Saving Flood Damaged Photographs
Hello! I'm Krista and this is my assistant Maddie! Together we (along with a big team of caring people) have been volunteering our time to help Hurricane Ian victims save their flood damaged photographs.
If you would like to help our beautiful Southwest Florida community we are donating 100% of the profits from our metal print art to hurricane relief. You can check those out at this link. We also suggest donating to the Heights Foundation if you would like to give to an organization that is directly helping people with the recovery process.
You can save pictures! Don't give up on flood damaged pictures too quickly. Many can be saved.
My team has been working hard to help Hurricane Ian flood victims save their pictures and I wanted to share a few tips with everyone.
1. Take pictures of the pictures. If they are snapshots or just fun memories, a photo on your phone will preserve that memory. We found the app Photomyne is an easy way to capture groups of pictures on your cell phone and then always have that digital memory. I would definitely suggest this for pictures that you just want to keep that record of and not necessarily heirloom images or things you may later want to create a big enlargement of. You can use those Photomyne digital files to nicely reprint a small copy of. Currently Chatbooks is offering free reprints for Hurricane Ian victims. You can email them at support@chatbooks.com to get all of the details on this offer.
2. It's important to move quickly. Mold will start to set in fast, so get them out of the albums and frames. Then lay them out to dry.
3. Don't force them out of their album or frame. If they are sticking to the glass of a frame or the plastic get everything else away from them and then let them sit out to dry that way. You may want to get a quick digital photo through the glass or album before you remove them just to be safe.
4. If they are irreplaceable images and you want to have them professionally restored, put them in the freezer to stop from growing mold. Then when you have time you can get them to a professional who will use more advanced techniques to save them.
3. For most film camera images (anything from the 70's 80's and 90's) you can literally rinse them off in clean water and lay them out to dry. Once completely dried, press them under a book to get them flat again.
4. Use rubbing alcohol to remove debris or dirt. If you need something more than a water rinse, a swab with rubbing alcohol and a gentle wipe can do the trick.
5. for images that were made on an at home digital printer, (I'm finding a lot of Santa pictures and things that were printed on site like this) you have to be a lot more careful. Their inks are not lasting. Definitely take a phone picture of those ASAP. Do as little handling as possible and just get them out to dry.
If you or a loved one need help with your pictures we are volunteering right now to help families. We have piles of pictures and a team here working away. We have also lined up several photographers from around the country who are willing to volunteer to help with photo restoration. We would be happy to help your family too!