Killing leather saddle mold
 

Short story long...

Acquired a leather saddle off a bike left outdoors for a while and not cared for, was dry as jerky but never wet so still shaped well, seemed worth saving...

Wanted to rejuvenate it. Read around, picked up neatsfoot oil, saddle soap (both Fiebings if it matters) and Proofide to do the task.

Saddle soap applied, then soaked in in neatsfoot oil (plastic wrapped) 3-4 days top and bottom. Huge difference. Saddle soap again, then proofide.

Looked amazing, seriously. From burnt orange to dark mahogany. Sits well, good springback. Left it to dry in the sun for a couple of days then set it down in the basement and forgot about it.

3 months later, it was greenish grey. Cleaned thoroughly. Tried vinegar plus sun, multiple rounds. Indoors even at low humidity it started glazing over again.

Most recently tried diluted bleach (1:10) spray saturating the saddle top and bottom and out in the sun to dry. Three rounds in one day. That was 4 days ago. Still shows some signs of grey haze where there was none before, rub it and it smears, more mold.

Any tricks someone can share, or is this thing just a goner?

You put animal based organic fats and oils on it, fungus loves that stuff. The gray stuff is only the fruiting body of the fungus, the actual fungus is inside the leather. Maybe try some of the fungus killers for fruit trees, you may even need to soak it in one of them, since you've made the surface of the leather waterproof so bleach won't soak in, at the very least afterwards if you ride on it, you won't have to worry about jock itch.
I only use one brand of leather treatment nowadays, Nikwax, from the UK- they know about rain and mould. There are two kinds, a solvent based wax and a water based wax. Neither contain animal products and won't cause mould. Bit late now, but I would have used the solvent based one on dry leather, because it softens, and I use the water based one on everything else including leather seats and boots since it doesn't soften leather- softening is breaking down the bonds between the fibres, it shortens the life of things.

I keep hearing that Neatsfoot is a bad thing to use on leather saddles but it still keeps coming up as an item used by people here to restore their saddles. What is the final word on Neatsfoot??

My B5N* does that, too, probably from keeping that particular bike in the basement. I just buff it off.


* Which was dry and low-miles when I got it, so I wonder if the warm infusion of Proofide I gave it before riding had anything to do with the phenomenon.

I was surprised by how many people didn't mention the animal-fat thing while I was reading about rejuvenating the leather. Out of dozens I think I saw maybe one person mention Proofide having both animal fats and beeswax, both of which mold supposedly love.

Hindsight 20/20... I'm shocked you can't kill of mold with an extended application of heat, like, say, a 175°F oven for 3-4 hours.

I consider bees to be animals.

That bees one opinion yous can has.

That doesn't work? I have a saddle that is kind of grey (I haven't used it yet) and I'm thinking that mold might be the issue. It came to be kind of beat and I tried to rejuvenate it with proofide. I'm now wondering that maybe the grey color is a sign of mold.

I don't think heat works? I haven't tried.

But yeah, brown/black/other leather isn't necessarily supposed to be grey, but the mold that munches on it is a grey color with bluish or greenish hue, depending. Take a flashlight and shine it on it, is it satin/flat instead of glossy? Take a white paper towel and wipe across it. Is it yellowish tan on the towel, and now the spot you shone on now shiny? You've Probably got mold seated in the leather.

Neatsfoot oil is from animal parts. Proofide is from animal parts as welll. Humidity in my shop stays around 60-65 so right on the cusp of ideal for mold to grow. Mold will grow anywhere there's food, I know this from growing fruit tree cuttings. I didn't apply the knowledge to the the ass-holder for my bike, though.

Ride more!

effax leder-schimmelfrei is a good product.

https://www.vtosaddlery.com/product/...yABEgI50vD_BwE

I'm surprised beeswax promotes mold. What about getting an antifungal cream and using it on the leather? Not sure how broad-spectrum they are, but you could always test a small patch of leather and see what happens.

