Mould

[Stanley Doble]

Has anyone tried silver colloid or colloidal silver? It is supposed to kill all kinds of bacteria, mold spores, viruses etc. and it should be safe as it contains nothing but water and silver.

 

[Big J]

So my Answer if any, is Vinegar!

Machine washed twice with woolite and still musty smelling after dry, Tried spraying with diluted white vinegar! Then dry, repeat...they now smell vinegarry..but then under that there is no mould smell, just Smells like leather and vinegar. will oil and air out and report back, so far the musty smell isnt there or bothersome in the car...the vinegar doesnt linger badly on your hands either.

Next time I will add vinegar to the wash.

they DO look nice out of the machine too! though enough die bled out for sure, but I cannot tell.

What kind of vinegar, please? The kind I have on my fish and chips, or some special kind of vinegar I wouldn't know about?

 

[robrinay]

Hydrogen peroxide is an old fashioned bleach which will oxidise/rot leather and lighten most dyes - NEVER touch leather with bleach!

 

[robrinay]

What kind of vinegar, please? The kind I have on my fish and chips, or some special kind of vinegar I wouldn't know about?

The type I used was colourless spirit vinegar - also known as white vinegar not the brown stuff used on chips also known as non-brewed condiment.

 

[Big J]

The type I used was colourless spirit vinegar - also known as white vinegar not the brown stuff used on chips also known as non-brewed condiment.

Thank you very much!

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Just Regular white vinegar.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Hydrogen peroxide is better used as wood bleach for example. Good to know its not safe on leather. Thanks.

 

[ksozay]

Hello!

Wanted to provide an update on this thread with a recent battle I had with mould/must. I recently received an Oakbrook Leather Jacket in great condition. But once I opened the box, it was clear this jacket had a severe smell of must to it. It was strong enough to put me off wearing it until I could resolve the smell for fear it would spread to my clothing, etc. After reading comments here, I tried the following (keep in mind I live in Seattle, so in December putting the jacket in hot sun, isn't really an option):

- Wiped down the entire coat with warm water and soap, using sponge. Including the liner, etc. Wiped dry and hung outside for a few days. Not much noticeable improvement.
- Wiped down the entire coat with white cleaning vinegar (regular white vinegar), inside and out. Hung outside to dry for a few days. Small improvement.
- Wiped down the entire coat with a second dose of white vinegar, inside and out. I went over the exterior a few times and really made sure to thoroughly get every part. Few days outside. Small improvement.

At this point, I was getting pretty bummed. It didn't seem like this smell was ever going away and I was pretty close to just accepting that I'd bought a musty leather jacket that I wouldn't wear. And then, decided to try some stuff I use on my car interior:

- Sprayed the entire exterior of the jacket with Sonax leather cleaner (Amazon). It foams up and you let it sit for a few minutes before wiping off. I did this twice.
- Fabreezed the hell out of the interior liner - The liner didn't smell but thought I might as well, just in case.
- Put the jacket outside for two days. It was in direct sunlight for the entire day, temp was about 50. First day front side up, second day backside up.
- Brought jacket inside and used Sonax one more time to exterior.
- Finished with Jackson's conditioner.

No more smell. Thank God.

I actually believe all the steps helped. But I believe the Sonax step, combined with the heat and vinegar, really allowed the leather to open up and breathe which seemed to resolve the smell. I am happy to report the jacket smells like good old leather.

Hope this helps.

Take care,

KS

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Keep it stored with a bag of baking powder, that should help tame the funk down some.

 

[AnnieWashington]

I used the vinegar to get my Designer Forum jacket back to original clean state. Try using it. The vinegar we use at home for dishes would work.

 

[Robbone]

Does anybody know much about this coat. It was given to me by my grandfather who acquired it from his grandfather who apparently wore it whilst gold mining in South Africa late 1800s. Also it smells soooo bad of musty stuff that my wife has banned it from the house so I will try a few of the above tips if there is any guaranteed ways of getting results please forward the knowledge. Thanks in advance and apologies for hijacking a post but can’t upload pictures on a new thread.

 

[navetsea]

Water mix with vinegar kill the mold permanently including their spores, my gloves was full with white mold inside out, i tried alcohol, tried skin cream for fungal, nothing works permanently, always coming back every few weeks, so i tried white vinegar-water inside out with sponge and air out the smell of the vinegar, mold gone smell gone, not coming back.

 

[Robbone]

Will give it a go thanks

 

[nick123]

Does anybody know much about this coat. It was given to me by my grandfather who acquired it from his grandfather who apparently wore it whilst gold mining in South Africa late 1800s. Also it smells soooo bad of musty stuff that my wife has banned it from the house so I will try a few of the above tips if there is any guaranteed ways of getting results please forward the knowledge. Thanks in advance and apologies for hijacking a post but can’t upload pictures on a new thread. View attachment 201210 View attachment 201211

1930s? I think you have a very desirable coat!

 

[Robbone]

Ah nice thanks for reply just wish I could wear it but the smell is quite overpowering. I noticed a small strip of leather with writing on it in the right hand pocket yesterday I will have a look properly now I have some light and see if I can get more details.

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Until you know exactly what Jacket you have and what it's worth...I'd leave it be...Just try to air it out for now, *seriously* these things take their own time and you have to be patient... You might give it a spray down pretty heavily with some Eucalan wool cleaner and dab it and you leave it in, with no rinsing. (This is specialty wool detergent that is specifically for Sheep skin fleece! you can ask a wool or yarn shop for it! it works wonders and you don't have to rinse it and it smells beautiful!) If the Jacket has got some sheepskin it needs careful handling as it may be fragile so check that part of the leather is not dry rotted or showing signs of cracking or flaking then you have to leave it alone and it's pretty much a display piece only. IMHO...Eucalan spray down and fresh air might be enough for now.

 

[Robbone]

Ok I’ll ask in the wool shop if they can get that stuff for me thanks again

 

[Dumpster Diver]

If you can't find the Eucalan, I have some here I can take a photo of the bottle for you or might even be able to get it for you, It's a specialty item, so it's a bit more pricey than your average bottle of detergent. My Mother is a professional Felt maker, she works at a yarn shop in town so she's a real expert on wool cleaning...a bottle will last a long time, basically you mix a couple cap fulls in a spray bottle and give it some sprays and some light dabbing, do that a few times and leave the garment to air out for a time, you should be doing alright, you could always hand wash or spot clean the exterior leather areas with some saddle soap, and the non-sheepskin areas you can spot clean by hand, it's the sheepskin that can be like tissue paper over many years of storage...if it didn't have the mouton collar I'd say you could really go to town on the washing, but again..sheepskin can get brittle and flaky over time.

I'd say easy on the vinegar, after you wash it...the Jacket will still slightly smell until it's totally dry!

 

[Robbone]

Ah cool thanks I noticed a slightly bald patch in the collar area where someone tried hanging it I guess. Are you in uk ?

 

[Dumpster Diver]

I'm in Ontario Canada.

The armpits of a Jacket tend to be the place where the mould lives in my experience so if you can spot clean that jacket in any way, there's a good place to start...turn the body of the Jacket inside out, leave it to dry completely. Mould comes back from time to time unless you can completely kill it I think...While you work, Picture the environment mould likes to thrive in (Like a dark damp basement stuffed away where the air is trapped with it) and try to imagine a place it can't survive (Like a nice warm breeze on a sunny afternoon)...I've got some stuff that needs a few treatments from time to time, it's Just old...it's Just mould, I hate it but it's part of life.

Cow, horse and goat skin Jackets are pretty rugged, but sheepskin is not, however it's warm whereas the others are more for their wind-breaker qualities.

Yours is a beautiful Jacket btw.

I have boots that can get mouldy from time to time, I've Just had to use saddle soap and brush or rub on some mink oil (the shoe polish mink oil has stuff in it that is like a cleaner almost you know? Like you can smell that sort of flammable chemical smell almost..I'd wager that probably would kill or clean some of the mould on the shell of the Jacket at least on the exterior anyway right away without too much trouble..everyone here swears on pecards leather stuff, I've never used it so I can't say how it works but apparently it's the best stuff.)

if that patch is a gouge then yeah it might be brittle or have dry rot in some places, easy does it...if that's the case and you soak the sheepskin in a wash that part of the Jacket could potentially fall apart like toilet paper...I have some Fragile sheepskin Jackets that are 70 years old from the Second world war... If I clean the fleece I'll Just spray on some eucalan (It actually smells pretty nice) and dab lightly with a towel and air dry, it's best not to go overboard with the spray...you can always repeat the process. Here is the product website :

https://www.eucalan.com/products-1/delicate-wash/eucalyptus