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TCN TEXTI LE CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER V2 Number 23 FALL 1992 Recycled Paper 0 TEXTILE CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE EDITORS 1 WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM IN TEXTILE LAB AT CCI 2 Season Tse A MANNEQUIN MAKE-OVER 4 Debra Reeve AN INEXPENSIVE TENSIONER 9 Teresa A. Knutson CONSERVATION AT THE GERMAN TEXTILE MUSEUM KREFELD 11 Brigitte Dreyspring NEWS FROM CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION 17 Julie Hughes TEXTILE CONSERVATION AND HISTORIC TEXTILES AT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 20 Margaret Ordonez REPORTS ON COURSES AND INTERNSHIPS 21 BOOK REVIEWS 25 WORKSHOP ON ADHESIVES 27 SUPPLIES 28 TCN SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 30 TCN SUBMISSIONS 30 Number 23 Fall 1992 TCN TCN TEXTILE CONSERVATION NEWSLETTER :... i·:: .&.tlicit Number 23 FA! 1.·1992 ROM THE EDITORS This is the last issue in the 1991-92 Our Spring 1993 TCN Supplement promises subscription term and we are enclosing a tobe mostinteresng, and willdeal with ajoint renewal form. In considerstion of the current textile and painting conservation project economic situation we aredoing our utmost to undertaken at the Royal Ontario Museum in keep costs to a minimum and conrinue to offer Toronto. the same subscription rates as in the past 2 years. Why not encourage your collegues to TCNIssue Number23includesanarticle subscribe! on a mannequin make-over, information about a water purification system, how to make an Because TCN has moved to Montreal, inexpensive taI>estry frame and an introduction we now have a new address: totheTextileMuseum in Krefeld,Germanyas wellas, thedescriptionofa4 month internship TEXTILE CONSERVATION in Germany and book and course reviews. NEWSLETTER P.O. Box 423 Many thanks mUSt gO tO Genevieve St. Lambert, Quebec Lafrance and Jhanvi Divanji of the McCord J4P 3P8 Museum for their skills at the graphic layout. CANADA Number 23 1 Fall 1992 TCN the RO water through the Milli-Q Plus unit. ATER PURIFICATION The Milli-Q Plus purification pack SYSTEM IN TEXTILES LAB AT (QPAK) contains activated-carbon to further remove residual dissolved organics, ion- CCI exchange resins to remove residual inorganic ions and an organic scavenger mixture to The Textiles lab at CCI has recently remove trace organics. The water then passes purchased a new water purification system through a submicron final filter (0.22 um) that (Millipore). The complete system consistsofa removes any remaining particulates and particulate removal prefilter, a pretreatment bacteria at the point of use. Millipore claims pack, a reverse osmosis unit (Milli-RO 10), that this system produces water that meets or and waterpolishing unit (Milli-Q Plus). It also exceeds all standards (such as ASTM) for has a custom built 500-litre nalgene reservoir water purity. for storage of the RO water. Determining Factors in Purchase Description of the System The Textiles lab considered purchasing The prefilter and the pretreatment pack a water purification system because it was cleans up the water from the tap before it recognized that the quality of tap water reachesthe ROunitby filteringoutsomeofthe fluctuates. The presence of heavy metal ions, particulates and using activated carbon to iron for example, is a major concern for con- removechlorineandorganics.Thepretreatment servation treatments. The concentrations of pack also contains antiscaling compounds to these and other contaminants can vary from eliminate hardness ions thattendroaccumulate day to day and even from tap to tap in a on the RO membrane. The water that passes particular laboratory. Water purification through the RO membrane is further purified. eliminates this element of uncertainty from The ROmembraneeliminatesupto90-95%of treatments and other operations of the lab dissolved ions and up to 99% of particulates, where good quality water is required. organics and bacteria from the pretreated feed water.Theexitwaterisconsideredaslaboratory A number of factors determined this grade (ASTM Type III) and is suitable for pardcular purchase: general washing of textiles, artifactS and lab glassware. As the membrane deteriorates, the 1. Capability of the system to deliver the percentage of contaminants removed is quality of water required. decreased. For the Textiles lab, it is important that For work that requires higher accuracy the system be able to produce both Type I as and reproducibility, such as pH measurement, well as Type III water when required. dyeing, reagent preparations and washing of special pieces where high purity wash water is For the first step of purification, there essential (eg. for experiments), reagent grade was a choice between distillation and reverse (ASTM Type I) water is produced by passing Number 23 2 Fall 1992 TCN osmosis. Distillation is one of the oldest access to the RO water. Alternatively the RO methods of purification and reverse osmosis is water is further· purified by passing through a comparatively new. The quality of the water series of deionization cartridges. Most water produced from both methods is generally deionization units, such as the Milli-Q Plus, considered to be laboratorygrade, and the kind have a pump which will deliver reagent grade of contaminants being removed is slightly waterat 1.5-2.Olitres/minute, whichisadequate different. Reverseosmosiswaschosen because for washing. of lower cost (both capital and subsequent operation) and ease of maintenance. 