we're going to have a webinar on dangerous materials in collections so it will include a discussion of this in fact there's a can showing poison green arsenic green Paris green on in the ad for it um there's a question are there any recommendations for packing a late 1940s satin acetate wedding dress that smells really strongly of vinegar oh well packing I think is I don't know if that's the right operative word if if it's smelling strongly of vinegar that's certainly an indication of what what we call inherent vice in the breakdown of chemical components within the piece itself and if a piece that is in the process of deteriorating structurally and chemically deteriorating is put into a box where those vapors can build up it actually exacerbates the problem and speeds up the deterioration I think you would want to consider isolating it from the collection or certainly other garments or materials of the same matter so as to not trigger that reaction in them there are products there are oxygen absorbers that could be added to zeolite is a product microchamber makes zeolite impregnated papers and products that could be added to the storage box to absorb and sort of mitigate those off-guessings but you definitely don't want to put that into a stored box so that vapors and off-guessing continues okay we have two questions one is what are your thoughts on the best storage method for letter jackets um that have wool and cotton body and leather at sleeves and the final one and we have four minutes is um what are the best textile care reference books that you recommend okay well I'll address the last one first um since this program was a was designed specifically for um um small house collections the the references that are listed in the handouts would not be as general I think as this person is is interested in if you'd like to contact me separately I'd be glad to answer that more in depth there are numerous complications that would be of use and interest and then perhaps they could be included yeah if you want to make a list and send it to me I'll make sure we'll do that and so about the leather jacket um I think you know caution has to be well the question was more about the lining then well no it's it's about how to store them um so you know it says jackets that have the leather sleeves and a woolen body and maybe a cotton lining well I think if the shoulder seams are strong enough to support the weight of the piece certainly a hung a padded hanger would be acceptable um want to make sure that the sleeves are well padded and and I'd be very cautious apply about applying any kind of leather dressing that can present long-term problems want to make sure that the surface is clean thoroughly make sure that you're paying attention to pass yes so it sounds like the sort of material or garment that you would want to have easily accessible for monitoring just to keep an eye on so I went to yeah I went time was doing a a cap out of place and a house museum and I said oh there's this room we never go into and we opened up the door and the curator said to me oh someone must have spilled um then a rice krispies no rice krispies all over the floor but what it was was piles of insect pupae not larvae they were all dead they had eaten the entire rug everything that was hanging it was horrifying so monitor um and make sure you don't get a problem like that well there I was going to also say that there are numerous books that are available for perusing on google books and I think it allows many people opportunities to look through conservation homes and books before investing and purchasing so there are a lot of resources available okay so everyone um thank you Jane and I hope we'll see many of you next week when we talk about um non-archival objects in archives collections and also for the one and two weeks on on mannequins and um I think that's it so we'll see you next week bye bye thanks everybody thanks Jane