I agree. You should try to control the environment.
In our museum we use heat or freezing as pest traetment.
We have our own heat chamber that we bought from a Swiss/ English company. IT is quick and easy. Takes approximatly 12 hours from start to the end. And as David Walker said "The heat may cause some physical and chemical changes in the viscose/rayon, but it will probably not be significant".

Margunn Veseth
Conservator,
Museum of Cultural History,
University of Oslo
Oslo
Tlf./faks: [+47 22 85 95 10 / 22 85 95 09]
www.khm.uio.no

On 09.10.2012 18:14, Constance wrote:

I concur with Mary. The first thing to do is to control the humidity in

the rooms, since the psocids feed on mold. Otherwise, the pests will

continue to exist - not only in the drapes - wherever there is a source

of nourishment. External walls are difficult in these situations. It is

unlikely that the fabric will be harmed by the pests. Anoxia is the

preferred treatment. The heat may cause some physical and chemical

changes in the viscose/rayon, but it will probably not be significant.

David Walker

Walker Textile Conservation

www.talismanrestoration.com <http://www.talismanrestoration.com>

On Oct 9, 2012, at 9:29 AM, Scottish Conservation Studio wrote:

Hi there,

Lynsey Haworth from Historic Scotland would appreciate help with the

following: 'At one of our properties we have several sets of drapes on

walls. They are made from viscose chenille, gold thread and

cotton.There had been lots of rumours about there being a pest problem

within the drapes, and a pest control company did some investigation

and found there to be booklice in the drapes, believed to be caused by

the damp environment.The proposed treatment that they have suggested

is a heat treatment, where the drapes are heatedin a podto between 54

and 60 degrees Celsius for approximately one hour, which will kill the

booklice and any microscopic mould they may be living off of.The

humidity is monitored during this process and the temperature can be

adjusted to ensure that the drapes are not put at risk.

Could anyone tell me if they have used a similar method for treating a

pest problem before? How safe is it to textiles? I should note that

the drapes are not historical. They are only about 13 years old, but

were commissioned especially so are quite expensive and we do not want

to risk them being damaged.If anyone can offer any adviceor insight

into this proposed method of treatment I would be very grateful.

*Lynsey Haworth*| Regional Collections Manager (Central)

__________________________________________________

Historic Scotland | Alba Aosmhor

Longmore House, Salisbury Place, Edinburgh, EH9 1SH

t: 0131 668 8641m| 07794 045801

e:lynsey.haworth @scotland.gsi.gov.uk

<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

www.historic-scotland.gov.uk' <http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/>

If you can help Lynsey, please send your reply directly to her e-mail

address.

Many thanks,

Tuula Pardoe

Accredited Conservator of Costume and Textiles

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West Lothian

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Tel 0131 331 5875

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