Saving Mouldy Leather??

dianchi

dianchi

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Went to find my put away leather knee pads (for horseball) and my nice dry spot I thought was safe has turned them furry :(

I have got an antibacterial saddle soap/oil but anyone got any better suggestions on how to save them and treat them?

Thanks in advance!
 
I don't generally try to save moldy leather tack, because I worry that the stitches will be starting to rot. But I will be interested to read responses. :)
 
Try wiping with white vinegar, that should kill the mould spores, then clean with a good leather food (i.e. not with anything that requires water). Mould should not rot the stitches - it's the damp that does that.
 
Cortez said:
Try wiping with white vinegar, that should kill the mould spores, then clean with a good leather food (i.e. not with anything that requires water). Mould should not rot the stitches - it's the damp that does that.
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Yes, but I worry that the mould is indicative of damp. You can also usually see when stitching is going but tack failure is something I'm a bit irrational about :o
 
I've restored harness that's been sitting in a sack for upwards of 80 years. A bit of mould just proves there's life in the leather.

Do check the stitching, but it's not hard to repair stitching on existing holes, and just because leather has a 'bloom' on it, doesn't mean the stitching's shot.
 
ok well as they are knee pads (for me) not such a worry on the stitching side of things!

So no water is trick we think? Cortez do you mean neat? Does malt work?
 
Cortez said:
Stitching is easily repaired, or don't people do that any more?
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I don't know about 'people' but I used to repair stitching when I worked for others. The only things of mine that have needed new stitching were things like a breastplate or a cheap pair of reins, so not particularly worth my while.
 
I dotn really want to buy a whole tub of stuff to use just for these, would rather try home tricks first...
(PS last CDM product i used on my best show bridle made it mouldy!)
 
pennyturner said:
I've restored harness that's been sitting in a sack for upwards of 80 years. A bit of mould just proves there's life in the leather.

Do check the stitching, but it's not hard to repair stitching on existing holes, and just because leather has a 'bloom' on it, doesn't mean the stitching's shot.
Click to expand...

This. Honestly, I'd be more concerned if relatively unused leather didn't have a bloom on it.

P
 
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