How do I get mold off a paisley case without destroying it?

[dilznik]

I had my paisley case in my closet all winter. I just pulled it out and there's mold all over the carpet and the case. This never happened with my regular cases. I guess either a wet winter or the case fabric vs leather or something. Who knows. Anyway, how do I get this stuff off the case?

 

[Birdsofprey]

Simple Green, hopefully the guitar is okay. After you clean it let it sit out in the sun should be fine.

 

[JasonE]

Wow, that could get complicated. I am assuming it is held on with a glue. That means you have to use something that won't fade the fabric (no bleach) or degrade the glue. Simple Green is a good suggestion. It may do the job. It is good stuff.

 

[dilznik]

Simple Green, hopefully the guitar is okay. After you clean it let it sit out in the sun should be fine.

Okay cool. Just spray on and wipe off?

I have it out in the sun to kill the mold right now. I can grab some of that cleaner (I might have some).

 

[JasonE]

Okay cool. Just spray on and wipe off?

I have it out in the sun to kill the mold right now. I can grab some of that cleaner (I might have some).

That is where it is going to get complicated. You have to get enough of it on there to do some good but you will want to find a way to get it back off. I don't think there is any sort of waterproof barrier under the fabric like tolex. That means that if you get it really wet, the wood under it is going to soak that up. That may be what it needs to really kill the mold so it doesn't come back or have a smell to it. You will then need to really dry it out in the sun after that.

 

[László]

I'd toss the case and get a new one. It'll always be a problem child.

Cases don't attract mold like that all by themselves. That thing got truly wet somehow. Once there's a mold infestation, remediation is difficult in homes, even when professionals handle it. I'd think the case would be no different.

 

[Prs Mods too]

Yup there's mold somewhere. I had the same thing happen. I had cases and boxes placed tight to a couple of outside walls and when I moved them, the walls and everything touching them were moldy due to poorly insulated old windows.

I sort of fixed the windows and now I leave everything around 4 inches away from the walls and everything seems good so far.

Good luck getting that case clean.

 

[dilznik]

I'd toss the case and get a new one. It'll always be a problem child.

Cases don't attract mold like that all by themselves. That thing got truly wet somehow. Once there's a mold infestation, remediation is difficult in homes, even when professionals handle it. I'd think the case would be no different.

Damn it! It's my fanciest case! All muppet skin on the inside and whatever else.

 

[Max Headroom]

Darn, that’s a crying shame as those cases are not cheap but I agree with @László , it ain’t ever gonna be right again.

I am lucky in that I have beds with lots of room under them and that’s where all my cases and gig bags go.

 

[László]

Damn it! It's my fanciest case! All muppet skin on the inside and whatever else.

Yup, I've got one just like it, they're really nice cases! Costly, too.

One of my best pals had a beautiful 1965 Fender Jaguar, white with tortoise pickguard - bought for him by his dad that year, BTW - that was in perfect condition in its original case; he kept it in his basement, unfortunately, and didn't play it often.

One day he went to retrieve it, and he found mold not only on the Tolex of the case, it had migrated through the vinyl and the wood, or maybe via the lid opening, got into the case and lining, and attacked the guitar's wooden parts. He said it was an unholy mess.

He's a physician, and he felt it prudent to throw both the case and the guitar into the trash and avoid potential health concerns.

I probably would have had the guitar restored and refinished if possible, but he didn't want any part of anything that was once moldy.

There's a humorous twist, though. When he left the house to go to his office the next morning, the trash was still out but someone had grabbed the guitar off the street.

 

[Max Headroom]

Yup, I've got one just like it, they're really nice cases! Costly, too.

One of my best pals had a beautiful 1965 Fender Jaguar, white with tortoise pickguard - bought that year, BTW - that was in perfect condition in its original case; he kept it in his basement, unfortunately, and didn't play it often.

