Removing mold from leather?

Planterz

Planterz

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I mentioned to my boss that I was planning on using my income tax refund (whenever I get around to filing) to buy a couch, and he offered me one that he has lying around in storage. He said it's a huge, $10000-when-new couch, but the problem is that it got wet and developed mold.

So if I can get the mold off, I can have the couch. Otherwise it's just going to end up in a landfill. Any suggestions?
 
Clean thoroughly with a baking soda solution then treat with a leather conditioner.
 
Does saddle soap kill mold? I though it was just a condition for leather.

I've got a welding jacket that as mold on it. Probably not as much as mold as a full size coach. One option is to dry clean it. :eek: Funny as that would be, probably not worth it.

I'll have to try the baking soda.
 
A dehumidifier may work, or strong sunlight after you wipe the couch down with some cleaner (like vinegar and water).

Take a look at the bottom of the couch and see if it has a dust shield, but most of the time the leather will get covered with mold and look bad, but it cleans off easily enough.

Wipe it down then put the saddle soap (or mink oil depending on what you may use it for...) or even Armor All or a similar leather cleaner/conditioner..
 
Contact someone like Sericemaster who specializes is this sort of thing. If they can recover a $10,000 sofa for $500, pay them the money.
 
No, saddle soap doesn't kill mold. If the leather is still damp and the mold is still growing on it I guess I would spray with a bleach solution to kill it. A dilute bleach solution is unlikely to have much lightening effect; it takes a lot of soaking in bleach to have much effect on leather dyes in my experience. Gollnick's idea sounds pretty good if the couch is valuable.
 
A vinegar solution would be less caustic than bleach- utilizing a weaker acid than a strong base to get rid of the offending mold. A day or two in direct sunlight wouldn't hurt either. Unless the mold has eaten all the way through the leather, you're fine.
 
God help you if you, or anyone you live with, has any mold allergies (which you can develop from constant exposure btw).

Sometimes a good deal is just too good a deal.

Syn
 
Make a solution of 70/30 water to bleach, wipe as much of the mold off as you can with a dry cloth, then wipe the sofa with a rag soaked with the solution. You do not want to soak the leather, but get it real damp. DO NOT USE SADDLE SOAP or LEXOL ON IT!!!! The fats in the soap will feed the mold and make it worse, as will the ingredients in the Lexol. After it has dried, wipe it again with the solution, let it dry, and put it out in the sun for a day if you can, or at least where it is warm with little humidity. After you are sure you have killed the spores, you can give it a LIGHT coat of lexol to put some moisture back into the skin. You will have to keep an eye on it, the minute you see a white haze, no matter how light, use the solution to clean that area.
Killing mold on leather is an ongoing job until you get all the spores killed.
hope this helps,
Ulster
 
Burn it! That should take care of the mold problem.

Seriously, don't accept it. He's giving it away for a reason. The reason being that he couldn't get it clean himself so rather than have to deal with it he's pawning it off on some unsuspecting sap (you).
 
Yeah I would not take it. I have some friends who lived with mold in their house for a few years and now their entire family is paying for it in terms of chronic illness. You could be putting your whole family at risk and if there are still mold spores in the couch medical bills will be much more than the $1,000 you saved.
 
Yup, gasoline and a match is the only cure...

Take a pass on that one. Could be spores in the wood frame, springs, all that. A professional MAY get it out, but I wouldn't bank my lungs on it.
 
Ya know, I never did pick that couch up...
 
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