moldy tack

[shadesofbay3]

[INDENT]i’m sure this has been discussed endlessly elsewhere in the forum but i’m at work and don’t have time to search and search

i board at a really nice barn that provides trunks for us, but we keep them in the aisle so they are exposed to the elements (not rain and snow but the changing weather)

i keep most of my tack at home but do keep one saddle and bridle at the barn. I find that it gets moldy/furry and don’t want to keep cleaning it a million times a week. Any suggestions? I don’t think I could put a dehumifider in my trunk and I don’t know if damp rid is really effective because I have tried that before

Strangely enough I have noticed that the furriness came about on my bridle after a good clean/condition. I use (what I think) is good stuff – effax leder-basalm… it is even supposed to have mildew repellent in it…

Any thoughts or advice?
[/INDENT]

[mmeqcenter]

IME using too much conditioner can cause, or contribute to, mold/mildew growth. I’d try cleaning it with glycerin and NOT putting conditioner on for a while. I over-conditioned a saddle once trying to make it less slick and had to abuse it with bleach and vinegar for weeks, and keep it inside in air conditioning, to stop the stuff from growing back.

I love Effax lederbalsam, but I’ve never heard of it having mildew repellent in it.

[beowulf]

Once mold is on the leather, it’s also inside the leather where we can’t see… So it is important to treat the whole leather, not just the exterior.

My steps for treating mold in leather:
Wipe off mold with a dry rag, and then soak in 5qt bucket filled with hot water and 2-3 healthy glugs of ammonia. If you don’t have that on hand sub with double the amount of vinegar.
Soak in mixture for 5-10 minutes.
Pull out, wipe down with a different dry rag. You’ll see dark streaks in the rag, keep wiping down until those are not as dramatic.
Spray with a vinegar/water mixture (1:1), hang to dry over night.

Day 2, clean vigorously with castile soap. Hang to dry.
Day 3, condition with oil if you have it. Most modern conditioners have some sort of animal fat/lanolin which does mold/fuzz when left for long periods of time.

For storage, I prefer cotton bags with fleece lining, and a handful of dessicants. I’ve found if I store in a less breathable method (plastic bags, nylon bags) they are more prone to mold.

For a saddle, wipe down with dry rag to get mold off, clean vigorously 2-3x over the span of several days with castile soap. Let dry for several days, and then oil.

This process does pull old conditioner and cleaning residue from the leather, so it leaves the leather quite dry. You’ll need to repeat the oiling a few times before use.

[shadesofbay3]

@mmeqcenter

IME using too much conditioner can cause, or contribute to, mold/mildew growth. I’d try cleaning it with glycerin and NOT putting conditioner on for a while. I over-conditioned a saddle once trying to make it less slick and had to abuse it with bleach and vinegar for weeks, and keep it inside in air conditioning, to stop the stuff from growing back.

I love Effax lederbalsam, but I’ve never heard of it having mildew repellent in it.

just use the glycerin by itself and nothing else?

[shadesofbay3]

@beowulf

Once mold is on the leather, it’s also inside the leather where we can’t see… So it is important to treat the whole leather, not just the exterior.

My steps for treating mold in leather:
Wipe off mold with a dry rag, and then soak in 5qt bucket filled with hot water and 2-3 healthy glugs of ammonia. If you don’t have that on hand sub with double the amount of vinegar.
Soak in mixture for 5-10 minutes.
Pull out, wipe down with a different dry rag. You’ll see dark streaks in the rag, keep wiping down until those are not as dramatic.
Spray with a vinegar/water mixture (1:1), hang to dry over night.

Day 2, clean vigorously with castile soap. Hang to dry.
Day 3, condition with oil if you have it. Most modern conditioners have some sort of animal fat/lanolin which does mold/fuzz when left for long periods of time.

For storage, I prefer cotton bags with fleece lining, and a handful of dessicants. I’ve found if I store in a less breathable method (plastic bags, nylon bags) they are more prone to mold.

For a saddle, wipe down with dry rag to get mold off, clean vigorously 2-3x over the span of several days with castile soap. Let dry for several days, and then oil.

This process does pull old conditioner and cleaning residue from the leather, so it leaves the leather quite dry. You’ll need to repeat the oiling a few times before use.

what kind of oil do you suggest? is neatsfoot ok?

[shadesofbay3]

@shadesofbay3

just use the glycerin by itself and nothing else?

i cant read - deleted

[SusanO]

I am in Alabama and after putting my old Passier saddle down in the barn for a while and it became ruined by mold - my tack just has to live in an air conditioned house. Back when iI rode every day and cleaned my saddle after every single use I did not have this problem. My new used saddle lives in my house. *I did have a saddle cover on it when we were having lots of damp weather when the AC was not on and I noticed the start of a problem. I cleaned it again and uncovered it. I use lederbalsam on it too. I am not sure if that is good or bad though. But as long as it is indoors and uncovered it seems to be OK.

