Saving Dungeons & Dragons

[Abraxas]

Well, my water heater died a quiet leaky death last night and flooded my basement. Not too terrible you might think, but you'd be wrong.

The water flowed under a wall and into a closet I use to store all my old issues of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I had Issues of Dragon back to 58 and Dungeon back to 7.

About 30 issues of Dungeon and 60 issues of Dragon look like bloated corpses.

On a better note, the water also hit two of my comic storage boxes - however, in one all the comics were bagged and boarded so no damage, and the other happened to be water resistant so the mags didn't get ruined - but they are no longer mint

Does anyone know of a good way to possibly save the magazines that were /are waterlogged? Anyone? I really would like to save them if I can.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

The only thing I could think of would be to contact museums / research libraries (who handle old valuable documents) and see if they have any advice. (I know your magazines aren't old by their definition, but people are often happy to pass on their knowledge if you can make it past the switchboard to the backroom boffins).

 

[Hygric]

From personal experience, trying to speed up their drying with a hair-dryer or microwave isn't such a good idea.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

From personal experience, trying to speed up their drying with a hair-dryer or microwave isn't such a good idea.

Dare we ask what happened, or is it a trauma you're still learning to cope with?

 

[Buttercup]

The only thing I could think of would be to contact museums / research libraries (who handle old valuable documents) and see if they have any advice.

Or, you can ask Buttercup, Eric Noah or Cthulu's Librarian. We're your friendly EN World Librarian posse.

The best way to restore a water damaged book or magazine is to freeze-dry it. Now, most of us don't happen to have a freeze-drying chamber in our garage, so we have to fake it. If you think about how paper is made, and also about what you want the book or magazine to look like when you're done, the suggestions below will make sense. Keep in mind that magazine paper and ink is not meant to be permanent, so your results will be marginal at best. Sad but true. Books, especially hardbacks printed on acid-free paper, stand a much better chance of being salvaged.

1.When a book or magazine gets water damaged, immediately work to separate the pages and intersperse them with paper towels. You want to wick away some of the moisture, and also keep the pages from drying into one solid mass. Paper is manufactured by creating a pulp of old paper, wood fibers, rags and so forth mixed with water. Your wet magazine wants to go back to its original pulpy state.

2. Stick the magazine/paper towel sandwich into a frost free freezer on a piece of wax paper, put another piece of wax paper on top, and then put something heavy on it The freezer's fan will work to suck the moisture out while the weight will keep the pages relatively flat. Leave the wet item alone for a few days. Resist the temptation to keep checking it! After about three days, check (carefully!) your magazine/paper towel sandwich. If you see lots of ice crystals, put it back. This can take a really long time--weeks even.

Unfortunately, as I said above, magazines are not manufactured out of materials meant to be long lasting, so the best you will end up with is a mostly readable magazine. The pages will always be brittle and warped, and the ink might very well run. However, it's about the only thing you can do without special equipment.

Good luck.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Well, it looks like Buttercup beat me to the response.

Here is UVA's library Flood Response page, with instructions for handling wet books. This should be helpful as well. A little bit different than Buttercups instructions (no freezer involved), but it's what I have access to. I'd be more inclined to go with her instructions, as these are more for large book collection damage. http://www.lib.virginia.edu/cataloging/pres/docs/disaster/5.html#point5two
Just make sure you do it right away, you don't want the magazines to start getting moldy if they stay damp.

 

[alsih2o]

maldur is also a trained restorer of paper documents, you might ask him too.

 

[Buttercup]

Thanks for bringing up the mold issue CL.

If you read the directions for mold removal on the link that Cthulu's Librarian provided, you will see that it's pretty involved. This is because book mold is insidious. Not only can it make you sick, it can spread to books that never got wet. If left unchecked, book mold can ruin a collection, the wooden shelves the books are stored on, and the health of the people who breathe the spores.

If you find mold on your wet magazines, I'd recommend that you throw them out immediately, since I doubt you have access to industrial mold removal supplies. Especially if there are small children or people with compromised immune systems living in your house, book mold is nothing to take lightly.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

Also, you can always get the Dragon Magazine Archive, available from Barnes & Noble.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2YNP6LY1Y5&isbn=0786914483&itm=1

That's where I got my copy. Only $26, plus S&H.

 

[Abraxas]

Thanks Folks, I'm trying the freezer trick to save issues special to me. I'll see how well everything works out.

I already own the dragon mag archive - but I like the feel of real paper.

I'm still very angry with myself. Most of my stuff was up on pallets or shelves. I had some new windows put in and had to move these mags. I set them on the floor in the closet and hadn't had a chance to put them away properly. another couple days and thios wouldn't have caused any problems.