Trying to get rid of mold smell in leather jacket. Have run out of methods.

[Melvin]

Hello.

I got a German reefer type jacket - early to mid 20th Century, double breasted, mock belt on back, hip length. Variations were used as service jackets from WWI to the 1990s. Most here probably know the style.

I think the one I got was immediately post WWII production. Quality is as good as any I've seen, though. The reinforcement stitching of the collar is elaborate. There's actually an extra piece of leather there as extra reinforcement with lots of close stitching. The leather seems close to 2mm thick. The jacket weighs around 8 pounds.

Anyway, I got it from ebay and the seller claimed it had no smell. They lied. The dilemma is the jacket's great and fits perfectly and arrived in nearly deadstock condition.

I like buying vintage and have often been up to the challenge of removing smells. I've wiped out seemingly intractable mold smells on leather before. This jacket has only responded with qualified success.

Briefly, I tried a borax soak, a disinfectant soak, several laundry washes (though not with hot water since I didn't want to shrink the lining) and finally a couple sittings in an oven preheated to 500 degrees. I also used chemical based odor removers like Odors Away and Ozium, rubbing them into the leather by themselves and in solution with Neatsfoot Oil.

The mold is obviously dead. The smell is gone too - except when I'm wearing the jacket on a humid day and perspire. The moisture revives the smell of mold. I'm convinced the science behind this is similar to the way you can smell rain in the air - somehow the molecules of dead mold are borne by the humidity into the air immediately around the jacket.

I guess the question might be how to get residual dead mold out of the leather at a microscopic level?

Beats me.

Does anyone here know what I'm talking about?

Does anyone here have a remedy?

Thanks.

 

[Fanch]

Take it to a top notch place that specializes in dry cleaning of leather jackets.

 

[Melvin]

Take it to a top notch place that specializes in dry cleaning of leather jackets.

Ultimately I might. I haven't had the best luck with dry cleaners and getting rid of smells. For dubious results I'm reluctant to exceed the cost of the jacket by an expensive dry cleaning. Also, if I can figure out how to do this successfully just about any leather garment can be saved.

I think the nature of the problem is different than the traditional killing of mold. The mold is dead and the smell is gone except when worn in humidity when it's warm enough to perspire. I've tried all the things suggested in the "Mould" sticky before and more. The problem, I think, concerns dead mold particles under certain conditions.

I'm wondering if anyone's noticed anything similar and had any idea how to deal with it.

 

[devilish]

A professional leather cleaner, not just any old dry cleaner, is the only real way to deal with mold. It isn't just a smell, there is a living organism in there that needs to be properly destroyed.

 

[Melvin]

A professional leather cleaner, not just any old dry cleaner, is the only real way to deal with mold. It isn't just a smell, there is a living organism in there that needs to be properly destroyed.

Thing is the living organism would have to be dead now. The jacket was placed in an oven pre-heated to 500 degrees, not once but twice, and left in a couple hours, until the oven cooled.

It's not a matter of killing the mold anymore. There's no way it's alive. It's probable the disinfectant soak killed it before the oven. Ordinarily there's no smell but under the right damp conditions it revives.

The mold doesn't come alive again. Once something is dead it's dead. I think it can only be the same phenomenon that raises the smell of the ground into the air when it's about to rain. The question would then be how to rid the leather of the dead organic matter suffused into it.

If this is the case the two subsequent cycles through the washing machine should probably have gotten rid of that matter. I'd take it to a leather cleaner but I'd like to know exactly what more they could do. What additional means are at their disposal? If anyone knows the science behind what a leather cleaner might do at this point I'd be curious.

I'd be really irritated if I went to the additional expense of a specialist leather cleaning for nothing.

Also at this point the whole thing's become a sort of a challenge. I've figured out how to deodorize things most people would have given up on. If we can solve this riddle then moldy smelling leather will never be an obstacle to buying a vintage jacket again.

Solving this would make a ton of stuff dismissed as unusable worth thrifting.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Washing won't work on all smell issues. Professional leather cleaner as posted earlier. Talk to them first. If that process, with its specialist chemicals doesn't work, you're sunk.