[betsyk]

I have no idea if this would really work in your setting, so dismiss this idea if it sounds crazy. Our trailer leaks a little and has problems with condensation most of the year. Last winter I got mad and made a bucket with wood pellets (like stove pellets or bedding) and half a bag of water softener chunk salt. It worked pretty well as a desiccant and we had a lot less problem with the musty smell and constant dampness. I wonder if you could create some sort of desiccant for your tack locker. You may still need to wipe down your tack daily with a dry towel but if you can’t seal out the humidity, maybe you can absorb some of it? I suppose you could even put the tack into a plastic tote wtih a tight lid and put the desiccant in along with it.

[theresak]

With a saddle that kept getting white mildew/mold where the panels got sweaty, my saddle fitter said to use Leather Therapy Wash and make sure to keep air circulating around the saddle between rides.

And although you say you don’t want to clean your tack several times a week, what really solved the problem for me was to wipe everything down with a wet rag after each ride. I hardly ever use soap and just use Passier Lederbalsam every month or so. For my saddle, it also helped to start using a Thinline or half pad between the saddle and saddle pad to prevent the saddle pad from getting the saddle wet with sweat.

[SecondInCommand]

Also make sure you’re not throwing anything wet into your tack trunk - sweaty saddle pads, boots, helmet, even the wet sponge you use on your tack. The drier everything else is in your trunk, the better.

[SugarCubes]

@SecondInCommand

Also make sure you’re not throwing anything wet into your tack trunk - sweaty saddle pads, boots, helmet, even the wet sponge you use on your tack. The drier everything else is in your trunk, the better.

Definitely this! For a while I was putting my bath bucket back in my trunk, and it took me a while to realize the damp sponge was contributing to a ton of moisture! You can also put a tub or bag of Damp Rid in your trunk to help too.

[Equisis]

Agree with those who say don’t put anything damp in your locker- this includes your tack. If you can, don’t put it away until it’s dry. If you’re cleaning it after every ride, you should only need to condition once or twice a week. I live in FL where the humidity is usually around 75-100%, so I bring my tack inside overnight about once a week so it can sit in the AC and get dry. If I ride in the rain, I try to bring it in for about 3 days, so it can dry out fully before I condition it. Putting conditioner on wet leather (whether wet from sweat, cleaning, or rain) can cause moisture retention and compound your mold issue.

[16_Hands]

Regarding cleaning tack, I read somewhere that glycerin was a sealer and not actually a cleaner. That tack should be cleaned with mild dish soap or castile soap, then conditioned, then apply the glycerin to seal the leather. I’ve used a lot of glycerin over the years and always assumed it was a cleaner. Any truth to that?

[shadesofbay3]

ugh… Regarding the wet items I’m definitely at fault for doing that. Sponges bath things and helmet. But I really don’t want to lug everything 30 minutes to my house and only have one big tack trunk. I guess there is no other alternative than to take it home or put it in my car?

[Feathered_Feet]

A few of us purchased giant dessicator packets for our tack trunks. I was getting a bit of mold on the inside of my boots so now I put a giant dessicator packet (maybe 250 g?) inside each boot in my boot bag (I leave the top slightly open, but that clearly wasn’t enough to deter the mold fuzz). I also wiped down the inside of each boot with a bleach solution before my dessicators arrived, so hard to know which did the trick, but no mold since.

Like you, I was not willing to drag my stuff home every time (surely I would forget something), nor was I willing to wait around for stuff to air dry. I do prop open my tack trunk slightly to aid in air flow.

[SecondInCommand]

@shadesofbay3

ugh… Regarding the wet items I’m definitely at fault for doing that. Sponges bath things and helmet. But I really don’t want to lug everything 30 minutes to my house and only have one big tack trunk. I guess there is no other alternative than to take it home or put it in my car?

Can you put anything out in the sun for a bit before closing it up in your tack trunk? Or perhaps there’s an alternative place you can leave a wet sponge?

[Goforward]

Leather Therapy Restorer & Conditioner works well to inhibit mold. It comes highly recommend by my saddle fitter.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

Ugh, Mold!! The worst. It is a spore, essentially a contaminant, and will get everywhere.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what will actually kill it? Would something like white lightning (yes, for hooves), in a garbage bag to allow the fumes to fumigate the saddle/bridle etc. Work?? Maybe someone who succeeded in organic chem can help

Personally OP, the best I’ve been able to do was to get a desiccant from a home hardware store (look for damp rid or something along those lines) and use it in conjunction with the Effax Mold proof leather cleaner/conditioner. Despite these steps, I have one saddle that got contaminated. The spores must be in the wool and it will get fuzzy if I don’t wipe it off every couple of weeks. Any suggestions on how to permanently kill Mold greatly appreciated. I’ve managed to beat it back a bit but it won’t go away drat!! :no: