BEST WAY TO CLEAN MILDEW HOLSTER??

[Aaron]

UV and heat can both be used to kill mold spores, have you had a bad experience using 350 heat or heat in general? Using 200-250 didn't work for me, it would initially remove the mold spores but they would return when ambient moisture in the air was high again (I live in a very humid area and try to maintain humidity balance as much as possible but it's not perfect), 350 killed it and caused no ill effects on the 80+ year old leather. If you've had a negative experience I would be interested to hear, I am always trying to learn and "cause no harm" with my collection, if there is a better way to remove mold I'm open to it. The 350 has been widely used in the Luger community for holsters and other leather pieces for many years and I have yet to see anyone report a negative outcome, quite the opposite actually.

Nick

I have had NO experience with it because I know how utterly catastrophic high temperatures are to leather. This goes triply for fragile antique leather. I see this with reenactors who insist on drying out their boots by the fire, they need new ones by the next event. People forget leather is an organic material, and skin is not made for any environment exceeding room temperature.

 

[Hambone]

Sunlight or a UV light, all it takes is UV light exposure. Anyone telling you to put 80+ y/o leather in a 350 degree oven is fucking insane. Water and vinegar treatments are dangerous on antique leather at best. On a related note, never use any sort of leather treatments or oils, you will simply accelerate the decay of the leather.

https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/09-01.pdf

I’ll repost this so I wont have to repeat it. If you’re having a mold problem you have a humidity problem which is a problem for all collectibles. I have so much leather in the form of helmet liners, slings, pouches, and holsters that I dedicated a small room, HVAC’d and dehumidified. Desiccant bags in safes which never really require oven reactivation. Before, in my old room, I’d have to bake those desiccant bags every couple months. Had mold then. No mold now.

I think putting vintage leather in an oven to bake out the mold is like taking a flamethrower to your house to kill roaches. It will surely work, but wasn’t the purpose to conserve the thing not wage war on mold?

 

[fishermankw]

I’ll repost this so I wont have to repeat it. If you’re having a mold problem you have a humidity problem which is a problem for all collectibles. I have so much leather in the form of helmet liners, slings, pouches, and holsters that I dedicated a small room, HVAC’d and dehumidified. Desiccant bags in safes which never really require oven reactivation. Before, in my old room, I’d have to bake those desiccant bags every couple months. Had mold then. No mold now.

I think putting vintage leather in an oven to bake out the mold is like taking a flamethrower to your house to kill roaches. It will surely work, but wasn’t the purpose to conserve the thing not wage war on mold?

I don’t have a lot of leather specifically b/c it’s a little more temperamental than blued steel. However what I do have I keep in baggies slightly open and inside a cedar chest in a humidity controlled environment and that has done well.

For this particular Luger holster that does have mildew the guy lived in the lake and by the picture of the magazine filled with hollow points I’m guessing he didn’t take care of the gun/leather properly. Do you think it’s better to leave the holster with the mildew or give try the low oven heat to remove. At this point remediation of some sort I would be willing to try as it was not stored properly. Noted you have mentioned ballistol for removing, small amount on a cloth just wiping the surface or did you allow it to penetrate?

 

[Hambone]

I’d try a little ballistol before I’d shake and bake. Check in a small spot with a light wipe and see how it affects the leather.

 

[PatickD]

I’ve always followed Tom’s recommendation. Has worked flawlessly for me.

I use a cookie sheet. With a good few layers of tinfoil. Not rolled tight, very loosely stacked high, so the item doesn’t get too hot off direct contact.

Done this easily 12x.

 

[bayoned]

Call me a heretic, but I've used commercial mildew/mold killer, that does NOT contain bleach. Spray on, wipe off immediately. This has killed mildew on several bad items for years. And the mildew never returned. (I did let it thoroughly dry after I wiped it off, then applied a lanolin based leather treatment called Oakwwod. States it doesn't harm stitching. )

 

[Hambone]

I live in one of the most humid places in the US and I've not had any type of mold / mildew issues since keeping my room at 50% humidity or less. Before that, certainly nothing that warranted baking my holsters or slings. That level of heat is simply destructive to leather.

 

[BishopofBling]

I would never put vintage leather in an oven just as I would not carry a pistol inside a rotisserie chicken. Read up on vintage leather conservation and you’ll understand why. It is all about temperature, UV, humidity, and insect control. Nothing else.

1) Humidity management. It’s why museum humidity levels are generally about 50%. Proper HVAC will do this, with help from a dehumidifier and/or desiccant bags in the safe.

