Tack Storage My Tack Never Molds
Tack Storage Mold loves summer temperatures in the high 70s to high 80s with a humidity level at above 65%. Your job is to avoid these conditions. If your barn can safely support a tackroom dehumidifier, you should be able to keep the humidity below 55%. You can also try using desiccants, materials that absorb water from the air, sort of a natural dehumidifier. That’s what those little packets of silica gel are that you find in shoe boxes. You can find desiccants in disposable tubs most discount stores. Covering your tack is a good defense against dirt. Be sure to keep a cover over your saddle to help stop dust, which leads to mold. (If you don’t have a regular cover, see October 2004 for English saddle covers and August 2004 for Western.) Never place a wet saddle pad under or over your saddle or even hang it close to your saddle, and don’t store leather and wet equipment in a closed container, like a trunk. Maximize air circulation in the tack room, and keep the floor and surfaces clean. Unfortunately, cement floors can transfer moisture into the air. There’s not much you can do about that beyond being aware of it. Some barns have tried placing kitty litter (clay is a desiccant) on the floors with limited success. Using your tack helps deter mold and keep it “alive” and supple. But time itself will dry and ruin leather, if you let it, so it’s senseless to overstock on leather. However, sometimes we have tack we want to keep but rarely use. An annual tack-cleaning spree is the answer. Every piece of equipment gets a cleaning and conditioning and is properly stored.
My Tack Never Molds If you live in a dry climate, good for you. Those of us who suffer through humid summers envy you. But if you’re in a wet climate and your leather never molds, you either take pristine care of it, are awfully lucky or are using dangerously dry tack. Mold won’t grow on old, dry tack because there’s nothing for it to eat. While tack can be dry on the surface, if it becomes dry in the inner layers, you can’t bring it back to life, even with a leather restorer. The drier the leather the more quickly it will absorb the restorer and the more thin applications it will take to restore its natural suppleness. A leather conditioner is a product for regular conditioning (monthly, quarterly or annually, depending upon your use), while a product labeled “restorer” is a heavy-duty product specifically made to bring back nearly lost leather. Restorers replenish lost natural oils and the fats that were put into the leather during the tanning process.
My Tack Never Molds If you live in a dry climate, good for you. Those of us who suffer through humid summers envy you. But if you’re in a wet climate and your leather never molds, you either take pristine care of it, are awfully lucky or are using dangerously dry tack. Mold won’t grow on old, dry tack because there’s nothing for it to eat. While tack can be dry on the surface, if it becomes dry in the inner layers, you can’t bring it back to life, even with a leather restorer. The drier the leather the more quickly it will absorb the restorer and the more thin applications it will take to restore its natural suppleness. A leather conditioner is a product for regular conditioning (monthly, quarterly or annually, depending upon your use), while a product labeled “restorer” is a heavy-duty product specifically made to bring back nearly lost leather. Restorers replenish lost natural oils and the fats that were put into the leather during the tanning process.
