PSA: Thrift store hardcovers can hide a nasty surprise behind the dust jacket

Last week I grabbed a 1970s sci-fi novel from a Goodwill in Portland for $2 because the cover art was killer. Got it home, took off the dust jacket to check the binding, and found the whole front board covered in what looked like black mold spots. It smelled fine but the cloth was stained and kind of tacky. I wiped it with a dry cloth and it smeared, so that was definitely active growth. Apparently moisture gets trapped behind the plastic cover they put on library discards and it breeds quietly for years. Now I check the boards on every hardcover before I even pay for it. Has anyone else found mold hiding under a dust jacket from a used bookstore or thrift store?

1 comments

1 Comment

lucas6312d ago

Tbh I found a 1960s paperback with what I thought was just a weird stain on the spine, turned out to be dried up glue from a price tag that had melted in someone’s garage. But mold under a dust jacket? Ngl, that’s a whole other level of nasty. I once bought a whole box of thrift store books and one of them had a tiny green patch on the inside cover that I ignored, now I’m pretty sure my entire shelf smells like a basement in slow motion. Honestly, I’ve started bringing a little flashlight to Goodwill just to peek under the flaps, which makes me look like a weirdo but at least I’m not bringing home biohazards. I wish I had your Portland luck though, all I ever find is old textbooks and romance novels with half the pages stuck together.