mold removal from leather

[masndferty]

I have my leather couches in storage. There was a leak in there and now they have mold on them. Can they be saved. They've had mold since April of 2009. We are moving into an apt soon and I do not know if this is a health hazard if we cleaned them. Can they be cleaned and with what? Will the mold grow back?

[TeddyDiver]

No way.. burn them asp!

[lewisboats]

http://www.ehow.com/how_2305167_remo...m-leather.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Mold-from-Leather

http://cleaning.lovetoknow.com/Remove_Mold_from_Leather

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you...ther_furniture

http://www.mrscleanusa.com/en/cleani...-cleaning.html


Google is your friend!

[masndferty]

Thanks for your suggestion.. I appreciate it.

[kach22i]

My old Porsche had a film of white fungus inside of it this spring (over everything including the leather seats). It really liked the seat-belts, something about the texture I guess. Anyway after trying fancy enzymes and the like, I fell back to a good old Lysol sponge bath (full strength not watered down). That new lemon sent is not so bad.

Followed up with a dose of UV rays from the sun. Wait for a solar flare warning day if you can.

Followed up by leather cleaner.

Followed up by leather conditioner.

Good as new, but it looked no where near as bad as yours.

[WestVanHan]

Hook a rope to it an tow it out of there...molds and fungus can be very harmful or deadly.

For me,it's not worth having a mold growing inside my lungs and then slowly dying.

I suggest emailing a cleaning company that pic and see what they say...if they charge $100 and take all the risk that's worth it IMO

Burn it or phone someone,

UV rays are a solution, If the intrusion is as deep as we can see here, you have to treat the stuff with a high dose of UV-A rays, killing the fungus. (older sun tan / solarium lamps do that)

Then apply formaldehyd or lysol (take care), and build up the leather protection new.

But best solution is already mentioned, burn it.

[masndferty]

Thanks. I am thinking of calling a company to clean it. What do you think?

[Petros]

get a satisfaction guarantee first, they may take your money and leave you with a smelly couch. I have heard hydrogen peroxide works on mold.

Even after you clean off the mold it is possible that too much of the leather fibers have been consumed by mold, and it will just fall apart. So test one pillow first, see if it can be salvaged, or if it time to give it a decent burial.

Good luck.

[hoytedow]

Originally Posted by WestVanHan

Hook a rope to it an tow it out of there...molds and fungus can be very harmful or deadly.

For me,it's not worth having a mold growing inside my lungs and then slowly dying.

I suggest emailing a cleaning company that pic and see what they say...if they charge $100 and take all the risk that's worth it IMO

Burn it or phone someone,

The mold is probably deep into the couch. Consider it lost. It could kill you and harm or kill your loved ones. It is just not worth the risk.

http://www.toxic-black-mold-info.com/moldhealth.htm

[CatBuilder]

Unfortunately, after living for 4 years on a boat completely infested with "black mold", I know more than I care to about mold and removing it.

In your case, you cannot remove this mold. Apart from proper moisture, mold needs "food." In this case, it ate your couch's leather covering. That means the leather covering will be permanently damaged.

Aside from that damage, the cushions are going to be filled with mold spores, as are the areas where the springs are. The wood frame is probably moldy as well.

You have no choice but to throw this couch out (as well as just about anything else you have in storage)

Depending on your personal sensitivity to mold, you could get away with wearing a good dust mask and carrying this thing to the dumpster. If you are more sensitive, you need to put on a full hooded suit, googles, impermiable gloves and a respirator.

I was never sensitive to mold until living in a damp boat for 4 years. The boat had a deck leak and was always damp. I didn't know how to fix the leak back then. I used to think people who were "allergic" to mold were nut jobs. I never had a problem with it. That all changed though. I went to the doctor's one day for an injury from falling and they x-rayed my chest. They asked me how long I'd had pneumonia. Apparently, I'd had it for years on end.. That explained the trouble I had breathing and the reason I couldn't run or bike well anymore. I even got winded lifting the dingy up to the davits. I thought it was pollution. It was mold from my boat.

Mold is also something you will NEVER get rid of if you're not aware of it. The spores will get into your clothing, your shoes, everything you own. We had to replace everything we owned after living on a moldy boat.

Bring home some spores from that couch and have a damp area? Bring them onto a damp area in your boat? BAM! You'll have mold growing like that everywhere.

So... be careful. Treat it like the bio hazard it is.

[CDK]

The following procedure removes mildew, mold and similar organic stains, even the ones that have been present for years.

1. Spray or soak with potassium permanganate (a purple dye) and wait till all stains are turned brown.

2. Rinse with water to remove excess permanganate.

3. Dissolve some tablets of Vitamin C in water and apply to the brown stains: they will disappear in seconds.

4. Rinse with water.

[masndferty]

Thanks. I am also thinking of buying a new couch. You people are right.

[CatBuilder]

For mold growing inside your sinuses and lungs, there is a good treatment that does not require surgery. My wife and I both had mold inside us.

The fix for that is to "snort" fine, unsalted garlic powder like it is cocaine. We had a lot of trouble breathing when it was foggy, damp or humid after moving off the moody boat. I researched natural antifungals and garlic was very high on the scale. Do this slowly because you feel very sick the first couple sports when the mold starts dying and giving off mycotoxins. After 1-2 weeks of daily snorting, the mold inside you is gone and you no longer have breathing problems in damp air.

[hoytedow]

Originally Posted by CatBuilder

For mold growing inside your sinuses and lungs, there is a good treatment that does not require surgery. My wife and I both had mold inside us.

The fix for that is to "snort" fine, unsalted garlic powder like it is cocaine. We had a lot of trouble breathing when it was foggy, damp or humid after moving off the moody boat. I researched natural antifungals and garlic was very high on the scale. Do this slowly because you feel very sick the first couple sports when the mold starts dying and giving off mycotoxins. After 1-2 weeks of daily snorting, the mold inside you is gone and you no longer have breathing problems in damp air.

All I can say is "WOW!". I love garlic but I think that must have been a very hard thing to do.