Recommendations for cleaning and restoring damaged photos and albums
![[photo] 2 lab technicians restoring photos in a bucket of water](https://asset.fujifilm.com/www/nz/files/2023-06/8bf952d9ee613830f5cc051cb560555b/pic_photo-rescue_01.jpg)
If your photos have been damaged by water or mud, Fujifilm has recommendations for treating and cleaning them.
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.
Once cleaned and the image has dried, you may want to take the photo print or negative and create duplicates that can be stored in good condition.
The cleaning method varies, depending on the type of photo print. For more information, check out https://rescue-photo.net/en/
Silver Halide Photos
Prints that have been developed using light sensitive chemicals on photo paper.
For photo prints damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand
For photo prints that have been immersed in water, dirt, sand and stuck together, or album pages which are stuck together and cannot be opened
For entire albums of photo prints damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand
Cleaning water-damaged negatives
For color negative film damaged due to immersion in water, mud, sand
Other types of photo prints
Dye Sublimation Photos
Prints created using heat, such as those from self-service kiosks and marked with “FUJIFILM Quality Thermal Photo Paper” on the back.
Dye-Type Inkjet Photos
Prints using dye that penetrates into the paper surface and preserve the surface characteristics of the paper.
Pigment-Type Inkjet Photos
Prints using tiny particles of colorant that rest on the surface of the paper.
'Message from the Sanriku Archive Disaster Mitigation Centre'
We would like to express our deepest sympathies to all those affected by the disaster. I know that the first priority is your life and livelihood, but photographs are precious treasures for you and your family, and once lost, you will never be able to get the same ones again. We sincerely hope that as many photos as possible will remain with you.
*the Sanriku Archive Disaster Mitigation Centre, based in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, is working towards the realisation of a society in which photos and precious family treasures are kept at hand for all those who wish them in disasters around the world.