Mould

Cheers mate really appreciate the advise. Would love to live out there especially this time of year bet it’s amazing. I will order that stuff online.

Robbone said:

Cheers mate really appreciate the advise. Would love to live out there especially this time of year bet it’s amazing. I will order that stuff online.

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You could always get on the blower and phone around to some local wool shops and ask them for the wool Cleaner. you can actually get the eucalan stuff in small tiny bottles, like just over the size of a sample liquor bottle size of it, I'm pretty sure.

I always like to get a third or fourth opinion on things before I do any really delicate work on a piece even if I'm sure the task is within my capability...sometimes you have to sit and think on it for awhile where to begin and getting started is always the hard part...asking people who have more experience than myself Just make sure I'm on the right track with my restoration work, generally there's a learning curve with vintage garments, so I honestly wish you all the best with your journey! believe in yourself.

Sometimes you need re-assurance is all.. Just remember you can do it.

that being said, sometimes hand cleaning is a long process, where I might spend a few nights and put the time and effort in to cleaning a garment...I'll settle in and watch a movie while I'm washing or cleaning and take my sweet time, enjoy what you're doing with love and care.

Yes sir, you'd enjoy it here in the county if you're strong and rugged, haha, It's about minus 27 tonight with the west wind chill biting you...When it drops off you can hear the Trees cracking. The truth be told, This is Mohawk Territory where I live, Top of Lake Ontario. No kidding, feels a Jesuit mission here some nights, very grim and frost-bitten, small town in rural redneck backwater boonies.. but not to worry, my flask of Firewater came in handy walking through town today (The place is getting gentrified in the last 5 years, but I'll see those city folks in March! and ask em' hows it hangin') . You bet There's Deer and Coyotes here outnumbering people, Like I was saying to BN1966 it's the Red squirrels you gotta watch, they're little savage warlords.

I bought myself a Russian MIG-21 Flight Jacket that arrived on Christmas Eve, however the seller largely failed to mention the overall Stench of mould and oxide that has rotted away most of the metallic hardware!!! (AUGH!!!) The pictures really didn't show the smell, you know? anyway it's up to me now I suppose to decide to just take it as-is and not file a complaint...infact I didn't check but I'll bet there's no returns on this ebay item, no problem...Let's see how this Jacket will like the napalm, flame throwers. I can Try Ethanol, or Hydrogen peroxide in this case, I'm not worried about the vintage collectors value at this point, the mould has to die. I will report back with a few photos and let you know how I proceed on this latest project. The Jacket had been stored somewhere WET and nasty for at least 20 years..hopefully not next to a stockpile of Radioactive waste or Sarin gas knowing my luck. Ugh!!! Sneaky Ebay Seller!

Dumpster Diver said:

I bought myself a Russian MIG-21 Flight Jacket that arrived on Christmas Eve, however the seller largely failed to mention the overall Stench of mould and oxide that has rotted away most of the metallic hardware!!! (AUGH!!!) The pictures really didn't show the smell, you know? anyway it's up to me now I suppose to decide to just take it as-is and not file a complaint...infact I didn't check but I'll bet there's no returns on this ebay item, no problem...Let's see how this Jacket will like the napalm, flame throwers. I can Try Ethanol, or Hydrogen peroxide in this case, I'm not worried about the vintage collectors value at this point, the mould has to die. I will report back with a few photos and let you know how I proceed on this latest project. The Jacket had been stored somewhere WET and nasty for at least 20 years..hopefully not next to a stockpile of Radioactive waste or Sarin gas knowing my luck. Ugh!!! Sneaky Ebay Seller!

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That absolutely sucks. I could never stand bad smells in any clothing.

Well I got skunked again on another sneaky e-bay Deal what else is new....I'm not one to back down and take the job lightly, and I've cured my share of leathers and vintage clothes salvaged from abandoned houses that have been sitting 20 years out. The zipper and clasps and grommets are rusted pretty bad though, The zipper pull is sweating white-powder Aluminum oxide, that will take a little nu-finish and some liquid wrench or some Dirt bike carb cleaner for sure, WD-40 would work but I'm not a fan of the fish-oil smell it leaves.. I'm going to steep the Jacket in some Rubbing alcohol (The mix ratio is 1 Cup alcohol for 4 Cups of water) and rinse it out with some detergent for now, and probably scrub the whole thing with some baking powder for good measures in the rinse and stomp-dry it with a few towels...and leave it to air dry by the fire... and if that don't do the trick by the time it's dry, then the vinegar treatment will take care of it absolutely, you know? ( Just have some trouble with the smell of the mould and vinegar together) Add time...drying in my place but by the time the Jacket has cured for a few weeks it will be smelling fresh as a daisy and we're in business. Mark my words.

