Mold on saddles

[FullCircleStable]

Yikes! [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] This summer in the northeast has been really humid. With this, comes green, gray, gross mold. Yuck. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

Now here is the problem, my saddles and harnesses have grown a blanket coat of this gross stuff. Reapetadly. Clean them and 3 days later it starts to grow again.

Have tried Lexol, Leather New, One Step, Murphys, you name it, I tried it. Even the stuff that says kills an pervents mold and mildue.

I am at my wits end with this stuff. Short of bringing all the tack into the air-conditioned bedroom what works?

We have a barn with a block foundation, cement floors and well ventilated. All the saddles are on racks each seperatly no stacking, pads are kept off them and hung elsewhere. Harnesses are hung from the rafters not crammed in tack trunks and the barn does not leak.

I have thought of trying some bleach or Tilex but I am afraid of drying out and damaging the leather.

Has anyone ever tried this? I am at a loss as I have never had such a persistant problem like this before.

Any suggestions? Please? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Thanks, Cathy

[rozett]

Cathy, we've had the same problem with mold on our tack. I bought a scrub brush (like for floors) with natural bristles and use that the remove the mold. I scrub down the entire saddle, removing the stirrups, etc. I then gave them two coats of Leather New. We have not had a recurrence. If you don't get all of the mold off, it will continue to grow. The headstalls didn't seem to mold up the way the saddles did. I haven't checked the wifes reins... she prefers leather and I prefer rope. I just hose mine off. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]

[lmassom]

Living in NW Mississippi for the last 5 years, I have seen problems with mildew also. THis spring, I clean saddles well and used Leather NEw also. I have a lot less mildew this summer. I do get some but I brush it off. I just brougth one of these spray on leather cleaners to give tack a quick clean. A friend used a differnent leather conditioner this summer that states mildew control on it, but she's had a lot more mildew than I have had.

Larry