Flood exposure

My finished basement fell victim to the Southern New England floods this past March.

In an attempt to save an American Leather loveseat and a sleep sofa I propped up the furniture, unfortunately the water level rose just enough to wet the bottom of each piece. The sleep sofa mattress took the brunt of it and I will discard that item.

As the two pieces cost $5,100 and replacing the mattress costs $1,100 I am weighing whether to discard both pieces, which kills me as they are only 6 years old. They were not removed from the basement until the tear out began 7 days after the event. Since their removal I have stored them in my non-climate controlled garage. The ventilation is not great with 2 windows and the garage doors. They are black leather and I cannot see anything unusual in their appearance. I also cannot detect any odors suggestive of mildew or mold.

Compounding the problem is that the sleep sofa is too big to put into the basement while assembled. If I retain the piece then I will have to reassemble the sofa and then subsequently find I am using a piece with potential mold.

Every "expert" I've consulted with states I should discard both pieces. I stumbled upon the Leather Doctor remedy and I am wondering if anyone on this site can relate to my situation and offer any recommendations, including their services.

Thanks to all.

The key to saving your leather is this product:


Leather Doctor® d’Mold-3.6:
It's for Pigmented, Aniline, Nubuck, Suede, Hair-on and Woolskin leather types.
This is a pH 3.6 aqueous leather-safe non-phenol fungicide developed to kill mold growth.
It’s for disinfecting and controlling musty odor from mold activities after decontamination cleaning.
Preparation Cleaning:
1] Remove, contain and dispose mold responsibly in terms of health and the environment.
2] Remove remaining residue with Leather Eraser-4 for all smooth leather and Nubuck Eraser-5 for nubuck and suede.
3] Clean thoroughly with Prep-7.7 or Prep-4.4 follows with Cleaner-3.8 then Rinse-3.0.
4] Sinking pits damages have to be physically removed during the rinsing process and an option for re-finishing after treatment.
Instruction:
1] Shake well, spray soak and agitate with leather, nubuck or suede brush.
2] Let dry naturally.
Options:
1] Hydrate dried leathers – use Hydrator-3.3
2] Rejuvenate to soften and strengthen leather – use Fatliquor-5.0.
3] Impart a buttery, draggy, silky or waxy feel; non-stick protection with a classic leather scent - use leather Scent-B, D, S or W.
Note:
Anti-microbial, just like anti-biotic is a course of medications; that has to be administered on an 8 monthly cycle to be long term effective again re-occurrence.


You should do it straight away before the mold sets in!

What do you think?


Roger Koh
Leather Doctor®