Abstract:This study was aimed at optimizing cleaning parameters of water on paper relics. Different types of water, including ultrapure water, pure water, distilled water, tap water and hard water were used to see how they affect paper pH number, tensile strength, color, degree of whiteness and degree of polymerization of paper under various cleaning cycles and temperature. The results show that hard water and tap water are poor because the whiteness level increased only by 2.0 levels after cleaning. The tensile strength of treated paper dropped 17%~24%. With ultrapure, pure and distilled water the degree of whiteness increased by levels of 2.99,2.41 and 2.77 respectively; while the tensile strength of those cleaned papers decreased by 16%, 9% and 12%. Therefore, ultrapure, pure and distilled waters are suitable for cleaning paper relics. The optimal condition for cleaning in six cleanings was under room temperature. The results can be used as a reference for cleaning paper relics.