Mould is one of the unspoken challenges that faces all heritage collections and, on occasion, our homes – whether from damp or food overstaying its shelf life. They are a diverse form of life which, for custodians, symbolise evidence of a malfunctioning storage environment.
This guidance aims to explain mould in a wider context: the conditions that encourage its growth, the health and safety aspects when dealing with mould, how it can be prevented, and what you can do if you detect mould in your archive collections. It is for custodians of archive collections, whether professional archivists and conservators or individuals responsible for the care of collections.