Cleaning money

[tao9087]

I have a question about cleaning money. If paper currency is found but covered with mildew, what is the best way to clean the money?

 

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[BigWaveDave]

Is this a money laundering question?

 

[tao9087]

No not at all. I have an old $20 bill from the 1930's and it has mildew on it. I would like to get rid of the mildew without destroying the bill.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I would certainly hold off on cleaning that bill - for as long as it takes - until you're absolutely certain of your actions. It isn't like laundering your jeans and finding clean twenty dollar bills in the washer afterwards - always clean and spendable. But you're dealing with a bill from the 1930's and do not know the composition. It might actually be more valuable with the mildew on it when it comes to collector value - versus cleaning it.

 

[tao9087]

Oh I see. I've always heard that you shouldn't clean old coins because it could make it less valuable. It makes sense with paper money. Thanks for the info, I'll leave it as is.