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How Can I Safely Remove Old Photos From a Black Paper Album?

Photographs mounted in some photo albums more than a decade ago can begin to show signs of damage from the acid once used in the paper pages. Plastic covers over the photos also can cause the images to discolor. Moving the memories to a newer album with acid-free paper pages can preserve old photos for generations to come. The problem is, the pictures might be stuck to the pages. A variety of solutions are available for loosening the adhesive and removing the prints safely.

Things You'll Need

Freezer
Plastic bags
Dental floss
Electric hair dryer
Plastic putty knife

Instructions

- 1
  Remove individual pages of photos from the album, if possible, and slip each page into a plastic bag. Otherwise, place the entire album in a plastic bag if pages cannot be extracted.
- 2
  Place the bagged photo pages in a freezer for about 10 minutes. The cold will harden the adhesive and cause it to become brittle, making it easier to remove the old photos.
- 3
  Remove the photo pages from the freezer, then slip a length of dental floss between the photo and the page so that the floss extends between both sides of the photo. Pull the floss back and forth in a sawing motion against the adhesive to loosen the photo from the album page.
- 4
  Remove stubborn photos by waving a hair dryer set on high behind the page to soften the adhesive.
- 5
  Slip the flat edge of a plastic putty knife beneath the corner of a photo and the page, working the knife gently back and forth to loosen the print.

Collecting Memorabilia