One day he went to retrieve it, and he found mold not only on the Tolex of the case, it had migrated through the vinyl and the wood, or maybe via the lid opening, got into the case and lining, and attacked the guitar's wooden parts. He said it was an unholy mess.

He's a physician, and he felt it prudent to throw both the case and the guitar into the trash and avoid potential health concerns.

I probably would have had the guitar restored and refinished if possible, but he didn't want any part of anything that was once moldy.

There's a humorous twist, though. When he left the house to go to his office the next morning, the trash was still out but someone had grabbed the guitar off the street.

I would have been running down the road at top speed with it too if I saw a 65 Jaguar out on the street!!

 

[László]

I would have been running down the road at top speed with it too if I saw a 65 Jaguar out on the street!!

If only I'd known he was gonna do that, I might have said I'd buy it for a few bucks and see if it was restorable.

I heard the story days later when it was too late.

He was in my high school band for a minute, but his real passion was classical viola, and he rarely played it. The guitar was a real case queen. There was a nice blonde Dual Showman head that piggybacked on a matching cab as well, but I have no idea what happened to it.

I think he played one or two gigs with us and lost interest in guitar very quickly. That was probably for the best. It was a case of "I want my friend to be in our band," but for a guitarist, he was no guitarist. We wound up getting a guy who was really good, and the band improved immeasurably.

 

[Stephen J.]

Vinegar. Dilute it with water and wipe everything down. If you keep your home humidity in check, you won’t have a problem in the future. If the temperature and humidity get to the right levels, you will get mold again. Spores are most everywhere but don’t activate in low humidity. I shoot for 50%.
Sorry you have to deal with this. It sucks, I know. I was renting a house a few years back and went through this. Once I discovered the mold, I opened up the crawl space and saw several inches of standing water under the house. When I called the landlord, he said he was surprised that happened again. I was not pleased.

 

[Moondog Wily]

Not sure how these materials are fastened onto the case (maybe PRS CS would be willing to chime in if you ask them), but the only possible permanent solution I can think of would be to remove the fabric from the outside, clean it like it was the feet of god, and then reattach it. Beyond that, I doubt you would ever get rid of the mold permanently (but as mentioned, it will not grow again until humidity and temp conditions are right). With this option however, you may find that the mold has infiltrated the wood below and if that has happened, all bets are off, to the trash IMO! Best of luck with a problem I would wish on nobody!!

 

[dilznik]

I think I might have gotten lucky. I left it in the blazing sun all day yesterday and today I was able to wipe it clean with a bunch of hydrogen peroxide that I poured in a spray bottle. I'm going to leave it out in the sun for today and probably tomorrow. It came off very easily. I wish I could say the same about my carpet.

 

[Max Headroom]

I think I might have gotten lucky. I left it in the blazing sun all day yesterday and today I was able to wipe it clean with a bunch of hydrogen peroxide that I poured in a spray bottle. I'm going to leave it out in the sun for today and probably tomorrow. It came off very easily. I wish I could say the same about my carpet.

It looks a whole lot better right now.

 

[Tucson Thump]

I think I might have gotten lucky. I left it in the blazing sun all day yesterday and today I was able to wipe it clean with a bunch of hydrogen peroxide that I poured in a spray bottle. I'm going to leave it out in the sun for today and probably tomorrow. It came off very easily. I wish I could say the same about my carpet.

HP will help where it touches but I would think you would need something like Lysol to kill the mold in the areas that weren't touched.

 

[ViperDoc]

Mold sticks around. Consider an antifungal spray. I used a product on my kids playhouse and it disappeared. No idea if it will bleach the fabric.

 

[dilznik]

I think I have some Lysol I can hit it with.

 

[ViperDoc]

I would trash that case. Mold transfers. You could make it look good now and grow mold in your house later. Spores are airborne and can be breathed in and become fatal. I bet you could find someone to retolex a standard case, or have a case made with the same specs. PRS box-checked that fabric just like you can.