 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: beejay
Date: 2004-10-05 23:14
Does anyone have a recipe for getting rid of the smell of mildew in an old leather instrument case? Thanks.
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Author: LeeB
Date: 2004-10-06 00:22
Leaving it out and open in bright sunlight would help.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-06 11:20
1. Use Lysol (a can) and put it out in the sun afterwards.
or
2. Throw it away (my personal choice)
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-10-06 13:41
Febreze might help with the smell and bleach kills mildew very effectively. Car deodorant products might work too.
But unless the mildew is destroyed, anything that masks the odour will be only a temporary improvement.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2004-10-06 15:12
I've found the purchase of a new instrument case to be the only truly long lasting solution.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-10-06 17:29
I've never ever even once seen an instrument case where all the mildew was removed
ever
You can take most of it out with the various products (Dr. product will probably be the best - hadn't thought of that) but if you have zero tolerance for it (which I do) than you are better off getting rid of it.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-10-06 18:04
I second the vote for direct sunshine - that's what we all do when we've got the flu, isn't it? Two days of that and the flu's well on its way. No seriously, the sun is a great disinfectant - it'll kill the mildew and banish the smell. Any stains will remain however. Just make sure that your case doesn't get stolen like mine did - fortunately I had a clue of who took it and got it back.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2004-10-07 02:11
(Disclaimer - I sell a case odor product and fungicide)
Mildew and mold spores - not the vegetative grey black stuff that we see as mildew and gives off that smell - are not thoroughly killed by even direct sunlight exposure (the vegetative form is killed) and those hiding in the dark recesses of the case lining or wood, or foam with regrow if the Relative Humidity is above 50%. You need to kill the vegetative and the spores both. These spores are very tough little critters and only exposure to a fungicide for some period of time will kill them. A 10% household bleach solution will kill both the spores and vegetative forms with a contact time of 5 minutes at 20 degrees C. This bleach solution will potentially remove the dye from the lining however and the material lining should also be rinsed with clean tap water after treatment to remove residual bleach which will rot the fabric over time if not removed. Old leather cases also had the leather attached with a horsehide or hoof glue which is a food source for mildew and is somewhat destroyed by the bleach solution so count on perhaps regluing the leather in spots after treatment. The best solution for a mildewed case is toss it and get a new one unless you are trying to preserve a vintage case.
The Doctor
Post Edited (2004-10-07 02:18)
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Author: LeeB
Date: 2004-10-07 03:43
Out of curiosity, I wonder if irradiation (the process they use for treating food) would work. Obviously, the equipment is not generally available, but it would be interesting to know if it would do the trick.
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Author: kal
Date: 2004-10-07 04:25
Haha, I would LOVE for someone with the means to do that^ to try it and post their results here!
I second the bleach solution followed by sun exposure if you're really in love with the case. I've done it a few times, most notably to a downright toxic Leblanc paperclip contra case that probably hadn't seen the outside of a closet in 50 years or so.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2004-10-07 10:43
(Disclaimer - I sell a case odor product and fungicide)
The answer is yes. I was assigned to the Anthrax Team at the Centers for Disease Control post 9/11 for a time and we investigated commercial irradiation systems proposed to treat bulk mail. A company in California commercially treats pallets of medical equipment and supplies with charged electron beams which will destroy mold spores. The United States Postal service employs modified systems from this company to currently treat mail destined for certain destinations. We ourselves at the CDC have a gamma cell irradiation chamber which will destroy mold spores. The radiation flux and intensity needed is much higher to kill mold spores than bacteria in food products. This irradiation treatment does raise the heat within an object quite a bit but can be controlled. Getting to use one of these machines is the problem.
The Doctor
Post Edited (2004-10-07 11:06)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-10-07 22:54
I've always been under the impression that mildew degrades the "quality" of the leather....if true then nothing will restore it adequately. For a half-xxxx fix try Odor Eaters or all the other suggestions except "junk it"
Bob Draznik
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2004-10-08 13:37
You can get a new case for about what you'd spend if you bought all the products to clean the mildew from the old one--not to mention the time and effort involved. Look on eBay or online. A case can be bought for anywhere from $29.00 up.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-10-08 14:57
There is another solution, one that our household has a great deal of familiarity with: ozone.
An upscale speciality tool and gift store found at many shopping malls here in the USA has a product that produces a constant flow of ozone, sending it through two tubes that you can shove into your shoes. The shoe version retails for about $60.00, runs on either batteries or AC power (adaptor included) and you can obtain it mail order as well.
After one or two treatments, the most mildewed of hockey equipment (our worst case mildew problem in Senor Terry's Casa de Rebutar) comes up smelling (if not like a rose) much better. Minimal effort, maximum results.
THe unit uses the well-tested principle of poisonous gas (pioneered by ve Chermans in WWI, but now a universal solution to some problems for all God's children) to kill off the mold and such. Seventy eight thousand Frenchmen (the number of disability claims for le gas during The War To End All Wars) can't be wrong.
Oxygen (which we survive on during the day; nitrogen is what we breathe at night (pause for big laugh)) is really a poisonous gas that our bodies have adapted to so as to survive at standard pressure and temperature. In high concentrations, or in the three atom molecular form of ozone (offering still higher concentrations of the stuff), living objects have trouble coexisting with oxygen. In effect, it acts a lot like its near neighbor on the periodic table chlorine and fluorine
One advantage that ozone has is that it will "seep" into places that liquids and brushes just can't reach. Put the unit in a case and latch it up, and the interior becomes your own little gas chamber. And, one with no last minute reprieve from da Governor to save the smelly little felons causing the problem.
However, as our CDC friend points out, you've got to keep on top of it or the smell producing stuff will grow back. With a mildewed pair of semi-pro hockey player skates (worn three or more hours a day by my former juniors level son during his professional days), the "knock down" period would last a week or so before the spores and musty odor returned with a vengeance. But, there's a lot of sweat (just under two ounces, by weight) being pumped into them in a single wearing...hopefully your clarinet playing won't be as strenuous.)
I've used the "ozonator" on many things, including on _my_ entire hockey bag once a month, just as a preventative...turn it on, toss it in, and take it out the next morning. But, I've only needed to use it on one instrument case. An old bassoon that I acquired last year was in a typical German style flat case that had a bad case of the stinks, attributable to the area around the bocals (the previous player rode it hard and put it away wet, literally). Two overnight passes with the "ozonator" and the smell was gone and stayed gone for the remaining three months that I kept the case (it was falling apart and I replaced it with a new one).
Many moving and storage companies have an "ozone room", where you can have the same treatment applied to large objects. You could try to sidle up to your local firm and see if you can piggy-back your case through on someone else's big order.
But, I too would ultimately recommend junking the case.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-10-08 15:35
The meat locker of the grocery store I worked in years ago had a "ozone bulb" in it. Although at the time I didn't realize ozone was detrimental to one's health I intuitively didn't stay in there too long at a time.
Bob Draznik
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