Fender HSC cleaning

[Ryan Mazzocco]

My wife found for me a Fender hard shell case. It's otherwise brand new, never been used, but has had a rough life already. I don't know how much these things normally cost. the sticker says $170 (probably quite a markup?) but she got it for $20.
Now, here's the catch. It was marked down because it was a survivor of the May 22, 2011 EF-5 tornado that hit a music store here in Joplin, MO. It looks like it's in really good shape. No damage, but water did get in. Then is sat for a couple of years where it grew mold and mildew. First we vacuumed it out. Next we will open it up and set it out in the out building where it can stay dry and air out.
What else should we be doing? Except for the smell it's a really nice case, and I've been carrying my #1 in a gig bag, so I'd really like to be able to use it.
Thanks.

[Jim McConkey]

Home Depot and other big box stores sell various mold and mildew treatments for treating water damage that are supposed to kill the spores and the smell, without volatile chemicals, and also prevent new growth. HD's version is called Concrobium, and is supposed to be colorless and odorless. I have not used it, and have no idea what it would do, if anything, to an instrument finish. As always, test on scrap first! In any case, you should spray with something to kill the spores, or it will stink forever, if not get worse. Just allow plenty of time for it to dry and work before using it as a case again.

[Bob Francis]

You need to be certain that it is dry.
Silica salt, baking soda aor even damp rid (just don't spill it) in a closed case will absorb water.
Unit you really have the humidity as low as you can the other treatment results won't be as effective.

[Barry Daniels]

I used to do mold remediation for my day job. Anything porus needs to be removed because it will contain mold spores that can spontaneously grow when activiated by moisture, which can even be the humidity in the air when RH gets above 60%. I would strip out the lining and any foam padding and replace it.

[Peter Wilcox]

I would strip out the lining and any foam padding and replace it.

I second this. Apparently fungal spores can live for a long time. For the trip back from Viet Nam I was given a brand new dress uniform and dress shoes. I probably wore these for a total of less than 24 hours. I put the shoes in a box where they sat for over ten years. When I needed some black shoes for a wedding, I got them out and wore them for a few hours. A few days later the jungle rot was back in full force.

[Steve Senseney]

Can you heat the case to about 200 Fahrenheit?

I think this would kill the spores that are present.

On a sunny day in the summer, my 1988 blue Honda Accord would hit 180 degrees. It was great for drying wood, but no longer around.

[Peter Wilcox]

Can you heat the case to about 200 Fahrenheit?

I think this would kill the spores that are present.

"The effects of several physical and chemical agents on the survival of Trichophyton mentagrophytes arthrospores were investigated. Although arthrospores of this dermatophyte were highly resistant to chilling and freezing, they were extremely susceptible to moderate heat (above 50 degrees C) and desiccation."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... 7-0062.pdf

Although your case probably doesn't have ringworm, it may be worth trying to heat it. 50 C is just 122 F, so just laying it out closed in the summer sun might work.

[Clay Schaeffer]

For cleaning grungy plushy band instrument cases a repair person I knew used windex and left the cases in the sun to dry. You will never get rid of all mold spores, but they won't grow if the conditions aren't right.

[Ryan Mazzocco]

thank you all for your replies so far. I am still going over them to decide what I want to do from here. Part of me says 'easy fix' and part of me says 'just toss it.' I guess we'll see.