If I asked a baseball player what piece of gear he loves and cares for the most, 9 times out of 10, he’d point to his glove. It sounds a little odd to an outsider, but it’s a proven fact that most players form a real bond with their baseball gloves.
Because of how gloves are built, they demand a lot of time and attention from the player. You need to break them in, clean them after each game, condition them from time to time, and store them the right way if you want them to last. (Regular dirt and sweat is a different job than what we’re covering here. If that’s what you’re dealing with, my guide on how to clean a baseball glove covers that instead.) After putting in that much work, it’s natural to form a connection with your glove.
But accidents happen. And if you wake up one day and find mold on your baseball glove, it’s infuriating. Mold is a real problem, and you need to deal with it right away if you want your glove to survive the next couple of games.
Cleaning mold and mildew off a baseball glove takes a bit more work than a normal cleaning, though. You can’t go about it the way you’d wipe down a dirty glove. To get rid of mold, you need a solution of rubbing alcohol and water.
In this article, I’ll walk you through exactly how to get mold off a leather baseball glove instead of tossing it in the garbage. Let me show you how.
How to Remove Mold from a Leather Baseball Glove
You may already know this, but for those who don’t: mold and mildew are basically a form of fungi. They develop in damp areas, and once they spread, they can be pretty hard to eliminate. Since they spread through spores that you can’t see with the naked eye, containing them takes more than a quick wipe.
Clean it the moment you notice it. This is another good reason to never store a wet baseball glove without drying it properly first. Before you touch any liquid, though, take the glove outside if you can and use a soft-bristled brush (an old toothbrush works fine) to knock off any loose, surface mold. Brushing outdoors keeps the spores from scattering around your house. Once that’s done, clean the glove and condition it with a glove conditioner.
To clean the mold itself, I like to make a solution of 1 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1 cup of water. This solution is pretty effective at clearing up mold, but applying it directly to your glove can damage the leather. So what are your options?
You should always apply the solution indirectly. Dip a clean cloth in it and squeeze out any excess. Then gently rub the cloth over the entirety of the glove, not just the spots where you can see mold.
The reason is that mold spores are undetectable to the eye, and by cleaning the entire surface, including the inside lining, you’ll also be clearing out any spores that might have been left behind. If the inside of the glove is where the mold started, a follow-up look at my guide on cleaning the inside of a baseball glove is worth your time too.
But you’re not done yet. After removing the mold, you need to dry the glove. Storing it in this condition can leave it damp, which can lead to another mold infestation. I like to dry mine in front of a cooling fan, but you can also leave it in a well-ventilated room overnight.
Just make sure you don’t expose the glove to direct sunlight. The UV rays can cause the leather to crack, and that’s a clear sign your baseball glove won’t last much longer.
Once the glove is dry, use your favorite leather conditioner. Start from the palm area and work your way outward toward the fingers. Use a gentle circular motion to work the conditioner into the leather.
Here are a couple of things worth remembering when you use a leather conditioner:
- Don’t apply too much conditioner in one coat. It’s better to go with multiple light coats after each previous coat dries.
- Use a sports-approved baseball glove conditioner, or a proven alternative glove oil if that’s what you have on hand. You don’t want to use anything that will over-soften the leather.
How to Prevent Mold on a Leather Baseball Glove
The trick to keeping mold from ever becoming a problem on your leather baseball glove is proper storage. Mold can only form under certain conditions, and as long as you understand and avoid those conditions, you shouldn’t have to deal with it.
The first thing to remember is to dry your wet baseball glove before you put it away. If you toss it straight into a locker after the game, the trapped air combined with the moisture in the glove is exactly the recipe mold needs to start forming.
After each game, wipe your glove down before you store it, and try not to leave it zipped up in your equipment bag for long stretches. Trapped air leads to humidity, and humidity leads to mold. If you can, use a breathable canvas or mesh bag instead of a sealed plastic one so air can actually move around the leather.
So, long story short: don’t take the easy way out when you’re putting away your glove. Make sure you know how to store your baseball glove the right way if you want to keep mold from ever becoming a problem.
The Bottom Line
I know it feels dire when you spot mold growing on your leather baseball glove. But take some comfort in the fact that it doesn’t have to mean the end for your glove. There are real ways to fix the issue.
Going forward, though, you need to be extra careful about how you take care of your baseball glove. I hope this article helped you get the mold off your glove and back to game-ready shape. Cheers!
With 4 years of Division II experience, a .272 career batting average, .410 on-base percentage, and 7 home runs, I’m now in my fifth season. I’ve played baseball since age 3, alongside future MLB Draft picks, and I aim to pursue a career in baseball professionally, be it playing, coaching, or scouting.