I used to have a costume department at the school where I taught drama. We got lots of clothing donations. During the summer, the air was always shut off and after washing the carpets, the moisture left mold on some of the stetsons and leather goods. I was told to microwave the leather items and it did indeed kill the mold. You cannot put metal bits into a microwave but it was good for items that could fit in the machine. Some of our props like paintings were musty smelling and I didn’t want to risk ruining the paint so I took them outside in the sun, sprayed them with colloidal silver on both sides and that seemed to do the trick. Hope this is helpful.
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Hi Linda –
As a restoration company battling mold in Florida since 2006 (and within a lot of schools), we wouldn’t endorse this method of microbial remediation.
Microbial remediation is just an easier way to say “the use of microorganisms to either degrade organic contaminants”, such as mold, bacteria, fungi, and even viruses such as COVID-19.
For mold, you should use a simple, affordable botanical disinfectant spray to neutralize the mold. We use these brands everyday:
Microband
Shockwave
Botanical Kleen
Simple Green
At the very least, using a botanical disinfectant will prevent you from having to explain why you are microwaving your leather boots :-)