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Posted

Hello good concertina people,

I'm seeking advice on relatively short-term solutions for mitigating mold on a lovely Wheatstone anglo I am borrowing for a couple months. I'm traveling in rural Ireland, and some friends were gracious enough to loan me this concertina while I'm here. It plays beautifully, but it's sadly been stored in its box for a long time, and when I opened it up, it was absolutely covered in fine green dusty mold. I cleaned off the exterior surfaces with a soft cloth last night, but the mold seems to have permeated the instrument, and I am quite sensitive to breathing mold. I'm traveling in rural Ireland for the next few months and have limited resources available to me, and as it's a borrowed instrument, I want to be careful about my approach to it, and I'm not able to do a serious restoration of the instrument. I'd imagine the inside is likely moldy, too. Today I'll go into town to buy a small screwdriver so I can open up the instrument. Any advice on containing/mitigating the mold problem so I can at least play the instrument for the next few months without breathing trouble? (I have read previous posts about mold, but the solutions I've found haven't quite fit my situation and what's available to me.) Many thanks in advance!

Posted

You need to get the air to it.. I would say. In some way let the air circulate inside and out..it may go with use over time. I am not sure about using any damp cloth. . Maybe try an impregnated cloth of some kind?

 

Posted
5 minutes ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

You need to get the air to it.. I would say. In some way let the air circulate inside and out..it may go with use over time. I am not sure about using any damp cloth. . Maybe try an impregnated cloth of some kind?

 

Thank you, Simon. Very good ideas! Airing it out presently.

Posted

The only way to get rid of the mold is to kill the spores, otherwise it wil happen everytime it gets even remotely damp (can you say "IRELAND"). The only way to kill the spores without moistening the instrument is ultraviolet light or ozone.

I wrote about this in an earlier post:

https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/27925-getting-rid-of-bad-moldy-odors-in-concertinas-my-solution/#comment-237204

 

  • Like 2
Posted
4 hours ago, Matthew Heumann said:

The only way to get rid of the mold is to kill the spores, otherwise it wil happen everytime it gets even remotely damp (can you say "IRELAND"). The only way to kill the spores without moistening the instrument is ultraviolet light or ozone.

I wrote about this in an earlier post:

https://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?/topic/27925-getting-rid-of-bad-moldy-odors-in-concertinas-my-solution/#comment-237204

 

Thank you!

Posted (edited)

Certainly, as someone who lived in an old semi detached bungalow, without central heating, I well know about damp rooms in winter particularly.. I keep my instrument n my, dryest room ( in my own purpose made box).. but main thing is to get the air  to them, and use them often, play music with them,  as that will keep the air circulating through the instrument, and may reduce mould in future.

 

Edited by SIMON GABRIELOW
Posted
1 hour ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said:

Certainly, as someone who lived in an old semi detached bungalow, without central heating, I well know about damp rooms in winter particularly.. I keep my instrument n my, dryest room ( in my own purpose made box).. but main thing is to get the air  to them, and use them often, play music with them,  as that will keep the air circulating through the instrument, and may reduce mould in future.

 

Yes, definitely! My own personal concertina rarely goes a day without use, and since I had to leave it at home while traveling, it's currently stored in a Pelican-style case with Boveda packets and a hygrometer in the most climate-stable part of my house. But with a borrowed concertina, factors beyond the immediate are out of my control. It's currently opened up and airing out, and I periodically exercise the bellows to circulate air and flush out the inside, and it is improving, but I'm so sensitive to mold (and more so, as I am just recovering from COVID!!), and I fear I may not get this instrument to a state where I can play it without harming my health. So sad, as it is otherwise a beautiful instrument!

The good news for my longer-term future is that when I return home I will have a new Willie Crook-made concertina, and in future I'll be able to travel with my own concertina. (The one I left at home is rosewood, and I don't have the proper paperwork to get it back through US Customs, so it doesn't travel with me internationally.)

  • Like 1
Posted

Vinegar and water will remove mould from the outside, just be sparing about how long you have it on there.  Rinse with a damp water cloth. The inside of the bellows is trickier, you need a spray bottle and removing the excess from some places is time consuming and difficult.  Many jobs on concertinas are repetitive.  Put on some good music and don’t set a deadline.  
 

I did this recently on a flood affected concertina.  

Posted
10 hours ago, Chris Ghent said:

Vinegar and water will remove mould from the outside, just be sparing about how long you have it on there.  Rinse with a damp water cloth. The inside of the bellows is trickier, you need a spray bottle and removing the excess from some places is time consuming and difficult.  Many jobs on concertinas are repetitive.  Put on some good music and don’t set a deadline.  
 

I did this recently on a flood affected concertina.  

Thanks, Chris! That's encouraging. I'd be hesitant to introduce any liquid inside the concertina, especially with it not belonging to me, but it's encouraging to know you've salvaged a flood-affected instrument!

 

I've been airing the concertina out for a couple days. The mold situation is improving (definitely not gone, but less of a biohazard situation!). Now I've got some stuck reeds though–probably from the temperature/humidity differential, as it's in a clean, non-dusty location, and I'm not seeing any bits of fluff or anything like that. I took a thin piece of card stock and gently slipped it below each of the reeds, and they appear to be freely moving, but when I put it back together, they're unresponsive. Mostly pull-reeds, but my left hand push middle B is unresponsive too. Wondering if this might rectify itself with time as the instrument stabilizes? Wish I had brought my Concertina Maintenance Manual here with me! Appreciate everyone's advice.

Posted

Try borrowing or renting an ozone machine. Insurance companies use these after fire damage and smoke damage.
It is completely harmless to the instrument, - but very dangerous to living things, even mold and fungus. Follow the information very carefully.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

You can purchase a small inexpensive ozone machine on Amazon that charges from a USB port.  I find these very helpful for freshening up a bellows with an old musty smell.

  • Like 1

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