Anti-moth vacuum suit protector bags

[haha]

I few years ago I lost a good cashmere sweater and a couple very nice sport coats to moths. So I bought some of those vacuum bags- some small ones to be laid in a drawer and some larger ones to keep suits or coats hanging.

I put my wools and cashmere away about a month ago, but today I noticed that the vacuum was gone. When I originally sealed them they seemed tight, and really held a good vacuum using my little vacuum cleaner. But today I was rooting around in the closet and both bags had admitted air and would not have guarded against moths. I re-pulled the vacuum, checked the seams and all seemed well.

This may work this time, but if not, does one just have to expect to buy these bags annually or bi-annually, or are they ordinarily more reliable?

Is there a better technique? I formerly used moth balls, but then I had to run to a dry cleaner every fall to get rid of the stink. One of the items is a very large, very warm wool blanket that I only need around here every few years, but when it does get cold I really appreciate it and I don't like to heat my bedroom for sleeping. Same with the overcoat. Don't need it every year, but it is god looking and very warm when it gets cold or if I have to go east.

Any idea either on using these better, replacing them more often, or trying another method?

Ha

 

[Free To Canoe]

If the vacuum in the bags lasts more than 24 hours, I think it is safe to say that no insect could get inside and therefore you are safe (unless eggs were laid in there beforehand).

 

[ERD50]

I got curious about this, found a few links, but Wiki had it summarized well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tineola_bisselliella

Cryofumigation – Fumigating an object with dry ice, that is enclosing it in a plastic bag for 3–5 days with dry ice so it is effectively bathed in a high concentration of carbon dioxide, denied oxygen, and thus will kill all stages of clothing moths. For details, see Clothes Moths Management Guidelines, under "Household Furnishings".

Dry cleaning – This step kills moths on existing clothing and helps remove moisture from clothes

Freezing – Freezing the object for several days at temperatures below 18 °F (−8 °C)[6]

Heat (120 °F or 49 °C for 30 minutes or more) – these conditions may possibly be achieved by placing infested materials in an attic in warm weather, or by washing clothes at or above this temperature. Specialist pest controllers can also provide various methods of heat treatment for this very purpose.

Nitrogen anoxia – Similar to Cryofumigation, but using dry nitrogen gas to exclude oxygen[7]

In some other links, it was generally recc to wrap the clothing in cotton cloth before placing it in a plastic bag, or exposing it to any other chemicals.

Maybe your freezer isn't big enough for some of that, but if you know anyone with a larger one that you could use for a week, that might work. Dry ice is easy to get. And 120F heat is not so hard, but it needs to be even so you don't hit high temps in one area. Just 30 minutes @ 120F though - I would think that warming an oven, and putting the stuff inside the turned off oven (and sticking notes on it so you don't accidentally turn it on later with clothes in there!) would do the trick, maybe a few cycles to be sure.

-ERD50

 

[Bestwifeever]

Too bad about the cashmere sweater and sport coats.

Here is an article about dealing with clothes-eating moths:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/garden/28fix.html?_r=0

Which says:

Whether you have clothes-eating moths or not, though, storing clothing safely — preferably in dry, airtight containers or clothing bags — is essential. “Airtight just means moths can’t get in,” Professor Miller said. “If adult moths can’t get in, they can’t lay eggs.”

Any plastic sweater box with a tight-fitting lid (the Container Store sells them for about $5) will do the trick. For extra protection, seal the edges with packing tape. Vacuum-sealed garment bags work, too (the Stow More Garment and Travel Bags by Bongo are about $10 for a set of three on Amazon.com), and individual items can be safely stored in Ziploc bags.

 

[ERD50]

The potential trouble with that advice:

“Airtight just means moths can’t get in,” Professor Miller said. “If adult moths can’t get in, they can’t lay eggs.”

is that the eggs may already be on the fabric. It is the larvae (not the moths) that eat the wool. So you need to get rid of eggs and larvae, which heat, cold, or CO2 or Nitrogen will do.

-ERD50

 

[samclem]

I've had problems with the vacuum bags leaking over long periods of time (I'll bet the air goes through the plastic at a very slow rate, just like it eventually escapes through rubber tires/inner tubes). Another issue with the vacuum bags: They result in some very stubborn wrinkles in the clothes.

I'd probably freeze the clothes for a few days, then just put them in a plastic box (with the air holes taped over--usually there are air holes). No moth is going to get into that. If you want insurance, put some blue painter's tape around the edge (it should come off easily when it is time) and maybe throw in a cedar block (give it a few wipes with sandpaper every year to refresh expose fresh wood).

 

[Bestwifeever]

The potential trouble with that advice:



is that the eggs may already be on the fabric. It is the larvae (not the moths) that eat the wool. So you need to get rid of eggs and larvae, which heat, cold, or CO2 or Nitrogen will do.

-ERD50

Yes, and the article addresses that and more at great length. I quoted the storage paragraphs because they seemed especially pertinent to the questions in Ha's post about his storage method and so I thought he might find them helpful.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I would go with the dry ice, Ha. CO2 will smother anything animal and is not vulnerable to loss of vacuum seal as there is no differential pressure.