Killing mildew on leather

[Drm50]

Their are things you can put on leather and it will wipe out mildew and mold. It will also rot the leather. I have some Elpaso Saddelry holsters 40 yrs old that have never hade mold or mildew on them. I have news low end holsters that mill dewed in bag new.

This is a problem I'm going to find out about before I slap chemicals on leather worth a couple hundred.

[Bazoo]

You might research the salvaging of old books that are bound in leather. Lots of tips that will transfer in that realm.

[Naphtali]

I believe mildew is a fungus. If this is accurate, you might try a liquid or ointment over-the-counter fungicide. Keep in mind that there are two distinct types of OTC fungicides. Which one, if either, will kill mildew you may need to duckduckgo or bing Internet search. Or perhaps the pharmacist might know.

I have not tried fungicide on mildew because we have no mildew where I live. I would think this process would be less disruptive to formed leather than soaking in hot water with bleach.

Just a thought.

[GregLaROCHE]

Ballistol

[barrabruce]

The wife bought some Ecco friendly goop that eventually evaporates and kills mold spores around the house.
Yes it does work.
I put one little container in the gun safe and I don’t get growth on any of my guns anymore.
Just the sweat from your hands can bring an outburst on a plastic stock.at times.
Sprouts it is tea tree oil.
Lemon oil works well too.
Kills the fungus and spores.

I would trial it on some old leather before committing to a precious artefact thou.

[Thumbcocker]

I second the Ballistol idea. It works on just about anything. Even cats!

Randy

Can you please, for the sake of scientific curiosity, post a picture of a mildewed cat?

[Don Purcell]

Ballistol here.

[robg]

Wales is pretty wet .twinned with Atlantis.I just use neatsfoot oil on my leathers gloves/boots/belts/jackets etc never had a problem .

[429421Cowboy]

I live in a drier clime so I can't directly speak for the effects in a humid area but... Having a whole lot of leather from my vocation and avocation as well as being a leatherworker... We trust Obenhofs with all our leather preservation for everything from saddles to boots to holsters and sheaths.
It started as a boot preservative developed by a wildland firefighter for wildland firefighters. That is where I learned of it, for taking care of my wildland boots. It does not soften out and rot leather like mink oil or neatsfoot oil. It is made of a blend of proplis waxes derived from beeswax. Beeswax is naturally antibacterial and microbial and mildew/mold prevention is one of the things Obenhofs was developed to combat. To date I have had no mildew on any of our leather goods treated with Obenhofs, and it preserves and feeds leather without rotting it out. Big issue when talking about things like holster fit, horse tack, knife retention etc...

[GregLaROCHE]

When I was I the Navy, I was a Deep Sea Diver. The old fashioned helmets like in. John Wayne movies. Anyway a lot of the equipment used leather straps and belts. We were taught to apply neats foot oil only on one side of the leather. This was to drive out the humidity to the other side. Maybe that is something to consider, when applying products to leather..

[Schreck5]

Straight beeswax, melted, then wiped on. Use hair drier to heat the wax back up and emediatly rub, rub, rub. Then set in sun.

[Petander]

I found some old black leather motorbike clothing from the 90's, a jacket is from the 80's in fact. They looked like trash, lots of white /brown mildew/mold everywhere. They were dried up as well,being in an outside shed for 20 years.

Soaking hot humid summers,bone dry cold winters.

I literally soaked them in olive oil for days,rubbed more every day. They became completely good for riding again, I used them a lot for some authentic feel on a Harley last summer. And will wear them next summer again.

[loveruger]

Sprayer with bleach 50-50 water bleach scrubed with brush . Dried in air used a product nor-v-gen good for last 6 mo.

[darne]

Saddle makers use Oxalic acid. It's sold as wood bleach at Home Depot and Lowes. Mix according to the instructions on the container. Use a sponge to apply and wipe off. When dry I use a beeswax lanolin saddle dressing. I'm in Arizona so no humidity problems, but gear gets wet and will mildew.

Hope this helps.
Dan