How to get mildew out of leather

[cgreen]

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend. I recently purchased a 1970s Wolf Leathers (London, UK) cross-zip jacket, and despite being assured by the seller that it had no smell, when I opened the box the overwhelming scent of mildew hit me.

This seller has a no return policy so I own the jacket now.

How can I clean the liner? If I dry-clean the jacket I'm afraid it will dry out the leather but I need to do something - every time I walk into the room the scent of mildew is the first thing that catches me.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated, thank you. Speak soon.

Chris

 

[Southoftheborder]

Well it depends where you bought it. If eBay then you can return it for smell or anything and they will take your side. But if you are stuck with it there are a lot of things you can do and many have been posted here. If it's good quality then I would wash it and use disinfectant in the water. Then condition it and air it when it's dry.

But in my experience if it really has got mildew and not just a smell from lack of air you will never get rid of it. Even washing will leave a few spores behind.

 

[Micawber]

Google is your friend, while you are researching hang it outside in the fresh air for several days.

 

[Chandler]

Google is your friend...

Or the "Care & Preservation" forum.

 

[Hazayad]

To be fair, the search function of this site is pants. I usually search by googling: site:vintageleatherjackets.org and then what I look for, be it "M-421A" or "Mildew"+"leather"+whatever...

 

[cgreen]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the thoughts. I'm not so keen on taking advice from random people on Google as I don't know there respective levels of expertise and/or interest in things.

Turning to a forum of like-minded individuals is preferable. I'll check the Care and Preservation forum.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I've had some success dealing with mildew with a mix of white vinegar (about 3:1) diluted with water applied sparingly to patches of mildew with a cotton bud or a damp cloth and then aired in sunlight.

 

[Micawber]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the thoughts. I'm not so keen on taking advice from random people on Google as I don't know there respective levels of expertise and/or interest in things.

Turning to a forum of like-minded individuals is preferable. I'll check the Care and Preservation forum.

Of course a lot depends on the source of the information you choose to follow, advice gleaned from a bona fide conservation organisation is going to be somewhat more reliable than Mrs Trellis of North Wales

That said mildew and musty smells have been the subject of discussion on several occasions. Entering "mildew" into the forum search function brings up several returns - for example..

White vinegar for removing musty smell from leather?

Hi All, So I thought you would all like to know what the solution I found was. I tried the coffee in a bag for a week but that was not a perfect solution, although it did make it better. In the end I called Eastman up and asked what they would do. Gary recommend Eastman’s liquid leather. It’s...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[Smithy]

There's a BIG difference between level of "mildew" and the actual type of fungus that is responsible for it.

Some mould spores can be easily taken care of by a mildly acidic solution and sunlight (or conditions which remove moisture). However some mildew can be caused by particularly aggressive and persistent mould spores which can really never be gotten totally rid of, and can only be kept under control through a reduced humidity environment and regular applications of a solution to combat it.

This is based on my experience working at the national aviation museum here where we had a lot of leather items.

 

[Dumpster D]

The vinegar Treatment worked for a few things in my collection that were smelling very musty when they came in.

 

[MaydayWei]

But then you'll smell like vinegar!

 

[flyincowboy]

white vinegar diluted with water then saddle soap an when dry a touch of sapo cream!

 

[cgreen]

Thank you everyone, I truly appreciate everyone's thoughts. I'm having a difficult time determining if the mildew smell is coming from the lining or the leather or both.

Neither has any visible mold growing and my earliest thought was to have the lining replaced, but that only works if the lining is the issue. If the smell is in the leather itself - can mold spores grow in leather? - what can be done? Saddle soap and conditioner is a good start but then what?

And while we're at it, is there a consensus on washing - gently - a leather jacket in the bathtub with a mild soap?

I watched a video wherein the CEO of Schott said this was never a good idea, and yet other videos with self-purported leather experts claim a rinse in the bath is exactly what's needed with no ill effects.

Adding to that, Lost Worlds' website routinely touts the positive effects of getting a horsehide jacket wet and then wearing it.

The bathtub washing videos are quite satisfying in that the water turns brown from the dirt and sweat and salt coming off the jackets but I had the worry that potentially some of that was the dye from the leather.

Looking forward to more thoughts, thank you. Enjoy the evening.

CG

 

[Southoftheborder]

Like many here I have washed a lot of leather and sheepskin jackets. I use a mild soap like Woolite and warm not hot water and wash it in the bath. BUT only if it is a good quality jacket and not vegetable tanned. Your jacket will be chrome tanned but it might not be well enough made to wash and they might have glued it before stitching which could be a problem.

Always handle wet leather with care as it has no strength when wet and can tear.

I've also washed a chrome tanned Aero jacket in the machine to soften it and bring out the grain and it was great after. But they sell well made unglued jackets.

You could just wash the lining and try not to wet the leather all the way through.

And yes spores can grow on leather in fact they love it. As I said above it it really has a bad case of mildew it will probably not be possible to eradicate it.