I spent part of Saturday cleaning the canvasses I have removed from the trellises.  As I mentioned before, the cool and wet weather caused heavy mildew to form on them.  I checked several websites to determine the best way to remove the mildew without damaging the art.  First, about a week ago, I sprayed the canvas with Lysol to kill the mildew or any mold spores present and let them dry thoroughly.  Next, I used a stiff brush to remove as much of the dried mildew as I could.  I did this outside (it was a beautiful almost-fall day), wearing a respirator mask to be sure that I did not inhale any of the dust.  The canvasses looked pretty good after that, but I decided to take an extra step that had gotten mixed reviews on the websites I looked at.  I used a very diluted mixture of non-chlorine bleach (probably 20-1 bleach and water) to wash the canvasses.  This was very effective in removing the rest of the mildew and cleaning the canvasses of the remaining dirt and dust that had accumulated in the weeks that they were outside.

There are four canvasses remaining on the three trellises.  Next Saturday is another move and I’ll remove three of the four canvasses then, and clean them.  One more move after that.