A. Before removing photographs from old albums make sure it is a necessity. The International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, advises leaving photographs in albums older than the 1950s to preserve your family history. Most deterioration in those older albums has already occurred.

If you still want to remove photographs from albums, photo conservators suggest using unwaxed dental floss to gently remove photos from albums. A scrapbook product called UN-DU is safe to use on the back of images, but be careful not to get it on the images themselves.

You can remove photos from magnetic albums using either dental floss or by putting the albums in the freezer for a few minutes. Be careful not to leave them in the cold for too long or condensation could build up on the images when returned to room temperature.