Business Reopens Its Doors After 53 Days Of Closure Due To Quarantine Only To Find All Of The Leather Products Molded
COVID-19 has stopped non-essential business dead in its tracks with lockdowns being initiated in many parts of the world. Besides the losses incurred by said businesses due to not being able to generate income, all the while being expected to pay wages and rent (at the very least), running into further problems makes worse come to worst.
A leatherwear and accessories store recently opened its doors for the first time in two months since the enactment of a nationwide lockdown only to find out that virtually all of its inventory had molded, raising a lot of questions as a result.
As if lockdown wasn’t bad enough for business, this one found a sad surprise when it reopened 2 months later
Image source: Nex Nezeum
A Facebook user by the name of Nex Nezeum recently shared a number of photos of various leather products covered in insane amounts of fungal mold. Shoes, bags, wallets, belts, and even the furniture and flooring were molding—truly a sight to marvel at, for one reason or another.
Image source: Nex Nezeum
A Facebook user shared some photos of a leatherwear store that molded during the lockdown
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Back in March, Malaysia enacted the Movement Control Order, more commonly known as a lockdown in the rest of the world, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-essential businesses such as this leatherwear and accessory store were shut down until further notice.
So, fast forward to May 10th—53 days after the start of lockdown—the state introduces eased-up conditions for the lockdown, allowing non-essential business to open up again, granted they meet physical distancing, disinfectant provision, and other requirements.
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Everything from shoes and bags to furniture and flooring were covered in sporadic colonies of mold
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Now, you’d think that the stores would be left untouched by time, save for some dust settling or someone’s forgotten sandwich going bad in the personnel fridge. But no, as if the pandemic wasn’t bad enough for business, the store’s entire stock had to go bad.
Not much information is available as of the time of this article, but people online are speculating that this is a Metrojaya Department Store in the Sabah State, and that the air conditioning was turned off in certain unused areas of the outlet to save money on resource and maintenance costs.
Image source: Nex Nezeum
People are speculating that the store’s AC was turned off to save on costs, and then the weather happened
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Not much information is available as of the time of this article, but Bored Panda reached out to the original photo uploader, who is yet to comment on the issue. However, people online are speculating that this is a Metrojaya Department Store in the Sabah State, and that the air conditioning was turned off in certain unused areas of the outlet to save money on resource and maintenance costs.
Well, the only silver lining here is that mycologists are probably in awe of this spectacle, marveling in its sea of molding beauty. Oh, and these pictures also went viral, garnering over 11,000 reactions and 46,000 shares in just a day and being shared on various media outlets.
Image source: Nex Nezeum
The mold formed over an estimated span of 53 days—more than enough for it to take over the world
Image source: Nex Nezeum
What else is there to do if not to joke about it? That is what the majority of internauts did, saying that this is a good way of finding out whether it’s real or faux leather, and that nature is finally getting back on its feet—humans are the real virus here, in reference to nature claiming back towns.
Image source: Nex Nezeum
People online joked that this is a very good way of figuring out whether the leather is fake or not
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Following the success of the first set of pictures, Nex uploaded some more moldy goodness (or not-so-goodness, depending on who you are in this situation). What looks like a cinema also ran into the same bit of trouble, with mold covering all of the seats and the carpeting. Because of this, one commenter even dubbed him “Mycelium Man,” the superhero who hunts down moldy places for the internet’s enjoyment.
Photos of a cinema were also uploaded, with pretty much the same results as the leatherwear store
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Image source: Nex Nezeum
Image source: Nex Nezeum
So, what are your thoughts on mold? Do we have any mold-loving mycologists out here who think mold is cool, or is it overall a nuisance? If you’ve got any moldy stories, let us know in the comments below!
Here’s how the internet reacted to the very moldy news
Is this due to the high levels of humidity in Malaysia? Also interesting to see the wallets which aren't leather which might be claiming to be...
yes. Malaysia is both very hot and humid all materials( even concrete suffer from the weather) - I used to live there. so all the spores in the air will settle on things and go to work. I suspect also the mold was feeding off oils and debris from human contact( especially the cinema).
