It rained today. Preparing for an errand, I went to put on my Timberland boots. Besides being a damn fine piece of footwear, I inherited them from my grandfather. You can imagine my horror at seeing that somehow, one of the boots had been attacked by mold. I don’t want to lose my boots. Can they be saved?
Just wipe it off. Surface mould (I’m aussie, so that’s correct spelling for me) on leather is no big deal. You probably want to give them a good polish.
I’ve tried wiping with 70% alcohol. It should kill the mould without harming the leather and seems to work (but I don’t have much experience.)
I was worried anything I did would just make things worse. I was afraid my boots were finished. Instead, a few seconds of wiping with rubbing alcohol did the job.
dont forget to oil/moisturize/condition afterwards. Alchohol takes the surface oils with the mold. Various leather conditioners are available at any shoe repair store, they all pretty much work fine EXCEPT straight neatsfoot oil – its great for the leather but rots the stitching.