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Techniques for CollectorsMold removal!

16th May 2012 10:05 UTCMark Hammond

I just opened a box containing what was a rather nice Jamesonite specimen from Zacatecas, only to find (to my dismay) that it was almost completely coated in a white mold!!!! How and why the stuff was living on it, i have no idea.

Any bright ideas on how to remove it from such a delicate mineral???

16th May 2012 11:12 UTCRock Currier Expert

Could we see a picture of the specimen?

16th May 2012 11:52 UTCRalph S Bottrill 🌟 Manager

Could it be a sulphate rather than a mould?

16th May 2012 13:06 UTCAlan Barnes (2)

Mark,

I'm with Ralph on this one and wondered whetehr it might be melanterite formed by oxidation of pyrite. Is there any pyrite on your specimen? I know that melanterite hasn't been recorded from Zacatecas but it could have formed if the specimen has been kept in damp or humid conditions. If it is melanterite then the easiest way to remove it is to carefully add your specimen to bath of water containing a couple of drop of household detergent (to lower the surface tension of the water which should help a lot in preventing delicate jamesonite crystals from being 'knowcked off' the specimen). If its mould then that's a bit more tricky. Just a thought..........

Alan

11th Oct 2012 05:36 UTCFranklin Roberts

If it is mold, try brushing it lightly with an antifungal cream such as Nizoral. I've used that and feminine anti-yeast creams in the past to remove tenacious molds with moderate success.

Frank

17th Oct 2012 01:39 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

LOL Franklin; I'm sure you just made every female poster to Mindat cringe with fear, for obvious reasons.....

Ralph is very correct in that it could be a sulphate coating the specimen as a result of pyrite decay. If it is then follow Alan's advice. If it is mold, I have heard that Dow Scrubbing Bubbles works well on specimens to clean them up. Of course, test an unwanted sample first to see what will work.

Good luck!

17th Oct 2012 04:12 UTCDoug Daniels

If it is mold, possibly a dilute solution of Chlorox ("chlorine bleach"), with the usual caveat to test an unwanted sample first. I would think something like Scrubbing Bubbles might generate agitation that could dislodge the needles/crystals.

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