Can Water Damaged Documents Still Be Restored?

What to do with water damaged documents

When water damage hits documents. (Photo Credits)

Most advice given in order to prepare for a possible flooding is the safekeeping of documents during evacuation. Problem though is that once a homeowner or a business owner is not prepared with such an eventuality, salvaging documents become a second priority.

Hence flood-damaged documents abound during the clean-up period after a flooding incident. click San Diego WaterDamagePro site    

Just like what had happened in New York as shared by the website Route Fifty.

“Water from Schoharie Creek, rising 6 to 8 feet high, entered the Schoharie County offices, filling the building’s basement and reaching the first floor. Beyond the extensive damage across the area from Irene’s flooding, the county administration also had to deal with an archivist’s nightmare: 1,700 boxes of court documents, some dating back to 1795, were damaged, too. Following the storm, the county quickly had the waterlogged records freeze-dried to prevent molding or additional damage and cleaned of dirt to prepare them for digitization.”

Read the rest of the report here.

What else can be done?

In England, a church hired a restoration professional to restore all damaged documents of a church following a massive flooding in the area.

“Manchester church are being professionally restored after they were severely damaged in last month’s floods. When the water poured into St Mary’s Church in Radcliffe, it threatened to ruin precious documents including marriage and baptism records. Document SOS, a company specialising in the restoration of damaged paperwork and works of art, has promised to restore them.”

Read the rest of the report here.

First things First

South Caroolina’s Public Library also offere some tips on how to go about caring for water damaged legal documents.

“Single paged documents should be separated immediately to prevent them from sticking together permanently. Wet paper is very fragile and should be handled gently. Books should be dried with fans blowing, but not directly at the books.”

Check out the rest of the tips here.

Prevention is the key when it comes to water damaged documents. Apart from having a digital copy, all important legal papers should be kept in a water proof container regardless if there is an emergency in the offing or none.

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