Mould On Footwear

ceridwen

Anyone know of a way of getting mould off footwear so that it stays off? I have several pairs of shoes/sandals that I wear pretty infrequently - and every time I spot them I see the mould is back on them again (despite having cleaned it all off last time I saw them). Think there must be some spores that lurk around and dont get killed off - so that, though the footwear looks like its back to normal, the second I dont touch it again for a few months back it all comes.

The footwear concerned is either leather or nubuck (suede type stuff).

I was wondering whether I could rub olive oil with tea tree oil in it on the leather footwear for instance and that would kill the mould once and for all - has anyone tried this? Dont know what to do about the nubuck ones.

belfastgirl23

I'm wondering about a spray with vinegar (antibacterial)?? Will be interested to see if the others come up with anything...

Red_Cat

Are you getting the mould on the upper? the sole? or both?

If I had this on my shoes, I would make a weak solution of water with some thin bleach in it. I would then dab the solution on all over and then rinse off with cold water. Obviously I would try a test first especially on suede or canvas shoes. I used to wash my football boots in a bucket of water with a bit of washing up liquid. They would be totally immersed, then I would dry them naturally, laces out. I figured that they used to get so wet on the field, immersing them in water should be Ok. And they were.

jacksons_mum

i have exactly the same problem, the same few pairs of shoes that i dont wear very often, its nothing to do with where they are stored either, so i too would be interested to hear any solutions.

ceridwen

Red_Cat wrote: »

Are you getting the mould on the upper? the sole? or both?

If I had this on my shoes, I would make a weak solution of water with some thin bleach in it. I would then dab the solution on all over and then rinse off with cold water. Obviously I would try a test first especially on suede or canvas shoes. I used to wash my football boots in a bucket of water with a bit of washing up liquid. They would be totally immersed, then I would dry them naturally, laces out. I figured that they used to get so wet on the field, immersing them in water should be Ok. And they were.

Thanks for that - its on the upper that the problem exists.

ceridwen

having checked out an aromatherapy book I have...voila...they talk about certain essential oils being antibacterial. Right - I've chucked the footwear into a bowl of water and detergent and scrubbed them up with a scrubbing brush. Rinsed. Then sloshed them around in 3 litres of water with 10 drops of teatree oil in and they are sitting drying at present. Look okay so far - lets hope its not just a temporary revamp - and I have killed those mould spores lurking that must have caused the problem to resurface.

I seem to remember that people who have to stay in NHS hospitals (until such time as they pay enough attention to cleanliness to eradicate MRSA!!) were advised somewhere to take in a solution of water and teatree oil and clean all nearby surfaces with it - so if its good enough to deal with any of those "bugs" it can get at, then it seems logical it will deal with mould spores too.

squeaky

So... counting down...

Three months to go 'til a possible update on the effectiveness of tea tree oil as an anti mould treatment...

Just a thought - tea tree oil is known for anti-bacterial qualities, and moulds are rather different, so it's going to be interesting!

ceridwen

....have I missed something Squeaky? (as in you've put a post somewhere - Daily Thread maybe?) that you've got an op. lined up?

squeaky

No you haven't missed anything

I just figured that it would be at least three months before you'd be able to update and let us know if the tea tree oil worked on the mould on your shoes

morwenna

squeaky wrote: »

So... counting down...

Three months to go 'til a possible update on the effectiveness of tea tree oil as an anti mould treatment...

Just a thought - tea tree oil is known for anti-bacterial qualities, and moulds are rather different, so it's going to be interesting!

Tea tree is anti-bacterial, anti viral and anti fungal, so it should help! How about making some good old fashioned shoe stuffers, small oval shoe sized fabric bag, stuffed with a mixture of bicarb, rice (to absorb any damp) and lavender flowers? You could then apply a drop or so of tea tree and lavender essential oil every so often. Lavender and tea tree work in harmony against fungal type problems.

ceridwen

:rotfl: :rotfl: just sitting here contemplating my sewing skills - ie virtual total lack of...... maybe I could try old socks for that? - shame I've just been chucking loads of worn ones...but I guess there will be more..