What to do about MOLD?
 

All,

It is coming back. On some very rare and old leather. Would like to solve the problem once and for all.

Ideas from leather experts and botanists welcome. Willing to spend a buck or three to solve the problem.

HELP

Tom A.

Tom, First thing you have to do is determine if it IS mold. It might not be. It probably is but rub your finger over a good portion of it and see if your finger is greasy.
I have often seen old leather holsters leach out a white surface stuff that looks like mold but isn't. It is oils or fats surfacing that had been put on the holster years ago. I have found no good way to get rid of this stuff except to rub it off with a soft cloth. Assuming it will re surface.
If it is genuinely determined to be mold, I have had good luck with brushing it off with a soft brush since it should be dry and powdery and freezing the holster. This should go a long way towards killing the spores. You may have to do it several times as mold spores are encapsulated and may not be affected by the freezing process untill open.
The last time this conversation surfaced one of the members suggested a commercial mold treatment for use on boats. I forget exactly what it is. I will look thru my old Email and see if I can find it.
One other way I have thought of it to deprive the mold of oxygen for a time. I am going to try stuffing the holster gently with paper and placing it in a food saver bag and vacuuming out most of the air. If the vacuum dosen't smoosh the holster it would be worth a try.
Maybe some of the other members have some ideas?
Jerry Burney

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the tips. Will try the freezing thing.

Your Herd Bud

Mil-Du-Gas bags
 

I was the boat guy with the odd, unproven idea...
here is the text from the old post...
----------------------------------------
Up here in the humid boating areas, they sell a product called Mil-Du-Gas bags. Meijers used to carry them for your basement, but now the boating supply stores carry them too.

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/STA/STA89900.html

Anyway the idea is you hang them in a humid confined space (a big baggie might work) and it kills the spores. I have used them in my basement.

A bit more web checking came up with this:
http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-p...=MIL%2dDU%2dGAS
seems the active ingredients are:
PARAFORMALDEHYDE
1,4-DICHLOROBENZENE

Ahh, better living through chemicals. Maybe I was better off before I knew WHAT was in the things.

Anyway, what about tossing one in a baggie with you mildewed leather for a month or so. These Mil-Du bags are made out a a filter paper kind of material and the powder & stuff doesn't come out of the bag, it's supposed to become airborne. It's not a strong chemical odor, kind of a baby powder scent to the thing.
----------------------------------------------------

John Sabato then warned about experimentation on a fine luger holster, and suggested the testing on a less valuable specimen.

So that was the idea - it does the trick in boat interiors and basements, we just don't really know about fine leather of any age.

Regards,
Fritz.

Jerry -

You wrote, "I have often seen old leather holsters leach out a white surface stuff that looks like mold but isn't. It is oils or fats surfacing that had been put on the holster years ago. I have found no good way to get rid of this stuff except to rub it off with a soft cloth."

The dark brown holster you sold me couple of years ago had developed the white surface material you described in your comments above. I took an ordinary kleenex and wiped it off; it did have a slightly greasy appearance. I don't know if it was mold, but it sure fits your description above.

After watching the TV show, CSI, it occurs to me that what we REALLY need on the Forum is a forensics guy who collects Lugers and can analyze materials. Wouldn't that be great ? ;)

Luke

Fritzer, Thanks! Glad you surfaced. I appreciate the information. I really need to send for one of these things and try it out on a trashed holster. We don't have that much moisture here in Yuma for a good test though.

Luke, It's probably a harmless substance like I said. It comes off very easily. Some holsters I have get it and some never do so I suspect it's a result of past treatment. It may stop over a period of time.

I need to get a powerfull microscope to really look at this stuff close up.

Luke, You are right, we need someone with more knowledge than we have here. There must be someone with the right credentials and real World experience, like a leather conservator at the Smithsonian or some other Museum that deals wit antique leather artifacts.

Jerry Burney

It is interesting Luke and Jerry, I have been displaying a number of holsters I have downstairs in the basement (very dry, not damp), and one of the holsters is showing white.

I will check it out after I get home this weekend.

Ed

it would be interesting to send a sample off to your local mycology lab, and get the answer once and for all. could be, as jerry said, a "sloughing" off of old leather treatment, or, it could be one of the many fungus types that grow as yeast at room temp. one reason i previously mentioned the danger of using oil on leather as a treatment is that it harbors both bacteria and fungus. Malassezia (pityrosporon) furfur is a fungus that infects skin. in the lab it grows as a white/tan yeast. part of the culturing process involves agar overlaid with olive oil (sterile olive oil is used in the lab.) it grows at 37 degrees C. but many other fungi do well at room temp, and grow as white, powdery yeast. saprophytic fungi are not typically disease producing, and are found in nature as molds on decaying food articles.

susan

the way to make an oxygen free environment (see jerry's vacum bag comment above) is to take a gallon glass jar (like a pickle jar or the like) place your article in it, then probably put a piece of cardboard on top of the article, and put a candle on it. light the candle, replace the cover. when the oxygen is gone, the candle will go out. leave cover on.

susan

Susan,
thats better than the vacum bag idea , you dont have to worry about crush damage

. . . . . . but the holster will smell like candle smoke afterwards. ;)


Actually, that's a bad joke. Sorry. An excellent idea, Susan!

Luke