Has anyone ever dealt with the problem of salt on/in textiles?

 

I am writing my master's thesis on the conservation of the prehistoric textiles found in the saltmines of Hallstatt (Austria). The salt has preserved these textiles (wool) for 1000s of years, but they start suffering as soon as they leave their salty environnement (museum)! Rinsing them with water solves the problem of damages caused by salt chrystallization, but they also loose their protective and conserving salt.

 

Has anyone any idea on the processes of damages caused by salt on textiles?

Has anyone an idea how the conservation process of salt works on fibres/organic materials?

Any experiences on storing salt-affected textiles?

 

 

Carine Gengler

Student in Textile Conservation

University of Applied Arts, Vienna (Austria)