For now I've Saddle soaped the shell of the Jacket and Sprayed the Satin liner out twice with Eucalan.

The one time I was in a downtown Army surplus shop scrounging to the bottom of the depths of a bin full of combat Hats, I pulled out a hat and there was a nice red tick crawling on it...you could smell the place wasn't the usual military store smell, like it had been fumigated and the location of the place was moved down the street haha...nasty little surprises...Well that doesn't scare me much. I'll have to open a thread about treating clothes for Tick eggs sometime, but basically 10 minutes in the dryer should do it...others say freezing will work but not always. I've had a few tick bites for sure...and yes I know all about lyme disease, but what can you do when there's a heard of deer munching your front yard every morning you know?

...well I decided to go with Vinegar in a spray bottle with a 1 Cup Vinegar to 4 cups of water ratio, We'll see how long it takes to cure, I'll report back when I have the result.

Dumpster Diver said:

I bought myself a Russian MIG-21 Flight Jacket that arrived on Christmas Eve, however the seller largely failed to mention the overall Stench of mould and oxide that has rotted away most of the metallic hardware!!! (AUGH!!!) The pictures really didn't show the smell, you know? anyway it's up to me now I suppose to decide to just take it as-is and not file a complaint...infact I didn't check but I'll bet there's no returns on this ebay item, no problem...Let's see how this Jacket will like the napalm, flame throwers. I can Try Ethanol, or Hydrogen peroxide in this case, I'm not worried about the vintage collectors value at this point, the mould has to die. I will report back with a few photos and let you know how I proceed on this latest project. The Jacket had been stored somewhere WET and nasty for at least 20 years..hopefully not next to a stockpile of Radioactive waste or Sarin gas knowing my luck. Ugh!!! Sneaky Ebay Seller!

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File a buyer protection case for an item that is significantly not as described, get your money back, and then burn it.

If your toilet is dirty and the sink is full of dishes, do you burn your house down and move to another one?

Do not even Joke about burning this Jacket...I don't have the deepest pockets...so to me this isn't about monetary value..the whole POINT is taking something no one else wants and the buck stops HERE with me!

A little mould and mildew is nothing to be afraid of, and I really don't care to gripe about it, and I'm not cheap and the guy can keep my money, he burned me fair and square. Let it be another lesson.

the seller is only human after all and after I'm done with the Jacket it will be good as new once I'm through taking care of it, seriously. I can't stress enough how I'm not one of those guys who wants "New" looking clothes, this is part and parcel of my lifestyle.

At least it isn't nicotine damaged...I mean the WORST, the VERY WORST is cat spray!!!

I've had my motorcycle boots sprayed by a cat once and those were worth 3 times what I paid for this Jacket, I've had my guitar gig bag sprayed by a cat...you think some good honest mould is bad? It took half a year to get the cat smell out of my boots...it was horrid.

If you saw the life I've lived, man, a little mould ain't nothing to confront me.


It's fine, not to worry.

I'm not sure what you mean by letting it cure, but vinegar isn't going to kill the mold like bleach makes it visually disappear (bleach doesn't kill a lot of molds, but it makes it appear like it does). Dampen a rag with vinegar. Wipe. Allow time to dry. Dampen a rag with water (or distilled water if it is handy). Wipe. Allow time to dry. Repeat until you're comfortable. Wear. The mold might return, but then you do the whole process again.

As for being screwed on ebay, this isn't just about you. The only way a shady seller gets slapped is if buyers slap them. They'll keep doing it until they can't. It's a disservice to the next buyer to let them get away with shady practices. That's how I see it anyway.

It's not my place to bust this guy...and if he keeps selling shoddy goods he'll get what he deserves, it will work out, There's so many scammers out there it's Just out of body out of mind. I meant curing it by letting it air out until the vinegar smell is gone along with the mould smell and the Jacket is dry, sometimes it can take a couple weeks.

