Caring for Your Books
From Brenda Hyde, Editor
Book shelves shouldn't be placed or built near heating vents
or radiators. They also shouldn't be exposed to bright sun.
Both of these will fade bindings and warp the covers.
Don't crowd books onto the shelves. The bindings can break
apart easily from the pressure of being jammed too tightly
together. Covers can also be scratched and dust jackets
ripped by doing this.
Store books upright whenever possible. Leaning strains the
bindings. Use bookends on partially filled shelves. Books
that are oversized and too large to put upright on shelves
should be laid flat, never on their side.
Use the special crevice nozzle on the vacuum cleaner for
removing dust from books. Or, wipe the books carefully
with soft clean cloth. Remove all dust from the shelves
before replacing books. If a book becomes wet do not
place it near a heat source but instead place clean white
blotting paper on each side of the wet page and press with
a warm flat iron. The leaves will not warp or wrinkle.
To clean leather books never use mineral oil. Use lanolin
or caster oil and rub along the back of the binding with
your hand, then rub dry.
All rights reserved. Copyright 2005 Old Fashioned Living
About the Author:
Brenda Hyde is a married, mom to three who lives in the Midwest
United States. She is also a freelance writer, editor and owner
of Old Fashioned Living.
