White vinegar for removing musty smell from leather?

[rob20uk]

Hey all,

Just got an Eastman A2 from eBay. It’s in fantastic condition but the leather has a slightly musty smell. Will cleaning the leather with 50/50 water/white vinegar work?

Alternatively I was thinking of leaving it in a freezer for 24h.

Alternatively I was thinking of using antibacterial Frabreeze on just the leather. It’s the shell that has the smell, the lining is perfect.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this.

 

[Tattoo A2]

Ive used vinegar and water to get mold off of old leather products, I would try a small area first and see and smell the results, Had an original D1 jacket many years ago and never got the smell out of that one. White vinegar is great for rust removal also

 

[Micawber]

There have been several threads on musty odour removal, the most recent is here..

Best way to remove Musty smell.

I've just got hold of any early Wested Indy jacket but it's been stored for quite some years and has a Musty smell. Thinking of put in a bag with cedar wood and leaving for few days. Open to ideas.

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

 

[B-Man2]

A couple of days ago I read where you can remove most odors on leather by mixing a cup of vinegar and a cup of hydrogen peroxide in a bucket of water and wiping down the garment . I’ve never tried it so you might want to try small sections of the jacket first .

 

[Johnnie Espresso]

something that worked for me on non-leather vintage clothing to get the smell out is spraying them with isopropyl alcohol and let them dry in the sun. I've never done that with leather, and i imagine that it'll dry out the jacket.

 

[Garylafortuna]

You need to be very careful when working with hydrogen peroxide Burt. The food grade stuff that is available in health food stores is a 35% solution that may take the color out of the leather, but the drug store or super market peroxide is only about a 3 - 5% solution which should be safe.
As for vinegar, if you have cat urine odor on your A-2, big affirmative.

 

[Micawber]

something that worked for me on non-leather vintage clothing to get the smell out is spraying them with isopropyl alcohol and let them dry in the sun. I've never done that with leather, and i imagine that it'll dry out the jacket.

Be careful if you try this on leather as it can potentially act as a solvent on some leather dyes and finishes.

 

[sunflo9968]

What has worked for me in the past is ..... Get a plastic bag put cheap coffee or (cawfee as we say in Jersey) and close it up for a week. It pulls the smell right out. Or get the bag and put baking soda in it , close up for a week.Last is speedy dry or some type of absorbent for oil. same procedure. It's a very friendly way to get the smell out of anything.

 

[rob20uk]

What has worked for me in the past is ..... Get a plastic bag put cheap coffee or (cawfee as we say in Jersey) and close it up for a week. It pulls the smell right out. Or get the bag and put baking soda in it , close up for a week.Last is speedy dry or some type of absorbent for oil. same procedure. It's a very friendly way to get the smell out of anything.

I will give this one a shot and see what it is like.

 

[busdrivermike]

Ive seen several articles from broadway costumers and others who use
Vodka on the fabric/liner , “not the leather” they spritz it on not soak it then
After it dries brush it off. Apparently it works really well
Liners can really hold smell
Give it a google

 

[rob20uk]

What has worked for me in the past is ..... Get a plastic bag put cheap coffee or (cawfee as we say in Jersey) and close it up for a week. It pulls the smell right out. Or get the bag and put baking soda in it , close up for a week.Last is speedy dry or some type of absorbent for oil. same procedure. It's a very friendly way to get the smell out of anything.

So I have the jacket in a jacket bag with 250g of ground coffee in a bag in the bottom. I’ll leave this for a week and see how it comes out. Hopefully the jacket bag is as good as a plastic bag.

 

[blackrat2]

Stupid question, but could a dry cleaners do the job with whatever they use??

 

[ausreenactor]

Get some natural polish or leather cleaner into it. Load up on your favourite after shave and anti perspirant and go for a brisk walk.

Or buy from Japan? Every jacket or shirt I have purchased has smelled of laundry powder or something that is equally as pleasant...

 

[sunflo9968]

So I have the jacket in a jacket bag with 250g of ground coffee in a bag in the bottom. I’ll leave this for a week and see how it comes out. Hopefully the jacket bag is as good as a plastic bag.

Make sure to wrap that bag in plastic also. The goal is to keep all the air inside the bag so the coffee does its job absorbing all the odor you don't want.Just use some cheap shopping bag if available or wrap all of it in a towel or blanket.Like I said its a very friendly way to do it. No harm to the garment or leather. remember 1 week or more if you like. Let the magic happen.

 

[rob20uk]

Make sure to wrap that bag in plastic also. The goal is to keep all the air inside the bag so the coffee does its job absorbing all the odor you don't want.Just use some cheap shopping bag if available or wrap all of it in a towel or blanket.Like I said its a very friendly way to do it. No harm to the garment or leather. remember 1 week or more if you like. Let the magic happen.

Thanks. I have done this now.

 

[Sideslip]

"Ding!" One week has passed and I am curious as to the result or if you are just going to leave it a little longer. Let us know how it worked out.

 

[Shropshire-lad]

I tried two rounds at a dry cleaners, white vinegar, freezing and then in desperation shoved it in the washing machine….. first time it survived but still had that ‘smell’ - second time the surface finish started to lift off (it was an Avirex G1) so then I lost it….. teddy flew RIGHT out the pram and the only thing left now is the scovill zip and the ok-ish buttons. Rest went in the bin.
So….. good luck. Maybe try a nice warm days, in the shade, breeze and hang it up to air to breath for a week???

 

[Micawber]

Bugger.

 

[B-Man2]

Damn…. Sorry to hear that .
Please don’t do that with the ELC A2 .
We’ll find something that works for you.

 

[Shropshire-lad]

I sooo wish there was a “snake oil” fix for this very issue….. it crops up so many times. I tried bicarbonate soda once, to get rid of tobacco smoke smell…. Recommend on various forums. Did it work? Did it hell…. Rubbing my elbow I’d try good old fresh air and time…. Time heals all apparently?