I made the mistake of putting my wooden shields in my shed over winter and when I checked on them they were covered with mold spores.

I took them out and placed them on my garden table and spayed them with anti-mold spray, that seemed to do the trick. Then I washed them down with my garden hose, which may have been a mistake.

I now have a load of damp shields and I'm worried I may have ruined them. I've put them next to the radiator in my downstairs toilet but it's quite damp in there too with tiled walls and probably won't help much. At the moment I've taken them out again and put them on my garden table to try and get some air circulation - fat chance of that in England in the middle of February! At least it's not raining, but snow is predicted tomorrow.

What should I do? I could go over them with a hair dryer (would the hot hair buckle them?) or put them next to a fan perhaps?

Help!

[ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ] [ Linked Image ]

Yikes! A fan is probably your best bet. Yeah, I wouldn't have done the hose thing, but my shields *do* get rained on, and I've never had mold. Heat may not be the best idea, but certainly blowing air is good.

I suspect that simply hanging your shields up in the shed is better than just setting them on the floor. I'd be tempted to try getting them good and dry (I'm thinking warm summer day!) and sealing them into plastic bags, maybe with some absorbent.

Of course my usual cure for mildew or mold is to put the item in the sun. Not just laid out in the sunshine, I mean launching it in a rocket INTO THE SUN. Probably the only way to kill it for real.

Good luck...

Matthew

Not the same but I had a coat of mold on my leather boots (which I use for walking in swampy nature reserves etc) a few months ago after storing them wet in a moist garage.

I cleaned them thoroughly with cleaning ethanol and afterwards rubbed them with a thick coat of leather grease. Afterwards I left them in my living room for a couple of days to let them dry properly and then greased them again. They didn't get prettier but it seems the mold has gone.

If you want to dry them, I would suggest buying or renting an industrial electric heater. Possibly that would be a better procedure: thorough cleaning with alcohol, thorough drying, again cleaning and then finishing, maybe with linseed oil in the case of shields?

I’ve dealt with similar on shields and armor bits. And shoes... so many shoes here in Georgia where closets aren’t conditioned spaces. The spray was a good idea. I’ve had luck with plain old kitchen cleaning spray and elbow grease. The hose probably didn’t help, but air circulation should sort that. I’d go with the fan. Sunlight really does help too. If you get the chance, putting the previously moldy surfaces in direct sunlight is a good idea. I’d guess you haven’t ruined them, so don’t worry too much.

Given your location and the time of year, you could also try commercial damp room (laundry room, bathroom, basement, etc...) desiccants, available as a water collection bag or some granular packets, and put a shield and some desiccants--not touching the shield--into plastic garbage bags, and leaving them in a place that's warm enough where it won't freeze. Check on them every 2-3 days, and you might be able to draw out some of the deeper, peskier moisture locked within the wood itself. It also shouldn't be too harsh a process for the shields, and they should keep their shape fairly well as they dry.