Oilskin and Mould...Looking for answers.

A ten per cent solution of bleach like White King and water. Do it twice to be sure with drying in between to get rid of remaining spores.

You may need to reproof it after that.

I used to wear Belstaff waxed cotton on the motorbike, way back when. Today's stuff is better!

Indeedbleach will knock down the existing mould, but it will also sterilise the material, but not kill all the spores...so the mould is then ready to go at the slightest provocation.

Shifting the PH with some form of acid ( vinegar/ citric) will inhibit the mould growth more than bleach.

Some will swing it both ways with bicarb and acid

I have proven this on bathroom cieling....but...on an oil skin......hmmmm

What do "dry as a bone" recommend.

Ya may be simply better off hand washing it with detergent and several changes of water and then rinse very well.....remember what bleach does.

drying well then exposing it to sunlight inside and out.

Of course you will have to re-oil.

cheers

Fred - I wouldn't be using bleach, it's too savage. Not only does it strip colour out, it weakens fibres and is generally quite destructive.
Bleach is O.K on tiles, fibreglass and shower recesses, it works great there - but on any type of clothing, it will do more harm than good.
Even when I work over the shower, I only use about a 25-30% solution of bleach, and that's still plenty to kill mould.

Cheers - Ron.

If you check Shannon Lush's books on cleaning anything she would say to dissolve a kg of plain cooking salt in a large icecream container and bush this solution over the item of clothing. Hang the jacket out to dry thoroughly. When the salt crystals form, brush them away with a stiff brush. This will take the mould with it. Then you put a quarter of a teaspoon of oil of cloves in a 1ltre spray bottle of water and spray the item to kill the spores.
Bleach will rot the material and spoil the jacket.
You can re-oil it if necessary. Oil is available where ever good oil skins are sold.
regards

Many thanks for those replies good folk. I have taken those pointers on board, and will let you know of the outcome.

BTW I found a patch of mould on the wall of the cupboard, after I emptied it completely, and will have to deal with that as well.

That was the only cupboard I did not have one of those damp rid thingy's, and the mould arrived so quickly with the onset of winter. Strange how it only attacked the oilskin, which hadn't been worn for over 12 months.

Fred

Problem with bleaches, they are chlorine based, the Stitching will perish, and the colour will run, and the Spores will live thru it.

Go for the more non corrosive spore killer, like Viniger or Oil of Cloves

To fully seal it against all weather I use bees wax, which can be applied liberally and rubbed onto the surface, with a cloth, and to fully impregnate into the Dry as a bone", I use a hair dryer.
It's Magic !

I did my vest 6 years back, and it's still good.
Cheers
Bucky