Removing Mildew From Acoustic Guitar

[Mouldytone]

Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

[Raf]

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

There is a product in the US called Ozium, which comes in a small
aerosol which I would try first. I would even spray it in the
soundhole, lightly, in all directions. Ozium, isn't straight ozone,
but it seems to work like that. If that doesn't work, there are
other steps you could take, but that would be a start.

-Raf

[Mouldytone]

Thanks Raf. I`ll see if I can track it down.
Tony M

[rayboyce]

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

Tony I thought of ozium too, but thought I'd add that there is a natural
wood-derived product, that will immediately, pleasantly, change the smell,
eventually evaporate and help evaporate other smells embedded in the wood
pores, as it does.

It's pretty available, mail-order, and in several forms, such as wipe-on,
spray on, etc.

http://www.acedar.org/?Articles:Cedar_Oil

[David Hajicek]

Post by rayboyce

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

Tony I thought of ozium too, but thought I'd add that there is a natural
wood-derived product, that will immediately, pleasantly, change the smell,
eventually evaporate and help evaporate other smells embedded in the wood
pores, as it does.
It's pretty available, mail-order, and in several forms, such as wipe-on,
spray on, etc.
http://www.acedar.org/?Articles:Cedar_Oil

I would be cautious about putting it on your body (as the link implies). It
can be toxic or at least allergy causing. It can kill fungus and insects,
after all.

Dave H

[rayboyce]

Post by David Hajicek

Post by rayboyce

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

Tony I thought of ozium too, but thought I'd add that there is a natural
wood-derived product, that will immediately, pleasantly, change the
smell, eventually evaporate and help evaporate other smells embedded in
the wood pores, as it does.
It's pretty available, mail-order, and in several forms, such as wipe-on,
spray on, etc.
http://www.acedar.org/?Articles:Cedar_Oil

I would be cautious about putting it on your body (as the link implies).
It can be toxic or at least allergy causing. It can kill fungus and
insects, after all.
Dave H

Dave,

I agree with "contact to the body" analogy... However...

My main intent was a wipe-on or spray on, inside the cavity of the
instrument... no contact to the player... If you're wondering about that,
check into what mildew into mouldy air does to the human respiratory system.
And compare that to what effects aromatic cedar has been reported to have,
medically speaking.

[Mouldytone]

The Cedar oil link is appreciated but the worry I have is does it
actually kill the mildew/mould spores? From what I`ve been able to
find out about mildew it appears that it has to be stopped/removed if
you want to prevent any future problems/smell. I don`t want to replace
a mildew smell with a cedar smell, I want to get rid of the source of
the smell. Thanks for the suggestions. I`m leaning toward the ozium
suggestion at the moment. If I can track it down in Aus.
Tony Moulder

[rayboyce]

Post by Mouldytone
The Cedar oil link is appreciated but the worry I have is does it
actually kill the mildew/mould spores? From what I`ve been able to
find out about mildew it appears that it has to be stopped/removed if
you want to prevent any future problems/smell. I don`t want to replace
a mildew smell with a cedar smell, I want to get rid of the source of
the smell. Thanks for the suggestions. I`m leaning toward the ozium
suggestion at the moment. If I can track it down in Aus.
Tony Moulder

Tony,

Good luck. Let us know.

I'm sure you could find ozium e-order/mail order if nothing else. It's an
effective product, when used as intended, and packaged small and it would
ship cheaply. It neutralizes, doesn't mask. It's a glycolized product and
I've known several applications where it worked well... But from using it in
evacuated rental-houses and elsewhere, it's designed and marketed only as a
temporary neutralizer for AIR sanitizing, airborne bacteria, and I can tell
you from experience, it must be resprayed after a few hours. They even
package it for metered dispensers. If the odor source still resides on
surfaces, you must treat those separately. (I usually bleach those
afterwards in my rentals.)

http://www.brucemedical.com/ozspraydeod.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643229027&ref=pd_sl_5b3feg1rs2_b

Concerning C-oil, haven't ever tried it "after-the-fact", but it's designed
as a restorer, and yes there are several manufacturer's claims certain mixes
as effective penetrant to kill molds, as a "green" substitute where bleach
would otherwise be used. Mold and fungii resistance are also reasons for
usages of cedar wood itself unpainted as an exterior wood product, along
with it's resistance to bugs and rot. C-oil is also considered a green
solution. Plus, it's available in various levels of aromatic residual
forms. Aromatic C-oil smells nice, like a natural wood. Used
conservatively, I'm pretty sure it would not be sharply discernable from
other sweet-woods, like true rosewoods, which were named for their smell.

