How to Store Out-of-Season Clothes

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Storing out-of-season clothes properly should protect them from dust, heat, humidity and the biggest threat of all: chomping, chewing, egglaying bugs. Clothes moths and carpet beetles are the chief villains, the latter being especially evil since they gorge on your garments in both the larval and flying stages. Below is a battle plan for banishing the wicked winged destroyers.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step1

Evict moths from many of their warm, dark homes before they find your clothes. Schedule regular cleaning sessions under furniture, along baseboards, inside closets and around heating vents.

Step2

Set out pheromone traps to lure clothes moths to an early death. These traps will let you know moths are on the premises and will prevent trapped moths from breeding, but they probably aren't sufficient weapons to win a major antimoth war.

Step3

Clean clothing carefully before storing it. Although the bugs are most attracted to natural fibers such as wool, down, cashmere, mohair and silk, hungry insects will eat synthetics if they're seasoned with food spills, bloodstains or perspiration. Dry cleaning or washing in hot water will kill pests in all stages.

Step4

Choose storage containers large enough so clothing doesn't get crushed and wrinkled. Hanging cloth bags will ward off dust and wrinkles, but they aren't airtight enough to contain insect-repellent vapors.

Step5

Look for tight-fitting, well-constructed cedar chests which make it difficult for insects to get to the clothing. Cedar lumber in closets or chests will lose oils over time and after three years are useless in killing any fabric pest. Mild natural insect repellents, such as cotton balls soaked in lavender or citrus oil, are not very effective and need to be replaced about every three months.

Step6

Bring out the bigger guns if herbs and cedar don't do the job. Keep in mind, moth repellents containing camphor, naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene may take care of the insects, but they pose a safety risk to people and pets.

Step7

Store out-of-season, outgrown and still-too-big kids' clothes in containers labeled by age and season. For example, with labels like "toddler, boy, summer," you'll be able to find hand-medowns or future garage sale items quickly. See 272 Stay on Top of Kids' Clothes.

Tips & Warnings

See 140 Store Your Wedding Dress and Other Textiles and 141 Store a Fur Coat.
Since clothing resellers buy merchandise only for the upcoming season, sort and store your clothing in bundles labeled for fall to winter or spring to summer. Put a reminder on your calendar to contact a consignment or resale store for an appointment in July and February.
Freezing also kills pests. Place the infested garment in a polyethylene bag and squeeze out all the air. Place in a freezer chest at -10 degrees F (--23 C) for 48 to 72 hours. Let thaw in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before removing from bag. Repeat the process to make sure all pests have been killed.
Starch and sizing in stored garments can attract silverfish and crickets.