Am I hearing tacit approval by the textile conservation community on cleaning
textiles with bread crumbs?

We need to back up so we don't miss the essential issue here. The differences
between paintings and textiles aside, why would you chose to use a material that
could 1) attract insects or vermin 2) potentially become moldy and stain the
textile? It seems that microscopic particles of bread could potentially become
embedded in the surface fibers even after careful vacuuming. Or is the textile in
question glazed? treated in some way?

The precaution that you should only use fresh bread should send up some red flags,
don't you think?


A quick search of AATA Online came up with several articles researching erasers &
eraser crumbs that might add to the discussion:

Pearlstein, E.J.; Cabelli, D.; King, A.; and Indictor, N.
Effects of eraser treatment on paper.
Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 22, no. 1 (1982 Fall), pp. 1-12

Dancause, Renée.
Surface cleaning a doll's corset using eraser crumbs.
Textile conservation newsletter  no. 36 (1999 Spring), pp. 8-13.

Estabrook, Elizabeth.
Considerations of the effect of erasers on cotton fabric. Journal of the American
Institute for Conservation 28, no. 2 (1989 Fall), pp. 79-96

The ConsDistList also has a several posting re erasers; one posting recommends the
Surface Cleaning outline of the Paper Conservation Catalog, published in 1992. It
may be still available through the AIC Office.

Does someone know about other research on viable alternatives to bread crumbs? I
realize vinyl crumb erasers as researched by paper conservators might have some
negative aspects (potential chemical (sulfer) residue, migrating softeners, change
in residue over time, and abrasion), but do you really feel bread crumbs should be
used?

But perhaps Lauren is researching this issue as an historical exercise. It
certainly would be helpful to have some research done on the residues &
abrasiveness of bread crumbs on textiles.

Virginia Whelan