Hey guys,

Been away from the hobby for a while,

I have a friend and neighbor that is possibly interested in unloaded his collection on me. it's stuff from the late 70s through the mid 80s. But almost everything has some level of water damage or musty odor. The only reason I ask and might consider grabbing it is that there are some items that are in otherwise decent shape and a few rare pieces (off the top of my head, he has B10 in complete condition). some pieces are in excellent shape save for the odor or some powdery dry mildew that seems to be able to be wiped away. Other books are truly water damaged and/or bent from improper storage.

I'm sure he will let me photograph and catalog the collection… but I told him because of the damage that it will be hard to get much for it… however if I can reverse or reduce some of the odor, mildew and mild bending should I give him a lowball offer? I suppose some of this stuff would be useful to somebody that actually wants a "playing" copy?

I dunno, what should I do? Also, do you guys have a trick for restoration of this kid of stuff?

Cheers,
David

Mold is a terrible thing. Spores get into the fibers and there isn't a way I know of to get them out of the paper. You can get rid of the smell, maybe, but you never really get rid of the spores. The next time these books get into even a slightly humid, dark area you have a good chance of seeing them re-colonize. They can also spread to your non-moldy/musty items as well. Burn them all, seriously, and be careful handling them.

Yeah, I stay as far away from water damage as possible.

"She turned me into a newt!"  Does one burn mildew with witches as an added ingredient or the other way around?

Anyways, I once had a nice collection of Polyhedrons, including one Stratochamp was looking for some years ago when I first met him.  I had the issue he was looking for... unfortunately it was in a place that suffered some water damage along with all the the other mags since they were stored there since 1990 or so.  When I looked at them years later when he told me the one he was looking for... well, it wasn't pretty.  Mildew, water damage etc. is bad news.  I still remember my earlier gaming days in school when a player spilled a red colored Kool Aid on my PHB and Monster Manual.  I use them as playing copies from time to time, but that warped pinkish page color still summons thoughts of rage.... kidding.  Hope you get a good price but if the water damage/mildew is terrible don't get your hopes high.

Blackmoor wrote in taking in a damaged collection and value:

cdenham wrote in taking in a damaged collection and value:Yeah, I stay as far away from water damage as possible.

I agree completely with this comment

Yup
Another nod....

I've used an ozone generator to remove odors before. Takes time, but it worked well. Doesn't help with the rest, unfortunately. At least, I don't think it did. Never saw any visual signs of mold/mildew to verify.