How to Get Mold Off of Leather

Written By
Carole Ellis
Carole Ellis
Published: Apr 2, 2009
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
1 minute read

Things You Will Need

  • Tea tree oil
  • Saddle soap
  • 4 clean, soft cloths
  • Leather cream
  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.

Tips

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

Warnings

Do not ingest tea tree oil.

Carole Ellis

Carole Ellis began writing in 2004 for the "UGA Research Magazine." Her work has appeared in Growing Edge, Medscape and Doctors' Guide publications. In addition to medical coverage, Carole publishes a real estate newsletter called…

Sponsored
HomeSteady Logo

HomeSteady is the ultimate guide for all your household needs, from cleaning and HVAC to electrical, DIY and maintenance.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.