Is it impossible to kill pests in old books? (mildew, mold, dust mites)?

Question

I have some old books, which have either dust or mold in them, or apparently don't even have anything in them, but are old and every time I touch them, I immediately feel itchy everywhere on my body, especially on my back.

This is what I have tried, but my body still itches A LOT::

* Erasing each mold spot with a rubber eraser, very hard, to the extent of even tearing off the stained part of the page

* Applying medicinal alcohol with a dampen cloth, until the affected area is very wet

* Same as above, using drugstore peroxide

* Leaving the books in the sun, for several hours

* Microwaving the books on the highest power setting, for more than a minute, to the point where the books are about to catch fire (then I stop the microwave).

* Spraying Lysol on the affected pages first, and then almost everywhere else (at least the books smell good now, but the itching is the same or even worse).

Please suggest solutions, don´t simply say something useless like "discard the books"

Answer 1

Are these books worth keeping? if yes put them in a large garbage bag or a large plastic bin /tote and open a box of moth balls , seal the bag or tote for a good week or more .

Answer 2

Place a dryer sheet between the pages and into a ziploc

bag and leave them for a few days. or stick them in the

freezer for a couple of weeks.

Answer 3

I have heard ( although I have never tried) that if you seal the book in a ziplok bag and deep freeze it that will solve the problem.

Answer 4

OMG!!!!  You are doing serious damage to the books!

It's usually the decades of dust that accumulates in the paper. Vacuum them to suck the dust off.

And also, try wearing cotton gloves. Oldpaper sucks the moisture out of your hands.