 

[Plumbline]

The other alternative s either ozone ( some specialist cleaners have ozone cabinmets which work great on old sports equipment and the like e.g. 20 year old mouldy racing overauls)

One method which also seems to work quite well on mould smells is freezing .. I have a friend who specialises ion vintage leather luggage and bags ( this is his business) and some of the stuff he gets in is absolutely humming ... he swears by Sodium Bicarb dusting and freezing ( I've seen the results on 60 year old leather Gladstone bag which was stinking to high heaven and he now uses it as his briefcase .. no smell ).

Best of luck ... cheers

 

[alsendk]

I had good results with an old letherjacket, using neutral vinegar in a spraybottle...took away mold and cigarette smell completely after 3 sessions, leaving the jacket outside for the night over

 

[devilish]

Mold spores are incredibly hard to kill, nature designed them to be just that and subsequently so is their odor. Any moisture just gives them a lifeline. I bet if that jacket were to stay damp for a few days you'd find that mold starting to spring to life again. I had a discussion with the folks at Johnson Leathers about this very subject. Girlfriend is having a jacket cleaned for the exact same reason. They said it's the trickiest cleaning they do. You really have to know what you're doing to get it right. I'm not privy to what they do but will find out if it works shortly. Again my advice is take it to a professional.

 

[armscye]

I'm the author of the long thread on washing jackets. If even two cold-water washings did not dispel the odor, I can think of only two processes that haven't been covered above. Bear in mind that I have a lot of jackets I've bought for $10-$50 (don't ask, but it's high two-digits), so plenty of opportunity to conduct low-risk experiments. So here goes:

1. Washing in a modern washing detergent with washing soda additive doesn't damage leather per se. What it does seem to do with brown or light colored leathers, particularly aniline dyed ones, is lighten and mottle the color about a shade. If that is acceptable, you might try Tide or its equivalent and the classic yellow-box Arm & Hammer washing soda (N.B. not baking soda in the orange box). Tide is categorically a more effective detergent than woolite, and its detergent (meaning literally "loosening") properties may pull more mold spores out of the leather.

2. I have bleached exactly one leather jacket, as a test based on curiosity. It lightened the color about two shades, and seemed to strip a bit more color from the edges and seams. The effect was not unappealing, and when reconditioned went to about one shade. I think bleach, which is basically dilute hydrochloric acid, will kill just about anything microscopic, so if the issue is hardy mold spores surviving in the pores of the leather then this might help.

 

[Cooperson]

Been there, tried everything, sell it and look for another. It sounds harsh, but very old mould smells will always creep back in :-(

 

[Melvin]

Mold spores are incredibly hard to kill, nature designed them to be just that and subsequently so is their odor. Any moisture just gives them a lifeline. I bet if that jacket were to stay damp for a few days you'd find that mold starting to spring to life again. I had a discussion with the folks at Johnson Leathers about this very subject. Girlfriend is having a jacket cleaned for the exact same reason. They said it's the trickiest cleaning they do. You really have to know what you're doing to get it right. I'm not privy to what they do but will find out if it works shortly. Again my advice is take it to a professional.

Did the cleaning work?

Anyone else have experience with professional cleaning as a last resort after all the things mentioned here haven't worked?

 

[Dumpster Diver]

You could Try Just Living with it.

 

[Big J]

But some Ph neutral hand soap (like Biore).
Make a nice big bowl of suds.
Rub the suds into the whole jacket.
Rinse off all the soap with cold water from the shower hose.
Lay the jacket outside on a sunny day, turn over, turn inside out.
If the leather shows any signs of having lost its oils from being soaped, wipe the whole thing down with Vaseline (Ph neutral) to put oil back into the leather.
Finish.

 

[slicker63]

When you've tried everything else..... I give most of my jackets a once over with Dr leather...

Cleanses.. matt finish... leaves the most amazing leathery aroma...

3 jackets got mildew badly in my garage this year.... it cleared the smell up amazingly... no trace

I spilt flourescent yellow curry oil on my Range Rover leather seats.... The stain faded in time but DR leather dealt with the smell amazingly well

Worth a go.....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dr-Leathe...966?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19f44b8b4e