Like I said, I sprayed it down inside and out with a water-vinegar mix that is 4-1 Water to vinegar, and I'm drying it out by the fire...Once it smells like fresh leather again, I'll slather it up in oil and bingo bongo bango. good to go.

Once you kill mold with vinegar and/or sunlight, it might make sense to treat the leather with Obenaufs which contains propolis and see if it prevents recurrence. Propolis is said to have anti-fungal properties. Which makes sense; bees don't want mold growing in their hives. Obenaufs has a bit funky, sweetish smell so it may not be for everyone. I like it because it makes old leather soft and supple. But it does impart some smell.

Yeah, that's the next step of course, That's the plan, neatsfoot oil, mink oil, whatever I can get my hands on will do just fine, Acids and bases and the biochemistry of leather.

I'll be sure to post the results.

A young kid who's band I record, Has his fathers heavy metal Jacket...well his cat sprayed it and he didn't know what to do...It's one of those black biker Jackets. It was left sitting in the closet until it went mouldy, I told him it's ok to machine wash it, but DONT!!! RUN IT IN THE DRYER I SAID...ah, wouldn't you guess what he did?

so it really faded and stiffened up. He thought that was the end.

So long and short, I convinced him to remove the liner of the Jacket as it was ruined anyway, look at the mould inside of it, it was peppered with white mould all around the pits. "woaah" he said.

I said ok, watch this! and used some hydrogen peroxide and wiped it out, and we hung it outside to dry and VOILA! the mould disappeared like magic and the smell was gone. He couldn't believe it. I said ok, so you know what to do if it comes back now.

But he was still upset the colour had faded a bit...not to worry man! it was going a bit grey where it's been worn... but I said ok, now the next step, slather it in oil...and it was brand new, smelled awesome, it shone in the sun and I oiled it up and aired it out for a few days...when he came back to get it, he was really really super happy he could wear his Jacket again. Butter.

A mixture of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide will kill the mold if carefully applied... late to the thread...

I'm wondering if mixing the two is ok?

Liquid bleach should never be mixed with Vinegar, Is Hydrogen peroxide ok to mix with vinegar?

Dumpster Diver said:

I'm wondering if mixing the two is ok?

Liquid bleach should never be mixed with Vinegar, Is Hydrogen peroxide ok to mix with vinegar?

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Peracetic acid is produced when Acetic acid and Hydrogen peroxide are combined. It’s toxic and can irritate skin eyes and the respiratory tract. Vinegar and bleach are both good mould killers when used singly. (I knew some of this already but checked with Google anyway). Ive just discovered this bloke on a leather site I subscribe to. He comes with good reviews ref mould removal and leather repair. I’ve never used him though but he could be worth checking out. https://www.facebook.com/Claydon-Leather-Repairs-905590716122972/

Cool, thanks. Yea I'll check it out, and yes, I was certain you *DO NOT want to mix bleach or hydrogen peroxide with vinegar.

I read the web, it should be applied from two separate spray bottles one after another

navetsea said:

I read the web, it should be applied from two separate spray bottles one after another

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I've had good results with both Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar individually, I would say that the Hydrogen peroxide produces faster results than Vinegar.

the reason I didn't want to use hydrogen peroxide is I have no way to test whether or not it might fade the dye from the shell or liner, if it takes the colour out of your hair in an hour or so, then I'd be reluctant to use it on a Jacket I'm not familiar with.

but peroxide is a kind of bleach, won't that fade the color of the liner or leather you spray it on?

navetsea said:

but peroxide is a kind of bleach, won't that fade the color of the liner or leather you spray it on?

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Possibly, yes, that's why I selected the vinegar in this case.

I used Hydrogen peroxide on the inside of a few Jackets, wiping it on and had no issue with the colour so far, but yes, I would be proceeding with caution and test it out first if I wasn't sure.

The vinegar isn't the greatest smelling but I have positive news to report.

My Jacket was hanging to dry by the fire all night and Yes the vinegar did not smell pleasant, but the shell of the Jacket is beginning to smell like fresh leather again as the Vinegar is drying I am not smelling mould at all, Just a very slight lingering vinegar smell as it's still drying completely.