http://mylandscapeisgreen.com/products/cedarmountainairsystem.html

http://old.cedarcide.com/pr11.pdf

http://www.cedarbugfree.com/

I'd feel safer with a careful, VERY conservatively applied wood bi-product
for any of my wood. I wouldn't coat it. I would tend to mist it or
something... and not repeatedly. Wood still needs to breath, needs moisture
that's feeding the mold now on your guitar.

YMMV, and again, I hope you find what works best for you, and interested to
hear.

~ray

[David Hajicek]

Post by rayboyce

Post by Mouldytone
The Cedar oil link is appreciated but the worry I have is does it
actually kill the mildew/mould spores? From what I`ve been able to
find out about mildew it appears that it has to be stopped/removed if
you want to prevent any future problems/smell. I don`t want to replace
a mildew smell with a cedar smell, I want to get rid of the source of
the smell. Thanks for the suggestions. I`m leaning toward the ozium
suggestion at the moment. If I can track it down in Aus.
Tony Moulder

Tony,
Good luck. Let us know.
I'm sure you could find ozium e-order/mail order if nothing else. It's an
effective product, when used as intended, and packaged small and it would
ship cheaply. It neutralizes, doesn't mask. It's a glycolized product
and I've known several applications where it worked well... But from using
it in evacuated rental-houses and elsewhere, it's designed and marketed
only as a temporary neutralizer for AIR sanitizing, airborne bacteria, and
I can tell you from experience, it must be resprayed after a few hours.
They even package it for metered dispensers. If the odor source still
resides on surfaces, you must treat those separately. (I usually bleach
those afterwards in my rentals.)
http://www.brucemedical.com/ozspraydeod.html
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643229027&ref=pd_sl_5b3feg1rs2_b
Concerning C-oil, haven't ever tried it "after-the-fact", but it's
designed as a restorer, and yes there are several manufacturer's claims
certain mixes as effective penetrant to kill molds, as a "green"
substitute where bleach would otherwise be used. Mold and fungii
resistance are also reasons for usages of cedar wood itself unpainted as
an exterior wood product, along with it's resistance to bugs and rot.
C-oil is also considered a green solution. Plus, it's available in
various levels of aromatic residual forms. Aromatic C-oil smells nice,
like a natural wood. Used conservatively, I'm pretty sure it would not be
sharply discernable from other sweet-woods, like true rosewoods, which
were named for their smell.
http://mylandscapeisgreen.com/products/cedarmountainairsystem.html
http://old.cedarcide.com/pr11.pdf
http://www.cedarbugfree.com/
I'd feel safer with a careful, VERY conservatively applied wood bi-product
for any of my wood. I wouldn't coat it. I would tend to mist it or
something... and not repeatedly. Wood still needs to breath, needs
moisture that's feeding the mold now on your guitar.
YMMV, and again, I hope you find what works best for you, and interested
to hear.
~ray

If you can spray the Cedar Oil (diluted) onto the wood surface inside the
guitar, that should kill any surface mold. Un-string the guitar, of course,
and don't re-string until it has fully dried (a couple days) or you might
warp the body from string tension. Some moisture is needed (high humidity)
to activate the spores and make them more easy to kill.

I have put wood in a tight plastic container with a little open dish of
Chlorine bleach, to allow the fumes to kill things. I suppose one could wet
a Dampit with Chlorine bleach and put that in the guitar, seal it in a
plastic bag and let it sit for a few days. Don't get bleach directly on the
wood or it will be bleached there.

Good luck Tony.

Dave H

[Mouldytone]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down. Looks like the diluted Cedar Oil spray idea may be the
best bet for now. I`ll post a follow up when I`ve carried out the
experiment.
Tony M

[Steve Daniels]

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:25:56 -0700 (PDT), against all advice,

Post by Mouldytone
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down.

Try a head shop.


Anyway, that's what my brother said.