3. Cost Getting a central water system for the Initial capital and subsequent whole institute (eg. RO) was also considered. maintenance cost was a major consideration. The drawbacks were thecostandmost impor- Maintenance costs include replacement tant of all the problem of bacterial growth in cartridges, repair and, for some systems, the the water lines where there is stagnant water. price of regenerating the resins. For the next step of purification at the The complete Millipore system in 1991 cost pointofuse, deionization,andorganic removal approximately $12,000. This includes the anumberofreputablemanufacturers can supply custom-made storage reservoir and stand, one systems that produce Type I water (eg. setofpretreatmentandMilli-QPluscartridges, Bamstead and Millipore). RO membrane, all firtings, and installation. 2. Ability todeliverlargequandtiesofpure To maintain the system, the pretreatment water on demand. cartridges are approximately $300 each (2 per year), QPAK caruidges are $400 each (2 per For washing purposes, either in a bath or year),cleaningpillsfor the ROmembrane $53 with continuous flow,largequantitiesofwater for 50 pills (12 pills per year) and RO mem- must be produced at a reasonable rate (at least brane $900 (2-5 years). The average total 1.5 to 2 litres/min). This is particularly impor- maintenance cost for a year is between $1,200 tant for large textile pieces. to $1,700. The laboratory RO units thal were 4. Availability and quality of service and consideredhavethecapabilitytoproducewater availability of parts. from 10-30 litres/hour depending on the temperature of the feed water. This is too slow Only those systems that have local for washing purposes. A reservoir (500 litre), representatives were considered. elevated to the level of the sink (approximately 4 feet from the floor), that can store RO 5. Ease of maintenance. purified water solved the problem. When a There are definite advantages with those large volume of water is required for washing, systems where changing the cartridges and the reservoir can be filled in advance. An routine maintenance steps can easily be done. optionaloutlet from the reservoir allows direct Otherwise the system will tend to be allowed Number 23 3 Fa111992 TCN to deteriorate much more than it should. of these mannequins did not meet conserva- tion standards and thus fairly extensive 6. References alterationswere required. Manyof thematerials The sales representative should be able used in the constructionof the mannequins are to supply a list of clients who have purchased not recommended for use with arti facts by the similarsystems. Referencesshould becontacted conservatorsatthemuseum. Polyurethanefoarn regarding reliability and satisfaction of the was used to padout the body shapes and a non- product and service. If it is possible arrange to aqueouscontacrcementwasused zoadherethe see the system in operation. foam in place. A polyester fibrefill that contained formaldehyde and an unsealed Notalltextile labs need such an elaborate plywood was also used on the frame. and expensive water purification system. It is Better choices would have been a safe to say, however that any water purification polyethylene foam. an aqueous base contact is better than none. Renting from companies cement, a fibrefill free of formaldehyde and a such as Culligan may bea temporary option. In sealed exteriorgradeplywood such as birch or the long run, getting a system that has the beech. A pre-washedcottonblend stretch fabric flexibility offurther upgrade would be abetter for the final covering on the mannequin was investment, even if the initial cost is slightly also recommended. higher. Season Tse Adjustable steel frames made up the Senior Assistant Conservation Scientist structuralcoreofthemannequins. These frames Canadian Conservation Institute pivoted at the waist and neck. The shoulder Ottawa, Ontario width, torso, arm and leg lengths were also adjustable. A series of lock nuts and bolts tighten to holdthe adjustable proportionsatthe desired lengths. Torsos can be displayed < MANNEQUIN MAKE-OVER separately by removing the upper part of the frame at the waist. The ability to duplicate almost any