I have an Ideale leather bike saddle that I bought in the mid 1970's. It was stored in a closet for years and has developed mold. I have tried removing the mold, but it just comes back. Thought I should try asking here to see if anyone knows how to fix the mold. It is a really nice saddle so I would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance!

For tile and countertops and stuff like that, bleach is the go to for killing mold. I don’t know how that would treat your leather.

Are you in a very high humidity environment? Is it still in the closet? Is it stored inside or outside?

Has the mold degraded the leather? That saddle is supposed to be pretty firm, are there soft spots? Are the rails rusted?

Ive got an Ideale from the 80’s that aside from from some scratches from mounting on a few different posts, looks pretty much new. I’m a little surprised that yours is molding.

Rubbing alcohol followed by thoroughly drying in hot sun but I have also dried by a furnace.
I need a couple of treatments but this saved a 50 yr Brooks Pro for me
...and I would say NO to bleach
Good luck and see what others think.
Follow up with Proofide or similar.

Back in the day... When the Army still had leather straps on its tentage. It was common to treat the leather before sending it out to the Nam. A mix was used of a hand full of Moth Balls (Naphthaline) to a gallon of 95% undenatured Ethanol out of the mess hall. As a medic I was cautious about its use so I questioned the MSgt in charge (43M). He casually said, "...we got all kinds of ship we can use, but ya wouldn't wanna touch it. This stuff is less toxic and is easy ta make a batch in the field."

With this stuff rumor was that once in Nam a leather strap could last almost 9 months before needing re-treatment or rotting off...

I treated a leather bag that had the Jungle Rot in it. I took a few Moth Balls into a cup of Ever Clear, mixed it up and painted the leather bag with it. Then just let it sit for a few days. Latter I took some Saddle Soap to it and it turned out just fine. It never got the rot again.

Scrape it off with something like an old sacrificial toothbrush, and leave the saddle in the sun for a few days and let UV kill the mould spores.

I had a Brooks saddle that came out of storage covered in white mildew type fungus. I wiped off what I could, sprayed the leather with Lysol (sparingly), and set it out in the sun for a few hours. Wiped it off again and applied Proofide. The mold never returned.

N.B. the best way to prevent this from happening seems to be riding the saddle. None of my leather saddles in regular use developed this problem.

I've got a 'new' 1967 Wrights Swallow that I haven't broken in yet.
Anyway, put it in a plastic bag and left it in a drawer - 3 months later signs of mould.

Wiped it with 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water and put it on a book shelf.
It looks damn fine and the air circulation stops any new mould.
When the sun comes out I'm going to break it in properly.

Leather is incredibly durable. I had a bunch of leather shoes that were underwater for three days in a flood. When i got to them, they were a moldy mess. I hosed all the gunk off and dried them in the sun. I honestly don't remember if I even used anything special to kill the mold - probably just a whole bunch of water.

Remember that leaving leather in the sun lightens it gradually. Adding conditioners to leather will have the opposite effect, but more dramatically.

There are specific mole killing agents, intended to kill visible black mold in homes. You can use one of those or some bleach, giving them enough time to work below the surface, then rinsing them off. I treat mold on leather with lemon juice and bright direct sunlight. (glass filters the needed UV)

Someone chucked my leather jacket in a plastic bag in the back of a cupboard when it was wet. I didn't know it was there until I found it weeks later, and it too was a mouldy mess. Figuring it would be hard to make it worse, I put it in the washing machine with a good squirt of dish detergent, and it came out looking and feeling better than when I had it cleaned by a so-called leather specialist.

Saddle soap, dry it, Proofide it and ride it.

Maybe there's some hidden spores left in the saddle, but with regular riding, they never seem to get the chance to multiply.

