Mold...need Advise Please.

[Rumblestiltskin]

A customer of mine brought in a pair of motorcycle saddle bags for restoration. They are pretty far gone (i would have chucked them) with a lot of outside damage as well as internal nastiness, but these particular ones cant be bought anymore so he wants them restored.

They have been sitting in a damp basement for a year, and the inside is all nasty with white mold and mildew (see pics).

Whats the recommended way to treat this and prevent it from returning?

Thanks in advance!

[Tree Reaper]

Ohio has IP-MMSR for that purpose.

[Cyberthrasher]

EEWW!!

First thing's first, you must get all physical traces of the mold off. There's a video on Tandy's site for mold removal that should give you the procedure (I've used it for a couple small mold spots), but for this you'll probably want to go with something more industrial strength. I think it was Bee Natural that I saw has some mold treatment. Still not sure if it would be enough for your problem though since I've never used it.

http://www.naturalleathercare.com/site/787009/product/SOF

[rdb]

Go down to Lowe's Lumber (maybe HD), pick up some Barkeeper's Friend in the cleaning aisle.

It contains oxalic acid, which kills mold. Mix with water, and start scrubbing. Use a sponge, toothbrush, whatever seems to get it without scratching.

[Rumblestiltskin]

Oxalic Acid, now there's a new thing worth knowing. No Lowes in my neck of the world but i should be able to find a substitute, thanks.

That Tandy video is good info too, Lemon Juice, what can't it do!

[shtoink]

The question still remains, is there any damage to the integrity of the leather? Leather items that have been subjected to long term exposure can/will experience a breakdown of the fibers within it. Essentially, the mold is digesting leather and there is a permanent damage to it. It's hard to tell from the pictures, so I only mention this as a possibility. I have had leather items that just fell into pieces after being cleaned up, which is why I bring it up.

Once cleaned up, if there is any permanent damage to the leather, the surface will be dimpled and have almost an orange peel look where the mold used to reside.

If this is the case, they would be a good candidate for becoming the patterns of a new bag.

[Rumblestiltskin]

Fair Call Shtoink, Its one of these "Customer has to have what customer wants" deals. My first suggestion was to bin them and replace, but customer "has" to have these restored.

Already told him there is no guarrantee as they are too far gone.

[TwinOaks]

Read this part and then go do it....isolate those from any other leather IMMEDIATELY. Bagging them in ziplocs is fine, as long as they're zipped. Now...Shtoink is right on track with making patterns out of those. You might be able to clean them, but the leather is probably rotten. You'll need a specific work area to clean those, preferably outside and away from any other leather. After you spend several hours or days cleaning them and soaking, and re-conditioning them, you'll be able to tell if you got all the spores that are buried down inside the leather....if you didn't, it'll come back pretty quick.

At that point, you could use them as a pattern for new bags, then give the old ones back and tell your customer that they were beyond reasonable repair. Your customer will probably appreciate that more than losing something in them when they fall apart. Incidentally....if they are sewn with natural fiber thread, the thread is more than likely rotted as well.

[Rumblestiltskin]

Thanks TwinOaks, they're already isolated in my back room well away from my work and leather storage area. I have templated them anyway in the event I can get the customer to see sense and bin these.

[TwinOaks]

How about the best of both options? Get them as clean as possible, use them for a pattern, and return them with the new bags. That way, the customer gets to keep the bags that obviously have a lot of sentimental value, AND gets a useable set of bags.