Cleaning Old Photographs

Written by April Reinhardt (last updated January 16, 2023)

While perusing Grandma's old photographs, did you spill liquid or food on them? Don't panic! The photo isn't ruined. There is a way to clean old photographs. Follow these steps to clean old photographs, and then read the pointers for preserving them for future generations:

  1. For fresh stains, act quickly. Keep in mind that photographs are processed in liquid, so water will not harm them. Place the photo in a stream of running water, or in a pan of clean water.
  2. Gently hold the photo by the very edge, and swish it back and forth in the water.
  3. Using your fingers as a squeegee, remove the excess water from the photo.
  4. Inspect the photo for water droplets, and dab at them with paper toweling.
  5. Place the photo between paper towels to remove all water.
  6. Place the photo on a thick bath towel and then use a hair dryer on the highest heat setting to dry the photo completely, moving the dryer back and forth at least ten inches away from the photo.

The previous steps are not intended for very old photos, such as ferrotypes. And never, ever use water or liquid on photograph negatives, as you will completely destroy the image. It is best to take very old photographs to a professional restoration artist to have them cleaned, but you can enhance and preserve old photographs yourself if you have a computer and a photo editor. I use Picasa2 as my photo editor, and have scanned and then enhanced many old photos for my personal library. Follow these steps to preserve and enhance your old photographs with a photo editor:

  • Scan your photograph.
  • Choose to import it into your photo editor.
  • With your editor, choose to crop, straighten clear red eye problems, adjust contrast, lighting, color, color temperature, and even sharpen the photo.
  • Save the "cleaned" photos to a folder on your hard drive, and then store the original old photographs in dry, clean conditions at a steady room temperature with little humidity. Keep original photographs from direct sunlight.

When cleaning old photographs, try to determine the processing used for the particular print. Water will ruin certain types of prints. Avoid scratching or rubbing photographs while cleaning them, as doing so may etch the print. Avoid writing with ink on the fronts – or backs – of photographs, as the ink can transfer through to the print. If you must write on an old photograph, use pencil and write very lightly.

Author Bio

April Reinhardt

An admin­istrator for a mutual fund man­age­ment firm, April deals with the writ­ten word daily. She loves to write and plans to author a memoir in the near future. April attend­ed More­head State Uni­ver­sity to pursue a BA degree in Ele­men­tary Edu­ca­tion. ...

MORE FROM APRIL

Getting Rid of Tension Headaches

Caused mostly by stress, you cannot cure tension headaches with medication. Keep a headache journal and discuss with your ...

Discover More

Cleaning Artwork

Because artwork can accumulate dust, just like anything else in your home, it needs to be cleaned. However, fine artwork ...

Discover More

Growing Corn

Not only a simple crop to grow, corn is a versatile food, lending itself to many cooking methods, and easily preserved. ...

Discover More

Tough Cleaning Jobs Require Brawny! Brawny paper towels provide the versatility you need: the strength for demanding jobs and the softness to clean up your child's messy face. This 24-roll pack of pick-a-size sheets can handle just about every cleaning task in your home. Check out Brawny 24-Pack Giant Paper Towels today!

More Cleaning Tips

Cleaning Water Dispensers

Water dispensers are a wonderful item to have both in the home and in the office. As with most water related items ...

Discover More

Photo Cleaning

One of the great things about photos is that they can help us remember and re-experience many of the greatest moments of ...

Discover More

What to Ask When Cleaning and Organizing

Are you having trouble deciding what you should keep, and what you should get rid of when you are organizing something? ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one more than 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.