Cedar Chests, Closets... and all the other things that store our precious thread.

[Daniel Riser]

So...

I'm interested to know where your suits sleep at night? I used to keep them in my regular closet until I realized that I had a perfect bed-height cedar chest from the late 30's given to me by my grandmother. (I have only had it for five years and it finally dawned on me that I could use it for suits)

So now the trousers, jackets, vests, ties and felt fedoras... reside in the cedar chest.

I am happy to say that since my suits have occupied the cedar chest, about a week ago, I have already outgrown it and am on the hunt for a taller men's cedar dresser/closet. I love those pieces. There's an art deco one at a local antique shop I have my eye on. Very similiar to Root's chest height dresser/closet... the closet that holds a certain suit at a certain.... nevermind... it's a long story.

So there you go. What do you keep your suits in?

 

[Wild Root]

Well, I only keep two of my most valuable suits and one very rare over coat in my small little wardrobe compartment on my late 30's dresser. The others hang in the closet. I use moth balls (even though some may find the smell offensive) I don't mind the smell of them my self. It's the smell of security! I also have way too many clothes to store in a chest or a single wardrobe. So, mothballs work well. Eucalyptus leaves I have been told work as well.

Root.

 

[Veronica Parra]

Linen suit bags.

 

[Daniel Riser]

Linen suit bags. I have been considering that. I have a lot of modern clothes too, and it got far too crowded for my suits in there.

Now that is one of the big reasons I posted here. I don't know about you folks, but it does my heart good to open my closet and see a row of vintage suits in order of colors (in my case darkest to lightest... it's an OCD thing) but after hearing that moth balls are bad for your suits I stopped using them. My absolute best suits I kept in suit bags with half a mothball in them, but again I was told cedar chests are the best so I started storing them in mine, but if all that's bad about moth balls is the smell, which I don't mind either, I'll put them back on hangers, but I don't want to risk hurting my precious threads.

 

[Wild Root]

Moth balls bad for suits? I have never heard that before. I just buy the ones at the market and they don't leave a smell on the clothes them selves. It just makes the closet smell like moth balls. They also will protect your suits from carpet beetles which are really bad on natural fabrics!

I have used Cedar once and kept the closet closed to keep the smell in there. Well, when I came back home from my mission, there wasn't any smell of cedar in my closet at all! There was one suit that was damaged by something whether it be moths or carpet beetles I don't know but I had to have some EXPENCIVE reweaving done on that suit to bring it back to some what decent shape where before it was in PERFECT condition.

So, I take no chances any longer! Moth balls are safe and will do the job. I only put them in the corners of the closet and I never put them in the clothes. So, that's what I do and nothing has happened since.

All the best,
Root.

 

[BellyTank]

Cedarwood Oil

Why not buy some Cedarwood Essential Oil and use it as a replacement for the actual wooden chest or closet? Put a few drops on the wooden inside of your normal closet every few weeks. Keep those moths and their balls at bay-

B
T

 

[Zemke Fan]

Advice from UC Davis Extension

All:

An often overlooked resource for questions such as this is the Cooperative Extension Service, a joint public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and America's land-grant universities. The UC Davis Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Web site has much useful information about effective mechanisms to deal with clothes moths. See:

UC Davis Web Site Page on Clothes Moth Control

 

[Nathan Flowers]

We have a walk in closet. I bought pressed cedar paneling and screwed it on all the walls, giving me the effect of having a cedar-lined closet. Smells really nice when you open it up.

 

[Mimi Thomas]

My closet is small, and I have to share with my husband, so I keep the current season's items in there, and the others in vinyl wardrobes in the laundry room. The wardrobes are from the 60s and actually came with the house, which was neat. Furs and coats with fur collars go into garment bags out of season, as do some of the more delicate items. (btw, I do not buy new real fur and everything I do have was inherited.)
Since I wear my vintage every day, it would be too much hassle to keep it all in bags, etc...so I save them for the special stuff:fancy dresses, etc, that need the extra TLC. I hang a bag of cedar balls in the closets, and it smells amazing. A full cedar closet is too much for allergies, tho I'd love to be able to have one!

 

[Lauren]

Boys, be careful of the mothballs. They can actually damage fabric over time. Try using cedar balls instead, and don't store anything in plastic because it will deteriorate and discolor fabric over time. Instead, opt for washed, unbleached muslin or another all natural fabric with no dye and no bleach.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm interested to know where your suits sleep at night?