From C&V. It will work fine on getting rid of mold too


I know that this is heresy but I've posted it before and the simple truth is that it works and does not harm the leather is in any way. The 90 Titanium remains just fine and in use at least one day/week.
Vintage Ideale Saddle Help
Ideal 90's are my fave leather. Here's how I fix them up from rock hard to something I use every day.
NO SaddleSoap!
NO Neatsfoot Oil!
Get an aluminum cooking tray/pan big enough to hold the saddle. toss the saddle in the pan and cover it with alcohol (gallon cans at homedepot), put some foil over the pan to seal and let it soak for 3-4 days. If the alky gets really yuk looking replace it and soak another day. I had a titanium frame 90 soak for a week (it's now on the Team3V)
Remove from alky and this is as soft as it is ever gonna be so now is the time to crank on the tension nut at the nose and stretch the baby as much as you can. Don't be shy
Hang it in the sun for a couple days to dry.
Get a big zip-lock and put the saddle in it and set it in the sun. You may be surprised at the amount of water that will coat the inside of the bag. Wipe it out a couple times to get the water to a low level in the leather. This is IMPORTANT
I use MinkOil but any decent modern leather dressing will work. NO Neatsfoot Oil ! Heat the saddle up with a hairdryer and brush on the dressing - heavy! You want to soak it. Top and bottom. Use the hairdryer to run the dressing into the leather. Use twice as much as you think you should - remember----the leather is CLEAN inside from the alky. You cannot put on too much. Hang it in the sun for a day so the dressing can really penetrate. If it looks dry - it will - repeat the dressing. etc till it looks wet after a day in the sun
wipe off whatever dressing may be on surface top and bottom. Won't be much
Loosen the tension nut
Buff the top - I use a heavy duty boot brush
Install
Ride
So it costs a couple $ and takes a couple days - BFD. Slop some dressing on it a couple times a year and the saddle will last forever
I've had the titanium frame 90 on a buncha different bikes since the late 70's.
Edit

I had the issue on one of my bikes that had been left in the garage while I was away for six months. I had a dehumidifier running, but it quite whole I was away. I cleaned it off with vinegar, then treated it with Proofide. That was nine years ago, and the mold has not returned.

I used white vinegar. Put it in a spray bottle, spray it, let it sit an hour, then wipe off. I first cleaned the worst of the mold off with a rag and vinegar. Vinegar is acidic and will kill the mold.

I've had good results with a washing machine too - with some "sodium bicarbonate" (or "baking soda" is the English name I believe, NaHCO₃, or cyccommute translate/correct for the win ).

Relja MakeThingsGoBoom Novović

I've no idea whether it would work, but your translation is fine. Both terms are correct.

Excellent recipe! Thanks!

Not to be confused with washing soda (sodium hydroxide NaOH AKA caustic soda or lye) which can be good in the washing machine or for cleaning drains, but probably best kept away from leather.

https://moonsterleather.com/blogs/ne...d-from-leather

Good tips, thanks. Glad you mentioned napthaline mothballs, as there are also paradichlorobenzene (urinal cake) mothballs.

What is described as white mold, is possible, but more commonly is known as "bloom" and is not mold, but oxidation of oils from the leather, I think more common with vegetable tanned leather than the old "chrome" (toxic) tanning.

https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Spew

It only shows up for me on leather stuff that I have stored a long time, and not yet treated. I usually just wipe it off with a damp sponge, let dry, and, depending on application, if "rigid" leather, I apply Sno-Seal (wax and mineral oil mixture) and melt it in with the oven on a really low setting, or if "very flexible" leather, I used to oil with a mixture of silicone oil and neatsfoot oil, that is what I used to re-oil my Red Wing wellingtons in oil-finish leather.

All the leather military slings I saw were stamped in blue, "MRT", i.e., mildew resistant treatment, and the date.

I have found that mink oil is effective at removing mold from leather shoes. It might work for a moldy saddle, too.

Don't put mink oil a a Brooks. Use Proofide, that's what its for.

As I said before, I dealt with the same issue. White vinegar killed the mold. Mine wasn't just moldy in a spot, it was completely covered in green mold. Completely. I cleaned it off, sprayed it with the vinegar, let it set, and once it was clean and dry, I applied Proofide. That was in 2015. The saddle still looks new today.

I think mink oil, like neatsfoot oil, can cause problems making the leather too soft so it stretches and wrecks the saddle, or just becomes an oily mess.