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Redbeeerd

Leather smell, storage smell, mildew smell?

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Hey all!

As a beginner I just came across a problem that I thought I'd never encounter: what does leather smell like? Now I know what leather smells like, but since I'm in no way experienced with this craft I'm sure there are variations of smell I'm not used t.

Now, a smell I know extremely well is mildew. After demolishing an old, damp house by hand last year I'm pretty sure I've reached the equivalent of mildew sommelier: it was everywhere, and the ground even smelled a couple of weeks after having covered the rubble with soil.

On to the storage smell. I bought cheap leather on an auction site and was warned beforehand it had a smell from having spent a long time in storage. I asked whether it was mildew and the seller answered no, it's a normal smell that disappears if you wash the leather or just air it outside.

Leather arrives, and, to me, the smell is obvious: mildew. Since I'm new to this (even though very sceptical about this "storage smell") I wash the leather with hot water and soap. I air it outside in the sun for a day. No change. I borrow an ozone generator and let the leather sit in a room with the machine for 48 hours. No change. I wash the leather with white vinegar. No change. I wash it with baking soda and water, dry it out, cover it with baking soda for 24 hours. No change.

Now this is where I start to wonder if leather can smell very similar to mildew even though it is totally fine and mildew free? From what I understand just the ozone treatment alone should have totally wiped out any mildew, or smell thereof, but the smell persists.

Is it just a hopeless case of mildew smell or is it me that need to adjust my interpretation of this smell?

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To me,  and my nostrils,  leather doesn't smell like mildew . It smells  like...well , leather . I can smell the natural oils in the leather, they are neither strong or pungent .A new side of  vt leather has a nice fresh clean smell to it, ( some hardly have a smell at all)  there are  also ' undertones' of the fact it has come from an animal. . But it gets to a point that I get so used to it, I can no longer smell it. 

If your leather smells like mildew, then perhaps theres a problem:dunno: How is your leather stored? And where is it stored? 

HS

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1 hour ago, Handstitched said:

To me,  and my nostrils,  leather doesn't smell like mildew . It smells  like...well , leather . I can smell the natural oils in the leather, they are neither strong or pungent .A new side of  vt leather has a nice fresh clean smell to it, ( some hardly have a smell at all)  there are  also ' undertones' of the fact it has come from an animal. . But it gets to a point that I get so used to it, I can no longer smell it. 

If your leather smells like mildew, then perhaps theres a problem:dunno: How is your leather stored? And where is it stored? 

HS

It's mildew then, this is pretty much all the information I need to calibrate so to speak. Now I just need to find a way to get rid of the smell.

The leather smelled really strongly when I received it so I have stored it outside in our firewood shed. It's been between -5 and -25 celsius continuously since then so it should not get any worse for now at least.

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I read a bunch of reviews on this leather sold from dealer and several people said it stunk so bad they couldn't use it and of course were livid about it. Couple weeks/month later the same people left a follow up review later and said they left it to air outside in a building and all of the smell went away and said they would buy it again.

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31 minutes ago, Redbeeerd said:

Now I just need to find a way to get rid of the smell.

Are you sure it is mildew, not mold or a combination of both?? Mold is usually stronger smelling while mildew smells more musky.

If it is mildew which grows on the surface and you maybe able to clean it off if it was caught in time but if it is deep within the fibers it is probably mold. My opinion is whether it is mildew or mold get rid of it both can cause health issues.

kgg

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1 hour ago, Burkhardt said:

I read a bunch of reviews on this leather sold from dealer and several people said it stunk so bad they couldn't use it and of course were livid about it. Couple weeks/month later the same people left a follow up review later and said they left it to air outside in a building and all of the smell went away and said they would buy it again.

I was a bit confused about the reviews to be honest but it seems people got rid of the smell eventually.

46 minutes ago, kgg said:

Are you sure it is mildew, not mold or a combination of both?? Mold is usually stronger smelling while mildew smells more musky.

If it is mildew which grows on the surface and you maybe able to clean it off if it was caught in time but if it is deep within the fibers it is probably mold. My opinion is whether it is mildew or mold get rid of it both can cause health issues.

kgg

Might be mold then. I'll let the pieces rest outside for a couple of weeks, maybe the UV helps out a bit.

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On 1/3/2023 at 9:57 PM, Redbeeerd said:

I was a bit confused about the reviews to be honest but it seems people got rid of the smell eventually.

Might be mold then. I'll let the pieces rest outside for a couple of weeks, maybe the UV helps out a bit.

Years and years ago I bought 5  ‘on sale’ full hides from a (familiar if named) inexpensive country wide leather shop.

I didn’t notice the acidic smell until I got home.
It was almost unbelievably bad.
So, I ended up hanging all five hides outside on a rope line in the sun and breeze  for about 4 or 5 days.
Eventually the smell faded away. 
After the bad smell had faded the leather was very usable.
These days I always give the leather a sniff test before I buy it,,from this certain brand leather shops.

Joel

 

Edited by GrampaJoel

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21 hours ago, GrampaJoel said:

Years and years ago I bought 5  ‘on sale’ full hides from a (familiar if named) inexpensive country wide leather shop.

I didn’t notice the acidic smell until I got home.
It was almost unbelievably bad.
So, I ended up hanging all five hides outside on a rope line in the sun and breeze  for about 4 or 5 days.
Eventually the smell faded away. 
After the bad smell had faded the leather was very usable.
These days I always give the leather a sniff test before I buy it,,from this certain brand leather shops.

Joel

 

That's encouraging, thanks for sharing!

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try using oxalic acid . I know you are in Sweden but you should be able to find it somewhere there. Springfield leather carries it and they do ship over seas.

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6 hours ago, purplefox66 said:

try using oxalic acid . I know you are in Sweden but you should be able to find it somewhere there. Springfield leather carries it and they do ship over seas.

I'll have a look, I'm sure I can buy it somewhere! Thanks!

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1 hour ago, Redbeeerd said:

I'll have a look, I'm sure I can buy it somewhere! Thanks!

Go to a hardware store to find oxalic acid, or to your local pub and ask what they use for cleaning down the serving tops of the counter bars. This is often sold as 'Bar-Keeper's Friend' for cleaning bar tops. Although not a lot of pubs/bars actually use it. Another source is your local beekeepers; they might use it for disinfecting bee hive parts

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6 hours ago, fredk said:

Go to a hardware store to find oxalic acid, or to your local pub and ask what they use for cleaning down the serving tops of the counter bars. This is often sold as 'Bar-Keeper's Friend' for cleaning bar tops. Although not a lot of pubs/bars actually use it. Another source is your local beekeepers; they might use it for disinfecting bee hive parts

Excellent advice, thank you!

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On 1/5/2023 at 10:38 PM, GrampaJoel said:

Years and years ago I bought 5  ‘on sale’ full hides from a (familiar if named) inexpensive country wide leather shop.

I didn’t notice the acidic smell until I got home.
It was almost unbelievably bad.
So, I ended up hanging all five hides outside on a rope line in the sun and breeze  for about 4 or 5 days.
Eventually the smell faded away. 
After the bad smell had faded the leather was very usable.
These days I always give the leather a sniff test before I buy it,,from this certain brand leather shops.

Joel

 

I've had the pieces outside for about a week now and it seems the smell is fading! Perfect advice man, thanks!

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On 1/8/2023 at 1:59 PM, Redbeeerd said:

I've had the pieces outside for about a week now and it seems the smell is fading! Perfect advice man, thanks!

You are welcome. 
Joel

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