How to Freeze Dry Documents for Restoration
Freeze drying documents for restoration is a complicated process that requires expensive specialized equipment and expertise. Freeze drying is often necessary after a document is damaged by water, mold or other moisture-related exposure. This is often the case in areas that have suffered a flood or hurricane. It is often one of the best options to restore valuable items such as cash, checks, historical documents, x-rays, film, microfiche, books and company records. Using a professional company is often well worth the increased cost to help to guarantee the full restoration of your important documents.
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Instructions
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Freeze the document to the solid state inside of the document freeze dryer or similar equipment capable of freezing the document solid. This helps to retain the document's original shape and is absolutely necessary for the freeze drying process to work.
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Place the document onto the condensing surface. This surface is capable of maintaining a temperature of -40 degrees Fahrenheit. The cold draws out the moisture and other particles to help protect the machine's vacuum pump.
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Turn on the vacuum pump to draw out the moisture left in the document. The low absolute pressure created by the vacuum pump in the sealed chamber is lower than the pressure of the outer space which forces the moister molecules out of the document.
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Increase the heat in the chamber slowly. Heating sources vary between the different models of freeze dryers. In most cases, coils or heat lamps are used. The gradual increase in heat promotes the release of "bound" water molecules which are typically the last of the moisture remaining after the document undergoes the other procedures.
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Call a professional company to perform the freeze drying process for the best results. American Technologies Inc. (amer-tech.com) is a full service company that caters to both commercial operations and private residents in Illinois, Arizona, Texas and various parts of California. Document Restoration Services (documentfreezedrying.com) employs freeze drying experts which specialize in a wide range of document types from books to speciality documents. It has offices in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania. CDT International (cdtcat.com) offers both on-site and off-site restoration services, depending on the type of document, type of damage and quantity. CDT International has branches in Canada and Tennessee.
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