How to Clean an Oil Painting After a Flood

Remove the oil painting from the frame whether still wet or dry. Keep the canvas on the stretcher bars. Rinse and mud and dirt off if still wet with a clean sponge and distilled water.

Air-dry using good circulation instead of heat or sunlight. Lay the canvas face-up on the horizontal surface of a clothes-drying rack to increase circulation. Use fans, dehumidifiers or air conditioners to speed up the drying process and prevent additional mold from forming.

Brush the dry oil painting free of mold dust outdoors with a stiff-bristle to paint brush. Clean mold stains from the back of the oil painting. Spray a cotton ball with mold remover. Lightly rub over the mold stains to remove. Wipe with a damp, clean sponge to clean off mold remover residue. Allow to dry in the same manner used in Step 2.

Lay the painting face-up on a table. Stack strips of wood covered with a top layer of hard linoleum under the space beneath the canvas between the stretcher bars to create a support of the base and prevent stretching or tearing the canvas while cleaning. Put on rubber gloves. Saturate a clean cotton ball with neutralizer and delicately wipe over the surface of the painting. Dip a cotton swab in emulsion cleaner. Roll gently over a small square area of the painting then wipe off the emulsion cleaner with neutralizer. Repeat to clean the entire oil painting. Allow to dry.

Apply three thin layers of varnish to the face of the painting to preserve the cleaning and protects the painting from future damage. Allow each layer to dry before applying the next.