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How to Get Mold Off of Leather

Carole Ellis

It can be heartbreaking to get your favorite leather jacket out of storage and find that it has been attacked by mold and mildew. However, while you may previously have given your treasured items up for lost, you can clean mold and mildew off leather without harming the leather itself.

  1. Rub the tea tree oil into the leather. If it is just a small spot of mildew, then you may want to isolate the treatment. However, intense cleaning of one spot may leave you with uneven colors, so since tea tree oil is good for leather anyway, you may prefer to just treat the entire garment.

  2. Rub the oil into the leather in gentle, circular motions until it is entirely absorbed. You will need to let the oil sit in the leather for 48 hours. Over this time, the tea tree oil will kill the mold.

  3. Wash the leather with saddle soap. You can rub saddle soap into the leather with a damp cloth and then rinse it off with a clean, damp cloth. This will clean all of your leather and give you a chance to remove the now-dead mold spots.

  4. Nourish your leather with leather cream. Leather cream is a protective treatment for leather sold at high end leather stores. Rub the cream into the leather using gentle, circular motions. It should all absorb. If it does not, wipe off the excess with a clean cloth.

  5. Tip

    Some people have had success using Listerine to get mildew off of leather. Always test your treatment on an area of the leather.

    Warning

    Do not ingest tea tree oil.