2) I’ve found that Ballistol kills mold. Use as little to no Ballistol on leather as possible. Do nothing that cannot be reversed.

My house stays around 50% humidity in a very humid environment, which is why my HVAC really works efficiently. A well designed system tends to pay for itself. I have a humidity / temp meter. My gun room has a floor dehumidifier that I keep on 45%. I have to dump it maybe every 4 months. I have much leather in there. Haven’t seen mold in the 8 years we’ve been here. In the old house it was a regular occurrence in my safe. That HVAC system was poorly designed and laid out.

Same, I've used Ballistol with good success, although I can't confirm if it kills the spores.

 

[thrawnformbi]

Yikes. Some terrible (but good intentioned) advice in this thread.

This is not mold on your holster. This is what we call "spew" in the leather world. At it's simplest, spew is the tanning fats and oils destabilizing over time. What you're seeing is palmitic and stearic fatty acids.

Again, this is not mold. Do not use bleach. Do not use vinegar.

You can lightly heat the leather to encourage reabsorption but its temporary and the spew will return over time. This is common in older leather goods and is not a danger to you or anyone around you.

Source: I am a full time leatherworker that spends half his life on museum restoration work.

 

[Muncher 1953]

if you live where central ac is the norm ,thats the best because it conditions the entire space indoors. Where central ac isnt the norm, safe heaters & dehumidifiers are de riguer. I have 3, 50 pint/day & a 35 pint machine, the 50s also have on board pumps so they can be self emptying when I’m away. I dry 1 cellar & 3 garages, will be 2 garages next year. If the room is warm enough, I run these year round. They don’t run much in winter, as the heat is on. You can’t dehumidify a cold space (unheated) because with today’s refrigerants 40F is about as low as a dehumidifier will collect anything. keeping the humidity at or below 40% will prevent bare steel from rusting & mold from growing. I keep humidity meters in safes & room safes are in. The small electronic ones (used by 2-stroke bike racers for tuning) give temp & humidity & store min/max info.

 

[Muncher 1953]

Yikes. Some terrible (but good intentioned) advice in this thread.

This is not mold on your holster. This is what we call "spew" in the leather world. At it's simplest, spew is the tanning fats and oils destabilizing over time. What you're seeing is palmitic and stearic fatty acids.

Again, this is not mold. Do not use bleach. Do not use vinegar.

You can lightly heat the leather to encourage reabsorption but its temporary and the spew will return over time. This is common in older leather goods and is not a danger to you or anyone around you.

Source: I am a full time leatherworker that spends half his life on museum restoration work.

while reading this thread I’ve been thinking about my Grandfather’s fancy tooled rifle scabard, which shows some ‘white powdery’ stuff on it, tho I’ve kept it in the dehumidified spaces described above. He lived in Casper, & rode to hunt; I don’t ride horses, so I’ve just tried to save it just because. IIRC, I saddled soaped it once ~20 years ago, but it’s definitely too large for any oven I have access to!

 

[Hambone]

Yikes. Some terrible (but good intentioned) advice in this thread.

This is not mold on your holster. This is what we call "spew" in the leather world. At it's simplest, spew is the tanning fats and oils destabilizing over time. What you're seeing is palmitic and stearic fatty acids.

Again, this is not mold. Do not use bleach. Do not use vinegar.

You can lightly heat the leather to encourage reabsorption but its temporary and the spew will return over time. This is common in older leather goods and is not a danger to you or anyone around you.

Source: I am a full time leatherworker that spends half his life on museum restoration work.

Thank you. This is the input we need. I would wipe this off occasionally before I’d put any collectible in an oven. Putting something in an oven means violating one of the rules of museum conservation for leather: temperature control.

 

[Hambone]

I’ve always followed Tom’s recommendation. Has worked flawlessly for me.

I use a cookie sheet. With a good few layers of tinfoil. Not rolled tight, very loosely stacked high, so the item doesn’t get too hot off direct contact.

Done this easily 12x.

Not my source for recommendations, other than marketing and advertising, maybe, to a limited extent.

 

[Tiger 2 Tank]

That's funny...."spew". I had no idea and thought it was mold too. That low heat that I did worked but sounds like the spew will come back at some point. Low, low temp is what I did to my ratted holster as I figured (thinking it was mold) nothing could survive in a little higher heat.

 

[MrB]

I learned a lot from this thread!

 

[Aaron]

Yikes. Some terrible (but good intentioned) advice in this thread.

This is not mold on your holster. This is what we call "spew" in the leather world. At it's simplest, spew is the tanning fats and oils destabilizing over time. What you're seeing is palmitic and stearic fatty acids.