Load More Replies..."So, what are your thoughts on mold? Do you love it, or is it a nuisance?" What kind of question is this???
Can kill you and really expensive to remove. A nightmare.
Load More Replies...Oh the Dad jokes are here. The party can start now.
Load More Replies...Clesn those damn places and for the sake of human kind, let the cleaning be done by professionals.
what are my thoughts on mold? do I love it? no, no I don't think I can say that I love mold. it can bring good things, like penicillin, but on the whole, it's absolutely a nuisance lol. what a weird question, BP.
Some of that leather can be cleaned, but you can't sell it at full price because the color will be off. I've cleaned leather that was getting moldy. But a bunch of that stuff is junk, it can't be cleaned, the mold has gone to deep into the leather.
Me, an equestrian, calculating how much saddle soap, neatsfoot oil and time it'd take to save all that leather.
They'll probably clean it off and sell it on eBay. I bought sheets that smelled of mold -- probably flood salvage -- and no amount of washing, soaking in vinegar, airing in sunshine would keep the mildew odor from returning in a couple of days.
Leather is dead skin, so of course it will decay if not treated! It is the 21st century, people, we do NOT need to wear the skin, fur and feathers of animals. We are not cave dwellers!
mntryjoseph, thank you for your comment; unfortunately "we" are far worse than cave dwellers, I am sure they did not create so much waste and did not gobbled up more than one million animals per hour.
Load More Replies...Well, this is not at all surprising, everyone in the tropics knows that mold grows from the moment you leave a leather/cotton object alone for few hours. The live there its not that they just arrived. I think the problem is that the owners o the store didnt know that the mall turned off the air conditioning. I hope they get their money back, because it is not the fault of the shop.
all they had to do was leave the climate control on the absolute minimum to keep the air dry. Now they have to throw everything out and they have no immune system because they've been isolating and wearing masks for a month and have a mold infestation. The sickness is going to be rampant. Mold is so toxic.
agree about leaving the climate control on, but very few species of mold are actually toxic.
Load More Replies...Actually it's good, leather is cruel and unsustainable, time to transfer to cruelty free and environmentally friendly materials.
Leather cannot be vegan. It's vinyl or another fake substitute.
Load More Replies...What weirds me out about cheese isnt so much the mould, its the tiny cheese mites living in it. Ever since i saw a microscopic view of cheeses on a documentary I've never gotten that image out of my head. Doesn't stop me eating cheese though lol who could resist
Load More Replies...Fungi can adjust to nearly anything. Spores and fragments of mould are in the air as they are in soil and are everywhere. Given opportunity to settle in suitable environment, they will prosper. Amazing organism and we need it around as it is important in decomposition. So, do not hate mould, it is and will be. In humid conditions it is necessary to keep air moving (airing the area) or just get dehumidifier. This needs to be considered. Obviously, the owner of the business could have stored all goods if they have space. Even in putting things into carton boxes with silica packets would help for a while.
What's tragic is what we're doing to our planet and all animals, that's really tragic for humanity.
Load More Replies...So when the businesses were shut they just turned off the heating/airconditioning? I don't think that was wise... dehumidifiers would've helped.
Being equatorial and surrounded by water means Malaysia is hot and humid. If you cycle the AC (turn off the AC, let the hot humid air in, and then turn it back on) you will get heavy condensation. This mold growth is still pretty weird because the leather is treated and there should be little substrate for the mold to grow on.
Leather is very prone to mold. I once bought an expensive leather bag from Amazon that arrived like one of these photos. I've also lost one pair of shoes to mold.
Load More Replies...Agree with you Bored, given the different extreme climate in some parts of the world, it seems that humans should not inhabit them at all, let humans lose habitations for a change.
Load More Replies...shows how dirty some surfaces really are. Even without the virus people shouldn't be touching their faces and should be hand washing more.
Why would you not check on your business every day? My parents have a closed restaurant right now and we're visiting every day because insurance won't cover any disasters if the property is 'abandoned'.
