My preferred storage system for books is tossing them on the ground in my atrium. Since there is a rototiller stored there or some other crap, these books will lie there for over a year. The floor is made from saltillo tiles, which absorb moisture. Hence, when attempting to clean my house, a number of my books have mildew. The worse one is The Tortilla Curtain, which even by my standards will have to be tossed. Others have a bit of mildew. I’m a compulsive hoarder and recycler, and I hate to toss a book. Can I shelve these mildly mildewed books with the rest of my books and not significantly increase the risk of mildewing its shelfmates?
IANAL but No. Mildew is a fungus and gives off spores; the more of it you have around the more spores are given off and the more likely it is some will land on other books and take hold there. You need to clean the affected books thoroughly, toss them, or keep them in airtight storage or a different building altogether.
I am a librarian, and I generally agree with this advice.
I’m a little unclear on something: do you generally store all your books in the atrium, or is it that some end up sitting there for a while before you move them to wherever you keep the rest of your books?
If it is the former, I would recommend that you try and find another place to keep your books. A damp room with possible dirt and plant material lying around is not very compatible with book storage.
And really, to answer your question directly: yes, mildew is contagious.
Until recently I worked in archives, where new accessions were generally kept seperate until they were thouroughly examined and cleaned, to prevent the possible spread of mold or mildew into the rest of the collection.
As your question was already answered.
I have had luck with washing books with a rag soaked in bleach. (I wore dish washing rubber gloves).
I carefully washed every surface and gave them a place to dry out thoroughly and the mildew did not return. This is a viable option if the other choice is to toss.
If the pages themselves have mildew, you will probably have to toss. In my cases the books only had surface mildew and edges of the pages.
Jim
Bummer. Thanks for the info. I will strive to take better care of them in the future. They are mostly cheap paperbacks, but I know it’s disturbing to the book lovers here.
My book shelves are in the atrium. My house is miniscule and I don’t have a whole lot of room elsewhere.
I’ll just chime in with another confirmation. I’m not a librarian, but I own new/used bookstore. I’ve definitely seen firsthand that mildew spreads from one book to another when they’re in a box together.
I don’t knowingly accept any books with mildew, and if I get any, I destroy them or get rid of them right away.