Ugh. I just cleaned all my tack and then it rained for 2 weeks straight and everything in my tack room (that I literally just cleaned) is covered in mold.
What’s the best way to get it mold-free and keep the mold off?
Keep it clean. Use it every day. Control the humidity.
For items not in daily use, that might mean you store in a bridje bag, you store in a sealed tote with a dessicant pack, you store in a tight cupboard with a boat dehumidifier runnng, you store in an insulated tack room, or you take it home to store.
Once it molds it is always prone to mold again.
No leather can hang unused in a damp environment without going moldy. This is probably where the British and Pony Club insistence on cleaning tack every single ride comes from. It’s not really about dirt. It’s about mold.
I am currently trying out Oakwood conditioner which has tea tree oil.
I also find the the very old bridle I soaked in mineral oil for 6 months to rehab 
doesn’t mold at all now. It’s possible an overdose of oil smothers the mold. But I wouldn’t do this to quality tack.
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Just bought some Absorbine tack cleaner and conditioner, which were said (by Dover) to be patented to treat and prevent mold. Don’t know how it will work.
I have used a weak solution of Murphy’s oil soap and then Lexol.
MOLD SUCKS.
That is all.
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I’ve been using Lexol leather wipes for a quick cleaning after every ride. One wipe will get me through my bridles and both saddles and it takes less than five minutes so I find it do-able after every ride. Then about once or twice a month I do a more proper cleaning and conditioning.
And make sure you wash things like bridle bags and saddle covers - mold can grow in the fabric but it’s not always as visible as it is on your leather products. You don’t have to wash them all the time, but at least once or twice a year will help.
If you’re able to, a dehumidifier is also very helpful. They work best if your tackroom is fairly small though, and make sure the bucket gets emptied frequently!
And if you can, avoid storing girths and sweaty saddle pads directly on top of your saddle.
OP what products did you use on your tack? Some products are more likely to mold or grime in humidity than others. Off of the top of my head, Horseman’s Onestep will mold a bridle like no one’s business – as does some Lexol products, and Leather Therapy.
Anything with a good dose of castille soap or tea tree oil in the ingredients should help remove whatever product was in there that gummed up. If I find mold on my tack, I do a pass with a hot damp rag, a pass again with another hot damp rag, a vigorous castile soap scrubbing, and then a pass with a new dry rag to remove as much as the product and the mold as I can. Then I condition with Belharra – you could use Passier or Effax leaderbalsam sparingly too, but I have seen those mold/gum as well. Generally, in really humid climates I think using oil is a better bet than conditioners, as conditioners often have various lipids in them that are not anti-mold by nature (such as animal renderings).
I also have noticed that tack conditioned with olive oil will mold. Neatsfoot and Mineral oil do not seem to mold as easily.
Some things that will hasten mold in a humid climate are: sweat, covering tack with a nonbreathable cloth (IE some bridle bags, some saddle covers), and using the wrong products on them. I store my stuff in a cotton-lined bridle bag and a suede saddle cover; I have not had anything mold since then.
Now in Florida, I have significantly LESS moldy tack than I did in Ohio. I assume because tack rooms in Ohio are rarely well-ventilated and never had fans, and the air was stagnant. I mean, I had moldy tack in the WINTER sometimes in Ohio. Now, I rarely even get any mold even in the summer, presumably because I have a ceiling fan on in my tack room that is on 24/7 in the summer.
I have also read that over-conditioning will make tack mold, because it is too moist regardless to the outside humidity.
Once mold is already present, you must clean and kill thoroughly to prevent recurrence. If moldy tack suddenly becomes more prone to mold, it’s because you didn’t kill all the spores the first time. White distilled vinegar/water solution usually does the trick.
Also clean everything and let it sit in the sun.
Neatsfoot oil is indeed animal renderings.
Mineral oil isn’t. I am still leary of recommending this but I did revive a bridle from the gross random tangle of straps phase with 6 months in a tub of unscented baby oil, and it has held up beautifully with no mold. But it also has that very dark brown old tack oiled to death look functional and vintage but not beautiful.
It was in the oil for 6 months because I lacked the energy to deal with it. Probably a fee days would do the job.
Vinegar won’t work, I can tell you from experience
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I’ve had good luck with a vinegar treatment for a musty saddle, so I guess mileage varies there.
I clean my tack after every ride - at the very least a wipe down with a damp cloth, and more typically with soap. Castile soap for me if there is anything scummy, otherwise I use Stubben glycerin soap, and the Pharmaka bienenwachs oil to condition, or Passier lederbalsam.
I will occasionally get a little spot of greenish haze on my tack if I haven’t ridden for a couple of days, but staying on top of it - keeping it in use and cleaning after every ride - goes a long way.
i noticed that my bridles which were dipped in oil upon purchase tend to resist mold more than the ones that I slowly applied oil to with a a paint brush. So maybe if you saturate with oil, no water seeps in and therefore no mold. This is 100% speculation on my part.
Dehumidify the tack room. When we built our barn we had an office, classroom, and other facilities. We just ran a duct from the AC to tack room and as long as we ran the system regularly we didn’t have mold issues.
If you can’t use an AC then get a dehumidifier. For example, like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Danby-30-Pint-Dehumidifier-DDR030BDWDB/301014359
I doubt any cleaning product would be effective in the long term unless it was pretty strongly treated with anti-mold chemicals. That would carry it’s own risks.
This is one of the burdens of using leather tack!!!
G.
Good idea! I just need some sun! 
I was using Lexol leather something or other. I initially wanted to blame that, but I only cleaned the tack of the horse who was going to a clinic and both of their tack ended up getting moldy. I think I could try running a dehumidifier, but I don’t have outlets in my tack room.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think our regular climate is all that humid, so I’m thinking a one time cleaning with a product meant to prevent mold should do the job until next the next time we get crazy rain.
Move to Wyoming, Colorado, California, or other more arid location. In CA, we have earthquakes, fires, and drought but we don’t have mold!!! 
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Lysol disinfectant wipes or any Dollar General or Family Dollar store knockoff. Wipe the tack down with them. Maybe do it twice. Has killed mold dead on every problematic piece of tack I own. Might have to be repeated at regular intervals on situations where mold is really entrenched. Have not seen any downside or damage in 6 years of doing this. It’s a great fix for tack that you just recently “used the wrong product on” and suddenly got mold. In most cases, one good wipe down ended the mold problem for good.