I'm afraid it's probably a goner. When leather is tanned, they add oils back in to lubricate the fibers, and protect them from oxidation. If the leather is left exposed to air for a long time, those oils will oxidize, and or evaporate, leaving the leather fibers exposed, and allowing them to get dry and brittle. Once that's happened, re-oiling the saddle will restore some suppleness and flexibility, but won't fix existing damage to the fibers.

You don't want saddle leather to be especially soft or oily. You just want to periodically replenish whatever oils have been lost, to maintain a condition similar to when it was first tanned. Many leather dressings contain humectants, designed to maintain humidity in the fibers. A little bit is good, but too much will really promote mold. That, along with a heavy oiling will saturated the fibers, making for poor airflow, and nice conditions for mold. Also, the saddle soap was a bad idea. It's designed to help remove dirt and grime from leather, hopefully not doing too much damage in the process. It isn't a conditioner, and doesn't improve the leather in any way. It's a basic or alkaline solution, which, like bleach will react with the acidic tannins used in the tanning process, essentially reversing the tanning process to some extent, and exposing more of the leather fiber to mold attack.

At this point, if you want to save it, you need to do two things: kill the mold, and try to remove some of the excess neatsfoot oil. You could try soaking it in acetone for a few days, or a mix of acetone/alcohol. That will dissolve some of the oils and varnishes from the leather, and dehydrate it. That will also probably kill any active mold. (But not the spores, so the mold might come right back if it gets or stays wet.)

All in all, a big hassle, and probably not worth the trouble, since the leather is probably pretty far gone by now.

For future saddles, if in ok shape, just one or two light coats of proofhide (or Obenaufs, or Aussie dressing) a year should do it. For your dried jerky example, two to three heavier coats would get it back into the best shape you're likely to see. It would still be stiff, and will crack easier / sooner than a properly cared for saddle, but it would likely have given a few thousand miles more service.

Unfortunately, mold spores are incredibly resistant to heat, freezing, and desiccation. Lysol will kill any mold on the surface, but it will not kill mold inside the leather. The spores are also resistant to a lot of chemicals. Many of the traditionally used mold spore killers are now banned because they're so toxic.

UV rays will kill surface mold. Put the saddle on a bike you can leave in the sun, and wipe it off regularly, and you might get some decent use out of the saddle, but you may well never get it mold free again.

Oxycide from Ecolab, very nasty stuff. In original full strength is used to effectively kill mold in remodeling and reconstruction. An industrial pesticide also used in slaughterhouses, dairy plants and pharmaceutical factories. Now in use in diluted form as a daily cleaner in hospitals. Pretty sure its killing us too. Not sure if you can get it retail.

Brooks advise
http://www.brooksengland.com/en_row/...ir-spare-parts

I have an old Brooks B5 that my stepson gave me. He rescued it somewhere for free. It gets a thin coat of mold on it if I go long enough without riding that bike. I just wipe it off and go. If and when the saddle gives up the ghost, I'll move on. No real loss to me.

vinegar?
 

Well I'd like to recondition my ideale 80 for a peugeot build. A lot of websites talk about a cleaning with a vinegar/water mixture and leaving it out in the sun. I'm going to give it a shot.

4 Ways to Clean Mold from Leather - wikiHow

Killing mold on leather! - Don Gonzales Saddlery

FWIW, Vinegar is an organic and definitely goes rancid and will mould. Contrary to older, common kitchen practices, current food regulations don't allow vinegar as a cleaner. It just smells clean.

QUAT Based Sanitizers (Ammonia) and chlorine based sanitizers are the two common methods but the correct dilution is key to their efficacy.

Tsp

Kilz?

No, Kilz is a primer/sealer, not an inhibitor.

Thanks! I'll check them out.

The ammonia cleaners are considered to be more consistent and stable and require a 10 sec contact (immersion?) I'm not at all sure about the effect on cured leather but it's probably worth a shot. Dry it at a low temp (oven proofing is about 80 to 100 F) and proofide again.