Drayton Hall Collection Anoxic Treatment

The Warren Lasch Conservation Center has been working with Drayton Hall to host their collection until an on-site storage facility is built and to implement pest treatment. Just under 100 objects were transported to the WLCC to undergo treatment. There was a variety of metal, wood, and textile pieces that all required a different level of care. 60% of the objects, mostly textiles and wood pieces, were placed in multiple, different-sized anoxic environments for pest mitigation.

These enclosures are created using a non-permeable material. The oxygen inside each of the enclosures is eliminated with different gasses, which deprive the pests of oxygen and, in turn, suffocate and dehydrate them. This process can take longer than some other pest treatments but does not introduce any additional chemicals to the object that could cause adverse effects on its structural or visual integrity. The objects that did not require pest treatment were cleaned thoroughly and placed in storage.

Read more about this partnership with Drayton Hall.