Storing Cashmere - YouLookFab Forum

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Storing Cashmere

Violettt

Hello everyone! Just signed up as I was searching high and low for some advice on how to store your cashmere sweaters! I found a post from 3 years ago and thought I'd like to resurrect it. I bought about 6 cashmere sweaters last winter, and have stored them in a plastic bin. Just opened it and discovered 2 of my favorites have moth holes in the arms! Yikes. I did put some moth packets in the bin a year ago. Now I just pulled out about 10 of my sweaters and put each one in an individual zip lock bag in the freezer. I plan on doing my other 8 or so cashmere sweaters after these. But, then what is the best way to store them all? Should I purchase some cloth sweater bags which hold 3 or 4 sweaters and just store them under my bed? I find such conflicting info on the internet. Some say don't store in plastic, they can't breath, others say put each one in an individual zip lock. I live in a very hot climate, and moths love my woolens. Have had some very expensive wool designer blazers ruined which were in a back closet in our home. Any tried and true advice would be so helpful! Does anyone know THE BEST way and proper way to store them? Thank you so much. And I look forward to this site! Violettt~

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18 replies

Latest reply was from Violettt

Joyce B

Veteran

Welcome! I have had success using space bags for my cashmere sweaters.
I have found that moths love merino even more than cashmere. Sometimes I even prefer poly blends to avoid the problem but I got a moth hole on the sleeve of a leather jacket, the sleeve is a blend of viscose and they still got to it.
I need to try pheromone traps but have not researched them well enough.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Another welcome from me. I echo, Joyce B.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

You mention that you are in a hot climate; is it also humid? Here in Florida, the heat and humidity get to things in ways this child of 4-seasons wouldn’t think of. Make sure you look into the effectiveness of your chosen method in your climate.
Also, I’m confused as to why you would have so many cashmere sweaters in a hot climate.

Diana

Veteran

Welcome!

I think the biggest thing when storing knitwear is to make sure it is clean before you store it. Moths like not just obvious things like food stains but also sweat, dead skin, etc. I hand wash sweaters (cold water, wool safe detergent, don’t wring or agitate) but you can also send them to the dry cleaners if you prefer. I think it’s fine to keep them in plastic too. I keep my wool coats (which I do send to the cleaners) in the bag from the dry cleaners over the summer and it’s fine. For storage honestly I like plastic bins over fabric - they’re easier to sterilize (you can wipe them down with disinfectant, etc) and harder fr moths to get into. Ive never had the plastic affect the knitwear or yarn I Store in them. Make sure you get ones that close securely.

Lastly I’d check all the woolens at least once a year. I usually do this twice a year -once when I get them out and once when I put them away. Shake everything out, check for anything suspicious (like sandy residue or moth casings) and quarantine/freeze the suspicious things.

Violettt

Hey thank you for your responses! It;s taken me 50 years to finally know not to have woolens where I live, But cashmere is slightly different story as it is a seasonless fiber. It's always been my favorite fiber and fabric by far. I've always loved and adored cashmere as my favorite fiber as I attended school in England all my life and then back here to hot yuccy So Cal to find the moths love my sweaters, a sad fact and unsure how to store them. Thank you for the replies. Keep them coming. I will never buy a wool blazer again, my 500.00 one was ruined by moths within one year. I still love love Cashmere. It is my favorite fiber of anything. It is so soft and luxerious, and you can layer it over a simple white blouse.

Violettt

Fashiontern:L I guess cuz I never learned. DUH I love cashmere sweaters and I never learned they eat up California! I'm a thick head, that's why.

That's why I'm dying to learn how to prevent moths.

Do you have any advice?

SarahD8

Veteran

I have used the pheromone traps but they will not solve the problem alone (they only catch the males).

Vigilance (shaking them out and assessing at least a couple times a year) and a ready needle and thread for the inevitable repairs are my strategies.

I could do much better about making sure my sweaters are clean when I store them but I do wear a lot of them year round (mild summers in Seattle and I run cold) so I've never been able to establish a "system." Maybe you'd have better luck with that, as it sounds like yours only get worn for a short season.

rachylou

Veteran

Snap lid bins... not the double hinged kind that don’t fully close... and completely unhelpfully, LOL, a fan that stirs the air in the closet. TBH, I leave my closet doors open and the dog goes in and that’s been my best California moth protection yet. I think she keeps things ‘shook up’ so they don’t settle...

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Southern California is pretty dry, right? Then you should be able to use plastic to store them all in. Just make sure they are completely free of eggs, etc and then snap the lids tight! We’ve been battling them in the pantry; they seem to go through thin plastic bags and get in places we didn’t think they could go.

Violettt

Thanks all! I really appreciate it. Big mistake did not wash them before storing and the lids on my plastic bins dont snap close fully they just hv those pop up snaps on either end! (Yep those hinges) Will hv to get some new ones after I take my sweaters out of the freezer lol! Thx again! This is a great site for us fashionistas!

California can be both dry or humid, depending on the off shore flow!

Chris987

Veteran

No one has mentioned adding moth balls to the sealed plastic containers...definitely unpleasant but does the job. I started using lavender oil instead.....pour some onto a paper towel and stick a few of them between the items in the plastic bin. Seems to work .

April

Veteran

Store them clean and in the light.

As noted above, moths love dirty clothes and also darkness. I use padded hangers for cashmere whenever possible, to get it out of dark drawers.

The freezer trick is a good one, and cashmere apparently likes washing better than dry cleaning.

Pheromone traps are useful only for letting you know for sure that you have moths; they don't kill or control them.

If you're pretty sure you don't have a widespread moth problem but some of your pieces turn up with unexpected holes, the moths may have been in the piece when you bought it. It's moth larvae who do the actual damage. By the time you see flying moths, the damage is done.

Style Fan

Veteran

I have never had a problem with moths. I do what Diana does but I add lavender sachets to my plastic storage bins. I also have mothballs which I use in a cedar chest for wool blankets. My climate is very different from yours which makes a difference.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I use lavender and Cedarwood. I haven’t had any problems with moths. I’m not sure how much that’s because of the lavender and Cedarwood and how much it’s because there just don’t happen to be any.

Anonymous

I used mothballs one year in the big ziplock bags, in retrospect it was a big mistake as the smell took forever to dissipate, hanging outside on the line, rewashing the sweaters.

Gail

Veteran

I wash mine prior to storing and then store in plastic ziplock bags and then in a plastic bin. So far so good, I've had them all for several years. Each year when I get them out I hold my breath though !

DonnaF

Veteran

I had this cashmere wrap out rather wadded up and in the light (my living room) and somehow it got a HUGE moth hole that is probably too big to repair. I rarely use it so it was pretty clean. I didn't discover it until I packed to take on a trip. Dunno what to tell you. I live in No. Cal.

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Violettt

Well, just returned from Bed Bath and Beyond where I bought 2 nice canvas sweater bags which zip. I heard canvas is better as they can breathe. They hold about 10 sweaters and fit under my bed. So, after taking them out of the freezer just now lol I put them in the sweater bags, and put those bags in a long plastic bin under my bed with some lavender scented moth sachets in the bin. Hopefully this will keep those annoying little pests away. I think I know why it happened. I bought a few cashmere sweaters at a consignment shop and did not wash them first. Put them in with my other sweaters and voila, the larvae spread. Well, freezer for 72 hours killed any larvae, and now they're nicely packed away. Hope it works. Had to throw 2 out, but oh well. Every Christmas Macy's always has very nice cashmere sweaters for men and women! So cozy~ My new find is a soft pink one, love love it! Thx for all your help gals!