Mold/Mildew Inside An Archtop Guitar? Cure/Erradication

[Ron Buck]

Frank and friends,

Just got a very nice condition Archtop guitar on Ebay.

However, the case smelt  a little musty, so I got an inspection mirror inside the guitar and there is a white power and black spots on some of the wood inside the guitar that looks (and smells musty) like mold/mildew. The gold plating on the pickup and tuners is also showing signs of pitting, so I'm pretty sure this guitar has been somewhere damp (basement or similar).

What's the best way of dealing with the mold to get rid of it once and for all?

On the Frets.com you talk about filling a moldy guitar with rice and shaking the life out of it to "knock off" the mold, then put in a big dose of baking soda to eradicate it:-

http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Quickies/RiceClean/riceclean.html

Other forums talk about spraying something called "Lysol" or household bleach in a fine mist inside he guitar, other about sandpapering the effected wood as the mold is likely to only be superficial etc.

What is your best method/opinion going forwards please?

Hear stories about the spores of mold being hard to eradicate, also health issues and spreading mold spores etc.

Any help appreciated!

By the way, is this what you mean by "Lysol"? Is it okay to put on the wood of a guitar?!:-

http://www.lysol.com/products/bathroom-triggers/lysol-mold-mildew-b...

Finally, what is the very best way to apply/use in this instance please. Is it okay to apply to actual wood, or should it be sprayed as a mist, or put unto a guitar humidifier etc.?

Any further help appreciated!

Thanks and

Best Regards,

Ron Buck

United Kingdom

[Mark Fogleman]

You can't get rid of mold spores. You can't get rid of mold food (cellulose). You can't get the guitar and case temp high enough to kill the mold w/o burning them. You can limit humidity to <60% to prevent them from reproducing.

As far as the mold inside the case, you need to wipe it down or spray it from a spray bottle with a dilute (1 cup in 1 gallon of water) oxygen bleach (Oxiclean), let it sit 15 minutes and wipe down well with water. Dry for a few days. Regular laundry bleach diluted 1:30 with water is good for solid surfaces. As this is an archtop, you can't do much about the interior w/o removing one of the plates. If the interior mold/mildew has to be removed, I would buy a large box of baking soda and pour a few handfuls through the clefts. Shake it tilted for a few minutes per section and empty what you can. Add more and work on the next section, empty, repeat. Find a compressed air source with a blower nozzle and blast out the remaining baking soda. The baking soda will scrub the surface mold/mildew.

As far as the smell, keep a small plastic take-out container (Chinese soup take-out?) with holes in the lid and sides with activated charcoal granules (aquarium and garden sections have this cheap) in the case when closed w/the guitar in it. It should smell much better in a few weeks.

Don't waste your time/money on Lysol. Their mold and mildew product is just household bleach. The disinfectant spray is not very effective on mold spores. It just covers up the smell for a short time and you need to be concerned about the long term effect of it on your guitar finish.