Leather care?

[Martin Luber]

I have a reasonably dry basement with a dehumidifier but I notice leather knife sheaths, jackets, and slings get moldy in summer.

How do you treat or store leather, how to clean up mold?
Thanks

[Thumbcocker]

Hubbard's boot and shoe grease is the best I have found for conditioning leather. You have mold because your basement is warm and damp. It needs to be dried out.

[Petrol & Powder]

Yep, a little sunlight is your friend.

After getting the leather dry and cleaned up, something to preserve it can be applied.

[Winger Ed.]

After ya take care of the leather, fix the humidity problem in the basement.
That same mold is chewing on everything else in there, there's a good chance it will make you sick,
and over time it will even rot the house out from under you.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Just some observations-- but little advice worth having. I have a couple of big plastic totes full of old leather acquired over many years from many sources. A few pieces seem to have chronic mildew which appears as whiteness on the leather's surface. I've tried all sorts of "cures" like rubbing alcohol, leather dressings of several types, soapy water, etc. They all take it off, but it returns. It seems like once infected with mildew you can never permanently get rid of it. The best luck I've had is with repeated wipings with alcohol and then exposure to sunlight for a couple of days, but the stuff will eventually return. The specific pieces that come to mind are two WW I vintage G.I. 1911 holsters and a Czech holster. I have a lot of old police leather, and none of that mildews, but the leather is well finished and sealed. I have many commercial leather holsters and belts that don't mildew, although I had one "Hunter" brand that did. I have posted a thread here before asking for solutions, but although there were several offered, no one said this will cure the problem permanently. If you do find the cure-all please post it.

DG

[elmacgyver0]

Neatsfoot oil will keep the leather soft and supple.

[Scrounge]

Just some observations-- but little advice worth having. I have a couple of big plastic totes full of old leather acquired over many years from many sources. A few pieces seem to have chronic mildew which appears as whiteness on the leather's surface. I've tried all sorts of "cures" like rubbing alcohol, leather dressings of several types, soapy water, etc. They all take it off, but it returns. It seems like once infected with mildew you can never permanently get rid of it. The best luck I've had is with repeated wipings with alcohol and then exposure to sunlight for a couple of days, but the stuff will eventually return. The specific pieces that come to mind are two WW I vintage G.I. 1911 holsters and a Czech holster. I have a lot of old police leather, and none of that mildews, but the leather is well finished and sealed. I have many commercial leather holsters and belts that don't mildew, although I had one "Hunter" brand that did. I have posted a thread here before asking for solutions, but although there were several offered, no one said this will cure the problem permanently. If you do find the cure-all please post it.

DG

Here lately I've been working on sheetrock with a black mold problem in my house. Sodium Carbonate solution is used to kill black mold. Bleach is also used, but it's not good for leather, or much of anything else. If you've got something you could try it on that isn't a collector's item, it might help. What I bought is Concrobium Mold Control. It's .95% Sodium Carbonate, and from 1-5% trisodium phosphate. Sodium carbonate is also known as washing soda, and is used as an alkali to remove grease & oil in the laundry, and in electrolytic rust removal, and as a PH adjuster in swimming pool chemistry. The 1 quart spray bottle I bought was about $10. You can probably make your own much cheaper. I will be, as I use electrolytic rust removal in my workshop, and I buy washing soda for that and my laundry. I've also got an antique saddle that has the white specks on it. Wiping it off, saddle-soaping and neatsfoot oil gets rid of it for a time, but it's been a while since I last did that, and it needs done again. May try a bit of the mold control stuff on a small portion of it, and see what happens.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Tandy Leather sells a great leather care product. I have used it for years with great results. The problem with Neatsfoot oil is, it's a gift that keeps on giving. It rubs off on whatever the leather touches.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Here lately I've been working on sheetrock with a black mold problem in my house. Sodium Carbonate solution is used to kill black mold. Bleach is also used, but it's not good for leather, or much of anything else. If you've got something you could try it on that isn't a collector's item, it might help. What I bought is Concrobium Mold Control. It's .95% Sodium Carbonate, and from 1-5% trisodium phosphate. Sodium carbonate is also known as washing soda, and is used as an alkali to remove grease & oil in the laundry, and in electrolytic rust removal, and as a PH adjuster in swimming pool chemistry. The 1 quart spray bottle I bought was about $10. You can probably make your own much cheaper. I will be, as I use electrolytic rust removal in my workshop, and I buy washing soda for that and my laundry. I've also got an antique saddle that has the white specks on it. Wiping it off, saddle-soaping and neatsfoot oil gets rid of it for a time, but it's been a while since I last did that, and it needs done again. May try a bit of the mold control stuff on a small portion of it, and see what happens.

Sure hope it doesn't eat your nice saddle up!

As for neetsfoot oil, yes, it does keep the leather supple. But I've tried it, and the mildew will return.

The first thing I tried, way back when, was Vaseline; because when I was a kid with a horse I had an ancient army saddle that my dad, who'd been in the Field Artillery when the French '75s were still horse-drawn, advised that to use to clean the leather and keep it soft. Worked good on the saddle, but it didn't work on mildew infected leather at all. It seemed to make a matrix in which the stuff thrived. Tried the saddle soap also, which also removes the visible mildew, but it always returns.

[farmbif]

I've used boric acid powder dissolved in hot water to successfully kill mold and mildew on wood and fabrics even put it in washing machine with mildewed cloths before, have yet to try it on leather. got this stuff at Tandy leather called "dr Jacksons oil for leather" its an all natural liquid that prevents mold and mildew

[Martin Luber]

I can't say I know the difference between mold and mildew other than mold is black and this stuff is white.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I was born and raised in a very damp climate, the Mississippi Valley, leather could mildew over night and it was always green.

[Bazoo]

I have had success with warm bleach water to dunk a knife sheath that had white mold / mildew. It killed the mould and I'd hasn't returned. I don't recall how much bleach I used but it was something like a 1/2 cup to a gallon.

[waksupi]

Tandy Leather sells a great leather care product. I have used it for years with great results. The problem with Neatsfoot oil is, it's a gift that keeps on giving. It rubs off on whatever the leather touches.

And rots stitching.

[dangitgriff]

I have a reasonably dry basement with a dehumidifier but I notice leather knife sheaths, jackets, and slings get moldy in summer.

How do you treat or store leather, how to clean up mold?
Thanks

I recently discovered Consan-20. A tablespoon mixed with a gallon of distilled water kills mold and mildew. It’s also good for a slew of other sanitization needs.
R/Griff

[curdog]

Lexol works great, I used it on saddles for years.

[varmintpopper]

I recently discovered Consan-20. A tablespoon mixed with a gallon of distilled water kills mold and mildew. It’s also good for a slew of other sanitization needs.
R/Griff

Consan-20 will work. Make sure to follow directions.

Good Shooting

Lindy

[Martin Luber]

No one mentioned Ballistol?

[robg]

neatsfoot oil preserves leather, wont rot stitching.apply generously leave overnight to dry buff with soft cloth in the morning .then keep leather in a dry place.my motorcycle boots/jacket and gloves have all lasted years without cracking or rotting stitching.

[MrHarmless]

No one mentioned Ballistol?

I also use Ballistol, but pretty much because that's what I have. Darkens the leather a little, definitely softens things up initially. The can says it's good for it, (although the can also says it's pretty much good for everything short of natural male enhancement).