Does paper trap any bacteria/microorganism/virus etc over time?

[kenny1999]

Does paper, for example, old books, or any type of paper that is commonly used, could it trap any acteria/microorganism/virus etc over time?? How to "clean" paper?

 

[jim mcnamara]

It looks like you decided on a problem and a fix for it. Since there is no context here is a grade B answer. (If you can tell us what you are trying to accomplish and not how you think to do it, we can try for grade A answers.)

Yes, bacteria & other microorganisms that form spores can remain for years on paper. Viruses tend to degrade on their own over time, especially in sunshine. Ex: Flu virus on inside door knobs degrades completely in a day,
on your hands in about 15 minutes.

See:
https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/infections/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-body/

Flu viruses capable of being transferred to hands and causing an infection can survive on hard surfaces for 24 hours. Infectious flu viruses can survive on tissues for only 15 minutes. Like cold viruses, infectious flu viruses survive for much shorter periods on the hands.

Sterilizing paper can be achieved partially with UVA light, but it can also degrade/remove ink or printing on the paper. As well as wreck the the paper if overdone.

UVA, UVB light requires special safety eye equipment. Don't just do this without correct safety glasses. Got it?

 

[russ_watters]

Does paper, for example, old books, or any type of paper that is commonly used, could it trap any acteria/microorganism/virus etc over time??

Certainly. Anything that collects dust is collecting potentially viable microorganisms.

How to "clean" paper?

Keep it dry, for starters. But what you need depends on more specifics of what you are trying to sterilize, and what harm you are trying to protect against. You could use UV light or even an autoclave, for example.

 

[Rive]

Most common 'live' danger associated with paper would be mold.
There are some chemicals which can kill it, but all of those will harm the paper too. It is better to keep books dry than trying to save them later.

In general, it is common to clean up books with vacuum cleaner from time to time: maybe once a year.

 

[BillTre]

Depending upon what you are wanting to do, you could use glass fiber filter paper to collect these materials and if you wanted to get rid of the biologicals stuck onto it, you could than bleach the paper.
The glass fibers composing the paper will not be affected.

 

[jim mcnamara]

As of yet, the OP has not deigned to tell us what s/he is actually doing. We can keep guessing, which is a waste of time. Thread closed.