Keeping a Bag Through the Monsoon

We write from Agra, where the rain arrives after months of dry heat and makes everything feel damp at once. A bag has a hard time of it in these weeks. It gets rained on, then shut in a cupboard with the wet air, and a few weeks later someone opens the door to a white bloom and a smell they cannot place. Almost all of this can be prevented, and none of it is difficult.

I. When You Come In From the Rain

Blot the bag with a soft, dry cloth as soon as you can, pressing and not rubbing. Dry the metal parts too, since water sits in the corners of clasps and buckles. Take everything out, because a damp receipt inside a closed pocket keeps the whole bag damp.

Stuff it loosely with plain tissue or a clean cotton cloth so that it holds its shape, then leave it open in a room with moving air, under a fan if you have one, until it is dry right through. This can take a day. Do not put it away until it has.

II. Where It Should Spend the Season

Mould likes still, dark, damp air, and that is a fair description of a closed almirah in August. So give the bag a shelf rather than the back of a cupboard, and leave the door open for an hour on dry days if you can.

• Keep it in a cotton dust bag and never in plastic, which traps moisture against the surface.
• Stand it upright, lightly stuffed. Do not hang it by its handles, which pull out of shape over time.
• Put silica gel on the shelf beside it, and change the sachets when they stop working.
• Keep it away from walls that feel damp to the touch, and from anything else that has just come in wet.

A bag that is carried fares better than a bag that is saved. Take it out.

III. Once a Fortnight

Take out the bags you are not using and look at them properly, inside and out, including the seams and the lining. Wipe them with a dry cloth and leave them in the open for an hour or two. Fifteen minutes of attention every two weeks will save you a great deal of trouble in September.

IV. If You Find Mould

Do not panic, and do not reach for a household cleaner. Take the bag outside, so that the spores stay out of your cupboard, and brush it off gently with a soft dry cloth. Let it air in a dry, shaded place. If the mark stays, or the smell does, take it to a professional bag or leather cleaner, since home remedies can do more harm to the finish than the mould has.

V. Before the Rain Comes

In June, before the first downpour, clean your bags, empty every pocket, and buy your silica gel and cotton bags while nobody else is thinking about it. Keep a small umbrella in the bag you carry most. It is not an elegant piece of advice, but it has saved more bags than anything else in this entry.