“Why are they using SALIVA to clean works of art?”

“Why are they using SALIVA to clean works of art?” is a short video in the Química por aí series. It explores the Ig Nobel Prize winning research about using human saliva — spit — to preserve and repair valuable paintings, sculpture, and other art works:

 

The 2018 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize was awarded to Paula Romão, Adília Alarcão and the late César Viana, for measuring the degree to which human saliva is a good cleaning agent for dirty surfaces.

They documented their research, in the study: “Human Saliva as a Cleaning Agent for Dirty Surfaces,” by Paula M. S. Romão, Adília M. Alarcão and César A.N. Viana, Studies in Conservation, vol. 35, 1990, pp. 153-155.