I wonder if this is Covid-19 in perfect circumstances and the leather is acting like a petrie dish? Were these my goods, I would incinerate them rather than having them cleaned. Things are so bad these days, that we have to be extra vigilant, and combine our common sense with what has always been considered the "Nanny State."
Note the location: Malaysia. Living here in the American Southwest, we never have humidity. 'Nuff said.
How does the owner of a store that sells only leather goods, in Malaysia of all places, not know about the mold thing?
While living in Panama (also extremely humid) we let a friend use one of our parking spots for his BMW, while he was out of the country for medical reasons. The leather seats in his BMW were covered in the same type of mold within 2 months.
Well if you turn off the HVAC this is what you get! I guess they thought they would turn in an insurance claim!
It is sickening to see the mold in the chair seats is worse than on the chair backs. Makes you wonder what "fluids" may be lurking there.
When I was in the Navy I was stationed in a tropical area. Since we mostly wore work uniforms my black dress heels were forgotten for months in the bottom of my locker. Then they said we were going to have a dress uniform inspection, so I pulled out the dress shoes. First thought was, "When did I get a pair of green suede pumps?" Then I realized the smooth green fuzz was actually mold. After I stopped laughing, I wiped them off and hit them with some black polish and they were fine.
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. In this sad case....mildew and mold
That’s from thailand , the people you refer to. He stole it from thai website
Malaysia is both very hot and humid all materials( even concrete suffer from the weather) - I used to live there. so all the spores in the air will settle on things and go to work. I suspect also the mold was feeding off oils and debris from human contact( especially the cinema). I've had clothes in storage that will deteriorate in time to mold even if i had air conditioning. remember malaysia is located in a part of the world that has the majority of the earths bio diversity in a band of land either side of the equator. There is a serious amount of germs, bacteria, mold, fungi etc that live in this region( plenty to kill you as well)
Is this due to the high levels of humidity in Malaysia? Also interesting to see the wallets which aren't leather which might be claiming to be...
yes. Malaysia is both very hot and humid all materials( even concrete suffer from the weather) - I used to live there. so all the spores in the air will settle on things and go to work. I suspect also the mold was feeding off oils and debris from human contact( especially the cinema).
Load More Replies..."So, what are your thoughts on mold? Do you love it, or is it a nuisance?" What kind of question is this???
Can kill you and really expensive to remove. A nightmare.
Load More Replies...Oh the Dad jokes are here. The party can start now.
Load More Replies...Clesn those damn places and for the sake of human kind, let the cleaning be done by professionals.
what are my thoughts on mold? do I love it? no, no I don't think I can say that I love mold. it can bring good things, like penicillin, but on the whole, it's absolutely a nuisance lol. what a weird question, BP.
Some of that leather can be cleaned, but you can't sell it at full price because the color will be off. I've cleaned leather that was getting moldy. But a bunch of that stuff is junk, it can't be cleaned, the mold has gone to deep into the leather.
Me, an equestrian, calculating how much saddle soap, neatsfoot oil and time it'd take to save all that leather.
They'll probably clean it off and sell it on eBay. I bought sheets that smelled of mold -- probably flood salvage -- and no amount of washing, soaking in vinegar, airing in sunshine would keep the mildew odor from returning in a couple of days.
Leather is dead skin, so of course it will decay if not treated! It is the 21st century, people, we do NOT need to wear the skin, fur and feathers of animals. We are not cave dwellers!
mntryjoseph, thank you for your comment; unfortunately "we" are far worse than cave dwellers, I am sure they did not create so much waste and did not gobbled up more than one million animals per hour.
Load More Replies...Well, this is not at all surprising, everyone in the tropics knows that mold grows from the moment you leave a leather/cotton object alone for few hours. The live there its not that they just arrived. I think the problem is that the owners o the store didnt know that the mall turned off the air conditioning. I hope they get their money back, because it is not the fault of the shop.
all they had to do was leave the climate control on the absolute minimum to keep the air dry. Now they have to throw everything out and they have no immune system because they've been isolating and wearing masks for a month and have a mold infestation. The sickness is going to be rampant. Mold is so toxic.
agree about leaving the climate control on, but very few species of mold are actually toxic.
