Recommendations for cleaning and restoring damaged photos and albums

 

Cleaning - General introduction & warnings

If your photos have been damaged by water or mud, Fujifilm has recommendations for treating and cleaning them, and those instructions have been incorpoated into the following pages.

Please note that depending on the condition and extent of damage to the photo, the image surface may peel away and be unable to be cleaned — especially if the prints have been wet for a long period of time. Please first try working with a corner of the print to see how it comes out.

The cleaning method varies, depending on the type of photo print.
The menu below, provides links to cleaning instructions for the different print types

Warning: The instructions on this, and subsequent pages, are provided as a guide and should be followed carefully "at your own risk".

Once cleaned and the image has dried, the photographs will need to be scanned, and where possible restored.

In case of flooding

Almost everything can be replaced except your photographs!

• As immediately as is possible, somebody should be tasked with rescuing the photographs.
  
• Whilst still wet, the images should be rinsed in a bowl of clean water, to remove impurities before they have chance to set into the gelatin layers.
  
• Photograph the flood damaged prints, for insurance purposes.
  
• Once dry, the prints can be sent to ECIH.org for scanning and restoration.
  
• The scanning & restoration invoice can then be included in any insurance claim that you will be making.

 

Choose from the menu options below, to gain cleaning instructions specific to your photographs:

Silver Halide Photos (Std. photograph prints)

Prints that have been developed using light sensitive chemicals on photo paper.

• Cleaning dirty & water-damaged photos
For photo prints damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand
• Cleaning photos stuck together
For photo prints that have been immersed in water, dirt, sand and stuck together
• Cleaning water-damaged photos in albums
For entire albums of photo prints damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand

 

Negatives & Slides

For negatives & slides damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand

• Cleaning dirty & water-damaged negatives & slides
For photo prints damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand

 

Other types of photo prints

• Cleaning Dye Sublimation Photos
Prints created using heat, such as those from self-service kiosks or marked as “Thermal Photo Paper” on the back.
• Cleaning Dye-Type Inkjet Photos
Prints using dye that penetrates into the paper surface and preserve the surface characteristics of the paper.
• Cleaning Pigment-Type Inkjet Photos
Prints using tiny particles of colorant that rest on the surface of the paper.

 

 

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