Mildew & guitar cases...

Subject: Mildew
From: GUEST,Skivee, guesting in
Date: 03 Dec 14 - 10:59 PM

When our dear friend Paul Diblasi died last year I inherited his very nice Alvarez MC-80 classical guitar with a cloth covered semi-hard case. I began using it at our renaissance fair and several weekends of rainy dank the case started showing a subtle but well established mildew colony on the tan cloth of the case.
I hit it with sprayed to kill what I could alcohol, but the (now dead) stains remained.
What does the brain Trust think of a dilute spray of chlorine bleach to clean it up a bit?
Anybody have any actual experience with this problem?

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST,Skivee, guesting in
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 01:10 AM

"...I sprayed it with alcohol to kill what I could..."

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 01:54 AM

When mildew developed inside my accordion case I dusted the velvet cloth inside with dry borax powder and placed it it the sun.

Hydrogen Peroxide is a fine bleach.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Stains can make for an interesting pattern, Keep then, or accentuate with a another stain such as a random scattering of moist yellow onion skins ( that are removed after an hour or so)

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST,Skivee, guesting in
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 03:52 AM

the peroxide sounds like a good idea.
As far as "interesting stains" these particular stains don't look interestingly well-traveled, just grubby

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 04:30 AM

For the outside of the case, try shoe polish.

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: The Sandman
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 05:07 AM

Remove mold from wood – finished or painted wood:

    Mixture of household detergent and water
    Commercial mold removal product (always follow manufacturer's instructions on the label)
    Distilled Vinegar
    Baking Soda -Detergent Solution (1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp mild liquid detergent)
    Borax Solution (1 gallon of water to 1 cup of borax, or 1 part borax to 16 parts water)

Remove mold from wood – unfinished wood:

    Rubbing Alcohol or Denatured Alcohol
    Commercial mold removal product (always follow manufacturer's instructions on the label)
    Distilled Vinegar
    Borax Solution (1 gallon of water to 1 cup of borax, or 1 part borax to 16 parts water)
    Baking Soda -Detergent Solution (1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp mild liquid detergent)
    Bleach-Detergent Solution (Recommended by the US Forest Products Labratory – 1 part household detergent, 10 parts bleach, and 20 parts water)

Warning:

Never mix bleach with a product that contains ammonia. It will produce toxic fumes that can cause serious illness or death.

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 05:38 AM

This is cloth, not wood.

Bleach will have an unpredictable effect on the colour of the cloth, depending on what it might have been coated or glued with.

I used shoe polish on my black fabric-covered fibreboard oud case - I need to re-polish it every year or so but the effect is fine.

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: The Sandman
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 08:28 AM

ok, sorry, Jack.

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 04:41 PM

Just leave it outside in the sun on a dry day. Sunlight is very good at killing and removing mildew. Air movement helps too.

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Dec 14 - 04:57 PM

Never ever use baking soda to clean anything delicate. It's abrasive!

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST,highlandman at work
Date: 05 Dec 14 - 11:24 AM

Second on the sunlight, it's excellent for killing mildew, especially on natural fibers.
To get rid of the residual visible stains, you might want to look into one of the spray-on carpet or upholstery cleaners you can find in an auto-parts store. Not the most eco-friendly stuff, but presumably you are not going into a high-volume guitar case cleaning business.
Make sure to test on an inconspicuous place, as it will no doubt say on the package!
For leather-ish covered cases, which seem to attract mildew with a vengeance, I have had good luck with either a dilute laundry bleach wipe, or a solution of plain trisodium phosphate (laundry detergent without all the fragrance and brighteners, available at hardware stores). But I wouldn't try the bleach on textiles.
-Glenn

Subject: RE: Mildew & guitar cases...
From: GUEST,Skivee, guesting in
Date: 08 Dec 14 - 02:28 AM

Thanks all