Damaged paper documents such as business and school files, magazines and books are sensitive to restoration efforts but often must be restored. Files are needed to keep businesses running. Books in a library or private collection may be one-of-a-kind editions that are irreplaceable. The only options are to discard or restore.

Water can enter books and documents by direct contact with liquid water, or be absorbed though airborne water vapor. Both present a challenge to the professional restorer.

The most difficult documents to restore are those with a glossy enamel coating. Items that usually have this type of paper are magazines such as Life and National Geographic and reference books like encyclopedias. The coating which makes color photos and pictures more vibrant is water soluble so when it is affected by liquid water of water vapor, it breaks down and literally glues the pages together. If allowed to remain stuck together and then dry without special procedures, this condition will become permanent. It is called paper blockout. Glossy type paper, however, may be saved if the affected document is frozen and then thawed slowly under controlled conditions.

Generally, documents can be saved so that they are at least serviceable. How flat the pager will lay after restoration is dependent upon the degree of water exposure, the age and type of paper and how long it has been since the original damage occurred.

Restorer drying procedures encompass:

• 1. Categorizing and segregating books and documents according to the urgency of the response required. This decision should be made in conjunction with the insured party.
• 2. Placing books flat or spine down when packing and processing to prevent the pages from pulling out of the cover.
• 3. Preventing further deterioration by taking books and documents and temporarily stabilizing them through storage in a frost-free freezer compartment. NOTE: Books and documents should have the pages pressed as flat as possible and bound together. Books may be held together with plastic banding strips and then put into collapsible plastic milk cartons. Large numbers of books and documents can be brought to a public frozen food warehouse until they are ready for processing. The longer that books and documents are frozen, the more moisture is removed. The moisture changes into ice crystals which are drawn out of the water damaged surface and vaporized. This is called sublimation.
• 4. Along with dehumidification, a light application of "hospital grade" Lysol may help somewhat to inhibit mold and mildew growth. Lysol is isopropyl alcohol-based so it is quick drying and adds little or no moisture.

A loss is a traumatic and often a once in a lifetime event. As the technology continues to develop to dry paper documents, more irreplaceable materials are saved and the stress of a difficult situation is minimized.