Floor, couch, bed... I usually preffer above the floor.

 

[jamespowers]

Like UC Davis said, cedar loses it effectiveness over time and does not kill large larve. The best defense is always to keep your hats, clothes and furs in air tight containers, closets or trunks. I usually keep them in these and add moth balls. I have never experienced the problem with plastic items deteriorating though. My friend puts moth balls in the pockets of his clothes and has never had anything bad happen to the clothing.
One can never be too safe though. Getting rid of dust and stuff they are attracted to and hide in is the best.
Periodic drycleaning kills them for sure. I always have new vintage items I acquire drycleaned just in case. It is the most sure fire way to kill them dead.
I hate moths and other cloth and fur eating pests. :rage: The best thing to do is stay ahead of them and inspect any areas where they might hide and your clothing periodically.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Lauren]

Yeah, they don't do damage quickly, but if you leave them for a long period of time they can do damage. Natural fibers are meant to breathe, and as you know when you wear polyester (a plastic byproduct) on a hot day it's like an oven! The same thing can happen to your suits and clothing when stored in plastic in warm temperatures.

Here's an article on natural alternatives to moth balls:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural_health/115288

Here's a Q&A on how moth balls work:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/gen01/gen01450.htm

Since they are classified as carcinogens here's a defination from online:
Substances that increase the risk of neoplasms in humans or animals. Both genotoxic chemicals, which affect DNA directly, and nongenotoxic chemicals, which induce neoplasms by other mechanism, are included.

If you're planning on wearing your suits often and cleaning them periodically then I'm sure moth balls are fine, but for longer periods (like years) maybe it would be good to search for an alternate method. And pull them out and clean them from time to time, because moth balls are actually a deterent and don't kill larvae, the same as cedar. Sorry, I can be a bit conservative on this end, cause I have seen so much damage to clothing over the years that it is hearbreaking :cry:

 

[jamespowers]

I don't think I am going to put mothballs in my Martini so I think I will be ok.
I can understand wanting to protect vintage clothes from the ravages of time. I have seen some clothes that are great specimens but they are only good for patterns as the condition is horrible.
As I said before, you have to keep up on vintage clothes and make sure they are ok. Catching something early will save whatever you have be it hats, clothes or furs. Just look at it once in a while and make sure they are nice.
I am dealing with this now with the closets at my grandmother's house. Some of the clothes from the 40s have moth damage to them and it makes me wonder what else I can expect to find. All the clothes are going to go but maybe some of the vintage stuff can be cleaned and made safe again. The 1960s polyester stff lasts forever because I guess they have the good sense not to like rayon and synthetics.
In the meantime, I am going to resort to mothballs in the closed closets for about two weeks. That usually permeates enough to start with.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Johnnysan]

Out with the plastic...

Can anyone point me to a source for the cloth garment bags that have been discussed? Many thanks!

 

[Lauren]

Here's some links to some webpages specializing in archival materials, keep in mind that a lot of these are aimed at people looking to archive wedding gowns, but can obviously be used for other clothing storage as well.

http://www.foster-stephens.com/index.html

http://www.coff.com/asbody.htm

http://www.heritagegown.com/catalog.php

http://www.preservesmart.com/

and here's some cedar drawer liners:
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=72585&PRODID=59843

 

[Johnnysan]

Ask and ye shall recieve!

Lauren,

My thanks for your prompt response! Now...off to shop!

- John

 

[jamespowers]

I would like the muslin bag but it does not close tight enough with those ribbons. Do you have experience with the muslin?
I suppose the Tyvek will do either way. The zip packs and sweater bags look pretty interesting as well.
Thanks for those links.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Lauren]

Yeah, I was thinking that too from the pics. I think you'd be ok with the other archival bags since they seem to be on that site. I was just going to make a bag from the muslin I have for dressmaking. I would not recommend the bags with the ties, as the little buggers could just fly on through. Thanks for mentioning that, James Powers. I forgot.

 

[jamespowers]

No problem. I think somone also mentioned using King Sized bed pillow cases made of muslin. I suppose you could sew the bottom and put in a zipper fairly easy if they are wide enough. The muslin material would be the cheaper way to go though. I think I have some old flat bed sheets lying around that have holes in them somewhere. That might be an idea. It will however mean that I have to admit that I was wrong to my wife. She has been saving that for a while and I wanted to junk it. Now I will just have to get her to sew them up for me.

Regards to all,

J