5 Tips For Dealing With Moldy Leather

Raise your hand if you’ve ever had tack get moldy, now give yourself a pat on the back for keeping your leather riding gear in good condition! – Wait, What? It’s true, moldy tack is a sign that your tack is soft, supple well conditioned.
Soft, supple, well oiled tack grows mold more quickly than dry, stiff, unconditioned leather.

If you have ever owned leather goods for the barn, you’ve probably had to deal with moldy tack. One of the pitfalls of living in the South is dealing with heat and humidity, which creates the perfect environment for mold to grow on your tack. I’m going to share my tips on how to clean up moldy tack and help minimize the conditions in your tack room that make it grow.

Lets start with dealing with fuzzy green and white leather goods. Those pieces you don’t use every day but when you need them, they need to be ready to work. If something is covered in a thick layer of mold, I will bring it outside and brush it off with a stiff brush. You’ll need to disinfect the brush later by using a capful of bleach in 3 gallons of water to disinfect your brushes. Go easy on the bleach, too much will destroy the bristles, especially on natural bristles like those on soft finishing brushes. When finished take the equipment apart, making sure to get any excess from under buckles, and lay flat on a clean towel.

Next, in a pail combine water with white vinegar in a 3:1 ratio- (For every 3 parts of water, use one part vinegar). Using a damp rag, dip the rag in the solution and wring all the dripping water out of it, and gently wipe away any residual mold, making sure to get into all the small loops and buckles, use a toothbrush if you need to. It’s important to make sure you get it all, otherwise it will just quickly grow back and spread to other pieces. Continue working your way around the leather with the solution until your rag/sponge runs clean when you squeeze it.

After removing all the mold from your leather, using a clean towel, wipe your leather dry, cleaning away any excess moisture. Once the leather is dry, it’s time to condition your tack. I prefer to use a combination leather cleaner and conditioner like Tack Butter . This one step process cleans the leather and conditions it beautifully. Alternatively, you can clean with quality saddle soap and follow up with your favorite leather conditioner.

Once I’ve conditioned the leather, I typically let the leather sit, preferably outside for about 5 minutes to absorb and nourish the leather. Additionally sunshine is a natural killer of mold and mildew. Once that is done, I take the dry towel and wipe away any excess conditioner left on my tack. It’s now ready to be stored or put back to used.

Dealing with mold can be a hassle, which is why it’s a really good horse management practice to eliminate the conditions which can cause your tack to mold. If you are lucky enough to have a climate controlled tack room, know that I am jealous! For those of us that don’t have a climate controlled tack room I offer the following tips to help prevent your tack from molding.

1) Never put anything in your tack room that is damp. Sweaty saddle pads, helmet liners, wraps, boots, girths etc can all contribute to a mold friendly environment in your tack room. Hang these things outside your stall to dry before putting them away.

2) Keep the air circulating in your tack room. Using a ceiling fan, oscillating fan, or even a simple box fan in your tack room will keep the air moving and lower the humidity level, making for an unfriendly environment for mold.

3) Use moisture absorbing products in you barn and/or trailer tack room. I have found Damp Rid to be very helpful in controlling the humidity in my tack room and in the tack room of my horse trailer! The Damp Rid beads melt away as they soak up any moisture in the air and pass the resulting liquid through to a pouch. The company offers a few different ways to use the product but I have found the pouches to be most convenient. Their pouches smell nice (unscented available) are simple to use, and easy to see when they need to be replaced.

4) Pick up some Eva Dry rechargeable dehumidifier’s. I picked up something similar to these a few years ago at my local Aldi. I’ve been super pleased with them. As the beads turn from orange to green, it indicates the unit needs to be recharged. Simply plug it in for a few hours, and it’s ready to go. In the height of summer I find myself recharging them every 2-3 days.

5) Invest in a dehumidifier with a drainage hose. Living in the south, the dehumidifiers with the holding tank are a hassle. They fill up quickly and once they are full, they stop working, and they can be temperamental when it comes to replacing the storage tank. If you are going to invest in a dehumidifier for your tack room, pick one with a drain hose. These are much more convenient in my opinion, and they can work 24/7 without having to empty the drainage tank.


The only sure way to solve all of your tack room mold woes is to create a climate controlled environment. These helpful hints may not solve all of your moldy leather issues but they will for sure help cut down on how much cleaning you have to do to get rid of it. Got any hacks for dealing with humidity and moldy tack? Drop us a comment, we’re always looking for new ways to deal with common problems!