FEMA offering help for saving family heirlooms damaged by floods

Credit: South Dakota Civil Air Patrol photos for the S.D. Office of Emergency Management

DES MOINES, IA (KELO.com) — Thousands of families across the region are still picking up the pieces from floods that hit one month ago.  Many photos, books and other family treasures have been damaged, but FEMA is offering help with those items.  Preservation professionals will be available at Disaster Recovery Centers over the next week. The specialists will be on hand to demonstrate such tasks as cleaning photographs, preserving books, documents, electronic media and textiles. The demonstrations are free and follow this schedule:

Survivors are asked not to bring damaged items to the Disaster Recovery Centers to avoid a chance of causing more damage in transit. Instead, it is recommended that you digitally photograph the item(s) about which you would like to ask the specialists for advice.

If you want to try preserving items on your own, here are some basic procedures to get you started

• If your prized possessions have been in contact with sewage or any chemicals, you will need professional help.
  • Call IMALERT Hotline (Iowa Museums, Archives and Libraries Emergency Response Team) at 319-384-3673. They accept calls from members of the public and can provide advice and suggest a conservator who can help you.
  • Other sources of help include the Ford Conservation Center in Omaha, 402-595-1180, and the Midwest Art Conservation Center in Minneapolis at 612-870-3120.
• Gentle air-drying indoors is best for all your treasured belongings. Hair dryers, irons, ovens and prolonged exposure to sunlight will do irreversible damage. Increase indoor airflow with fans, open windows, air conditioners and dehumidifiers.
• Use great caution in handling your heirlooms, which can be especially fragile when wet. Separate damp materials; remove the contents from drawers; take photographs out of damp albums; remove paintings and prints from frames, place paper towels between the pages of wet books.
• Gently loosen dirt and debris on fragile objects with soft brushes and cloths. Avoid rubbing, which can grind in the dirt.
• Clean photographs by rinsing them carefully in clean water. Air-dry photos on a plastic mesh screen or paper towel, or by hanging them by the corner with plastic clothespins. Don’t let the image touch any other surfaces as it dries.
• You may not be able to save everything, so focus on what’s most important to you, whether for historic, monetary or sentimental reasons.