Mold On Collar

[Maid_Lauren]

I have a nice leather pronged dog collar that I purchased years ago. Last year I noticed a little powdery mold forming. I sprayed it with a dilute bleach solution, let it soak, rinsed it and allowed it to dry. The mold is starting to come back again. Any ideas of how to permanently remove it? I would give it to one of the dogs but I don't think they get turned on by collars.

Maid Lauren

[Tenderfoot88]

I just googled "mould in leather" (yes, mould is the proper spelling if you're not an American and thus have a thing about chopping out silent u's) and came across this: http://vintageclothing.about.com/od/alt ... r_mold.htm

As long as it's real leather, it should presumably respond well to the clothing treatment.

[ruru67]

The treatment you used will probably be fine. But you should have a think about where you're storing your stuff and how often it gets used. Mould usually shows up in damp, poorly ventilated places. especially near floors. Hang it up in a well ventilated area. Or just use it a lot more

If dampness/humidity is a hard-to-fix problem, think about storing it in a sealed box with desiccant packets. But I'm not sure how well those wok.

[Tenderfoot88]

Dissicant is extremely effective. There's a reason tech companies use them when shipping expensive electronics to customers. You'll need to replace them over time, but they work well. And the modern stuff doesn't stink the way mothballs did.

[lj]

You can also use the various treatments used for horse "tack" - bridles, saddles etc.

Damp storage conditions will also be a problem as has been mentioned.