Load More Replies...Actually it's good, leather is cruel and unsustainable, time to transfer to cruelty free and environmentally friendly materials.
Leather cannot be vegan. It's vinyl or another fake substitute.
Load More Replies...What weirds me out about cheese isnt so much the mould, its the tiny cheese mites living in it. Ever since i saw a microscopic view of cheeses on a documentary I've never gotten that image out of my head. Doesn't stop me eating cheese though lol who could resist
Load More Replies...Fungi can adjust to nearly anything. Spores and fragments of mould are in the air as they are in soil and are everywhere. Given opportunity to settle in suitable environment, they will prosper. Amazing organism and we need it around as it is important in decomposition. So, do not hate mould, it is and will be. In humid conditions it is necessary to keep air moving (airing the area) or just get dehumidifier. This needs to be considered. Obviously, the owner of the business could have stored all goods if they have space. Even in putting things into carton boxes with silica packets would help for a while.
What's tragic is what we're doing to our planet and all animals, that's really tragic for humanity.
Load More Replies...So when the businesses were shut they just turned off the heating/airconditioning? I don't think that was wise... dehumidifiers would've helped.
Being equatorial and surrounded by water means Malaysia is hot and humid. If you cycle the AC (turn off the AC, let the hot humid air in, and then turn it back on) you will get heavy condensation. This mold growth is still pretty weird because the leather is treated and there should be little substrate for the mold to grow on.
Leather is very prone to mold. I once bought an expensive leather bag from Amazon that arrived like one of these photos. I've also lost one pair of shoes to mold.
Load More Replies...Agree with you Bored, given the different extreme climate in some parts of the world, it seems that humans should not inhabit them at all, let humans lose habitations for a change.
Load More Replies...shows how dirty some surfaces really are. Even without the virus people shouldn't be touching their faces and should be hand washing more.
Why would you not check on your business every day? My parents have a closed restaurant right now and we're visiting every day because insurance won't cover any disasters if the property is 'abandoned'.
I wonder if this is Covid-19 in perfect circumstances and the leather is acting like a petrie dish? Were these my goods, I would incinerate them rather than having them cleaned. Things are so bad these days, that we have to be extra vigilant, and combine our common sense with what has always been considered the "Nanny State."
Note the location: Malaysia. Living here in the American Southwest, we never have humidity. 'Nuff said.
How does the owner of a store that sells only leather goods, in Malaysia of all places, not know about the mold thing?
While living in Panama (also extremely humid) we let a friend use one of our parking spots for his BMW, while he was out of the country for medical reasons. The leather seats in his BMW were covered in the same type of mold within 2 months.
Well if you turn off the HVAC this is what you get! I guess they thought they would turn in an insurance claim!
It is sickening to see the mold in the chair seats is worse than on the chair backs. Makes you wonder what "fluids" may be lurking there.
When I was in the Navy I was stationed in a tropical area. Since we mostly wore work uniforms my black dress heels were forgotten for months in the bottom of my locker. Then they said we were going to have a dress uniform inspection, so I pulled out the dress shoes. First thought was, "When did I get a pair of green suede pumps?" Then I realized the smooth green fuzz was actually mold. After I stopped laughing, I wiped them off and hit them with some black polish and they were fine.
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. In this sad case....mildew and mold
That’s from thailand , the people you refer to. He stole it from thai website
Malaysia is both very hot and humid all materials( even concrete suffer from the weather) - I used to live there. so all the spores in the air will settle on things and go to work. I suspect also the mold was feeding off oils and debris from human contact( especially the cinema). I've had clothes in storage that will deteriorate in time to mold even if i had air conditioning. remember malaysia is located in a part of the world that has the majority of the earths bio diversity in a band of land either side of the equator. There is a serious amount of germs, bacteria, mold, fungi etc that live in this region( plenty to kill you as well)
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