[MKR]

Post by Mouldytone
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down. Looks like the diluted Cedar Oil spray idea may be the
best bet for now. I`ll post a follow up when I`ve carried out the
experiment.
Tony M

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643229027&ref=pd_sl_5b3feg1rs2_b

[MKR]

Post by Mouldytone
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down. Looks like the diluted Cedar Oil spray idea may be the
best bet for now. I`ll post a follow up when I`ve carried out the
experiment.
Tony M

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index...

oops, sorry... what I meant was:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ozium

[Tony Done]

Post by Mouldytone
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down. Looks like the diluted Cedar Oil spray idea may be the
best bet for now. I`ll post a follow up when I`ve carried out the
experiment.
Tony M

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643229027&ref=pd_sl_5b3feg1rs2_b

**************

It is next to impossible to ship spray cans overseas.

Since we're still on the subject of stale smells. - When I lived in Darwin,
car interiors that smelled like men's changing rooms were a major problem,
and the Greek convenience stores sold a product that was near-miraculous in
its effectiveness. It came in a small bottle, and a couple of drops on the
car upholstery would banish all the stink. I'm sure it would be effective on
a guitar, but might be hard to track down. A search of car deodorisers from
Repco and the like might turn up something similar.

Tony D

[David Hajicek]

Post by rayboyce

Post by Mouldytone
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I`m finding Ozium difficult to
track down. Looks like the diluted Cedar Oil spray idea may be the
best bet for now. I`ll post a follow up when I`ve carried out the
experiment.
Tony M

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ozium&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4643229027&ref=pd_sl_5b3feg1rs2_b
**************
It is next to impossible to ship spray cans overseas.
Since we're still on the subject of stale smells. - When I lived in
Darwin, car interiors that smelled like men's changing rooms were a major
problem, and the Greek convenience stores sold a product that was
near-miraculous in its effectiveness. It came in a small bottle, and a
couple of drops on the car upholstery would banish all the stink. I'm sure
it would be effective on a guitar, but might be hard to track down. A
search of car deodorisers from Repco and the like might turn up something
similar.
Tony D

I have some Maguire's Car Oder Eliminator. Sounds like a similar product.

Dave

[Steven Bornfeld]

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

Is mouldyguitar a natural extension of mouldytone?

Just wondering,
Steve

[Tony Done]

"Mouldytone" wrote in message news:a8106049-5497-43b8-a478-***@c6g2000prb.googlegroups.com...

Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

I think I would try carpet deodorant powder if I was desperate. I'm sure it
would fix the smell without causing any damage, but getting the residue out
would be a bit of a problem.

FWIW any of the peroxides would likely work but not with the penetrating
power of ozone, so something like Napisan might do the trick, and it isn't a
fine powder. Another possibility would be domestic bleach in a small
container, the chlorine might be as effective as ozone, but you could just
be replacing one bad smell with another.

Tony D

[hank alrich]

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder
I think I would try carpet deodorant powder if I was desperate. I'm sure it
would fix the smell without causing any damage, but getting the residue out
would be a bit of a problem.
FWIW any of the peroxides would likely work but not with the penetrating
power of ozone, so something like Napisan might do the trick, and it isn't a
fine powder. Another possibility would be domestic bleach in a small
container, the chlorine might be as effective as ozone, but you could just
be replacing one bad smell with another.
Tony D

Rinse it out with whiskey and set it out in snshine for a few hours.
Problem solved.

[f***@gmail.com]

Post by Mouldytone
Hello. I have a near mint 2001 Martin D-41 which has evidently been
exposed to extremely damp conditions at some time. The case wasn`t
damp but had a strong smell which wasn`t very pleasant. I ditched the
case and the guitar hasn`t been in that case for at least a year but
still has an odd smell to it. Is exposing the guitar to ozone the only
way to remove the mildew? I`ve read lots of suggestions via my web
searches but most seem to involve masking the smell rather that fixing
the problem. Thanks.
Tony Moulder

I had the same problem for years and the replies were useless The absolute cure is a Shoes UV Sanitizers Sterilizer, bacteria/mold/mildew removing light for shoes sold on Amazon for around $50.00 or search Hone Depot for UV LED light bulbs and a short pigtail light assembly. You will have to make it yourself. I prefer the safer shoe model as it doesn't get hot which could burn your guitar
Start for 30 minutes if you are not a satisfied
Another alternative is an Ozone Generator for around $70.00 also sold on Amazon.com
All methods I listed are guaranteed However the Ozone Generators are never to be used around any living animals us included.