Again, this is not mold. Do not use bleach. Do not use vinegar.

You can lightly heat the leather to encourage reabsorption but its temporary and the spew will return over time. This is common in older leather goods and is not a danger to you or anyone around you.

Source: I am a full time leatherworker that spends half his life on museum restoration work.

Ironically the fatty spew is likely caused by previous treatment in an attempt to restore the holster. I have a mint Gerbirgsjager rucksack that HAD mint leather that is now falling apart due to liberal application of grease. In an attempt to preserve the item the previous owner effectively guaranteed its destruction.

"Numerous drawbacks are associated with dressing of skin products. For example, dressings frequently:
• darken lighter colored leathers
• encourage biological attack
• form fatty spews at the surface
• oxidize over time and stiffen the material
• wick into surrounding materials
• soften original finishes and decoration
• cause dust to accumulate
• impede future conservation treatment
• contaminate the material for future analysis"

https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/mhi/Appendix%20S.pdf

 

[thrawnformbi]

Ironically the fatty spew is likely caused by previous treatment in an attempt to restore the holster. I have a mint Gerbirgsjager rucksack that HAD mint leather that is now falling apart due to liberal application of grease. In an attempt to preserve the item the previous owner effectively guaranteed its destruction.

"Numerous drawbacks are associated with dressing of skin products. For example, dressings frequently:
• darken lighter colored leathers
• encourage biological attack
• form fatty spews at the surface
• oxidize over time and stiffen the material
• wick into surrounding materials
• soften original finishes and decoration
• cause dust to accumulate
• impede future conservation treatment
• contaminate the material for future analysis"

https://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/mhi/Appendix%20S.pdf

Yes, there are numerous issues with so called "leather conditioners" and they are never used in a preservation setting. I don't recommend their use unless it's on an item that seems consistent wear and tear (like boots, briefcases, shoes etc.) Their true primary advantage is their cleaning abilities and not so much the "conditioning." Saddle soap or glycerin is all I use on my day to day leather goods. It is very effective at cleaning dust and debris from the fibers which is what eventually leads to breakdown. No mink oil and certainly no neatsfoot. For my scope cases, bandoliers, draw telescopes etc I simply use a light coat of renaissance wax. Conditioners harden over time on items that see no use and will make the problem worse over time.

 

[Aaron]

Yes, there are numerous issues with so called "leather conditioners" and they are never used in a preservation setting. I don't recommend their use unless it's on an item that seems consistent wear and tear (like boots, briefcases, shoes etc.) Their true primary advantage is their cleaning abilities and not so much the "conditioning." Saddle soap or glycerin is all I use on my day to day leather goods. It is very effective at cleaning dust and debris from the fibers which is what eventually leads to breakdown. No mink oil and certainly no neatsfoot. For my scope cases, bandoliers, draw telescopes etc I simply use a light coat of renaissance wax. Conditioners harden over time on items that see no use and will make the problem worse over time.

Conditioners come into play with me for reenacting when I want to intentionally darken or age some reenacting goods like straps, or if I am repairing original items with reproduction leathers. With collectibles I simply store and annually "sun" any items that have spew blooms.

For boots, a cobbler who specializes in footwear provided this guide that I found quite valuable, and was curious about your thoughts on it: http://talbotsfineaccessories.com/boots/Proper care and feeding for historical leather footwear.pdf

In recent posts he has discussed how boot soles should not be over-greased/oiled and SHOULD be quite hard, so he actually recommends routine light treatment with polymerizing oils for soles only.

 

[CRH113]

I’ve used this stuff for a couple years and had no ill effects so far. I’ve used it on my Swiss 1882 holster, my K11 and K31 slings as well as on my 1917 enfield sling.

Turner Military Leather Dressing - Turner Saddlery

Turner Military Leather Dressing

turnersaddlery.com

 

[fishermankw]

Yikes. Some terrible (but good intentioned) advice in this thread.

This is not mold on your holster. This is what we call "spew" in the leather world. At it's simplest, spew is the tanning fats and oils destabilizing over time. What you're seeing is palmitic and stearic fatty acids.

Again, this is not mold. Do not use bleach. Do not use vinegar.

You can lightly heat the leather to encourage reabsorption but its temporary and the spew will return over time. This is common in older leather goods and is not a danger to you or anyone around you.

Source: I am a full time leatherworker that spends half his life on museum restoration work.

When you say lightly heat do you mean with a hair dryer or trying the oven method? Just want to make sure I’m not walking in with a flame thrower when I should’ve used a match.