Moths and Dry Cleaning (the Vintager's Lament)

[Big J]

That's great that John has even the time to read mails, never mind write such useful responses. Seriously, every direct or indirect contact I have with this guy serves only to increase my respect for him.
Great news that you jackets aren't being eaten alive Deacon, that must be a weight off your mind.

 

[Deacon211]

That's great that John has even the time to read mails, never mind write such useful responses. Seriously, every direct or indirect contact I have with this guy serves only to increase my respect for him.
Great news that you jackets aren't being eaten alive Deacon, that must be a weight off your mind.

There aren't sufficient words to describe the feeling. :madgrin:

 

[nick123]

^Some useful info. And the moths catch a break-for now.

 

[Deacon211]

^Some useful info. And the moths catch a break-for now.

...but I'm keeping my eye on them.

 

[trapp]

Wow, great and timely info from John.

Just to revisit the sun question, I believe heavy/intense sun exposure to most leathers over long periods of time will tend to dry them out and can lead to color loss (the last is not necessarily bad).

BUT, just a few days or even a week of sun has never, ever done any harm to my leather jackets or boots. On the contrary, it's my go-to method for destroying mold/mildew and even tobacco odors that I've sometimes found in pre-owned jacket purchases. In my case, I lay the leather out on my roof (which is flat) and the combination of intense direct sunlight and a brisk pacific wind leaves my gear refreshed. I'm careful to expose both sides (through periodic flipping), to turn pockets out if I can. I also make sure the wind doesn't blow it into my neighbors' yards. I do this for as many days as is necessary - one time for about 7 or 8 days in a row. It worked great and the jacket is fine.

I've had 100 % success so far using this method and I think it's safer than bringing leather to a dry cleaner.

 

[Big J]

Wow, great and timely info from John.

Just to revisit the sun question, I believe heavy/intense sun exposure to most leathers over long periods of time will tend to dry them out and can lead to color loss (the last is not necessarily bad).

BUT, just a few days or even a week of sun has never, ever done any harm to my leather jackets or boots. On the contrary, it's my go-to method for destroying mold/mildew and even tobacco odors that I've sometimes found in pre-owned jacket purchases. In my case, I lay the leather out on my roof (which is flat) and the combination of intense direct sunlight and a brisk pacific wind leaves my gear refreshed. I'm careful to expose both sides (through periodic flipping), to turn pockets out if I can. I also make sure the wind doesn't blow it into my neighbors' yards. I do this for as many days as is necessary - one time for about 7 or 8 days in a row. It worked great and the jacket is fine.

I've had 100 % success so far using this method and I think it's safer than bringing leather to a dry cleaner.

Oh hell yeah, I would never take mine to a dry-cleaners. But you're right about the sun, bacteria hate UV.

 

[Deacon211]

Yes that is excellent info about the sun. Mine are sitting on the bed in our guest room getting some sun now!

I actually found a furrier and asked him about dry cleaning. He admitted that, while he had cleaned many coats and jackets, he couldn't really say how his concoction would affect anything historically tanned or dyed. He said anything porous would almost certainly darken, but the old stuff he would only be able to tell by testing it somewhere inconspicuous.

Yikes!


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[Big J]

Yes that is excellent info about the sun. Mine are sitting on the bed in our guest room getting some sun now!

I actually found a furrier and asked him about dry cleaning. He admitted that, while he had cleaned many coats and jackets, he couldn't really say how his concoction would affect anything historically tanned or dyed. He said anything porous would almost certainly darken, but the old stuff he would only be able to tell by testing it somewhere inconspicuous.

Yikes!


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Maybe I'm just unhygienic, but whenever my wife complains about my leather jackets being 'dirty', I tell her that's the character showing in the patina, and it's the desired effect. I'm sure WW2 era pilots weren't bothered about dry cleaning their jackets. Sunlight to stop the rot, that'd be about it, I imagine (of course, if anyone actually knows better, please don't tell my wife!).

 

[nick123]

I'm thinking (for the A-2s and naval jackets at least), attending an air show on a sunny day might just do the trick.

 

[David Minton]

For those that recommended freezing, has anyone tried putting coats out on a sunny winter day?

I have over a dozen wool military coats, most from the WWII era, and hope to keep the moths away from the smorgasbord.

 

[Big J]

Tangent, but the comment about hair falling out at the pointy corners of collars makes me wonder if that's why G-1's developed those more rounded collar tips?

 

[Dumpster Diver]

Store them away from other Wool Articles, always keep wool Items in CEDAR boxes or use CEDAR moth Balls.

Make sure you check on them bi-annually, I live in the woods so my house is like a cottage, I get moths all the time in here and honestly havent had a severe issue so far. God knows Ive been Lucky so far.

If you see a small moth fly up out from your capret that might be a different story.

Just keep a close eye on things and make sure you take precautions, Moths are BASTARDS!!!

Ive seen one get into my Canvas Army Satchel OVERNIGHT! I checked the next day after I put the bag away, and there was a big fat old moth crawled inside next thing I know!!!

Just be careful how you store away things for long term. One day and one moth is all it can take sometimes.

 

[Deacon211]

Tangent, but the comment about hair falling out at the pointy corners of collars makes me wonder if that's why G-1's developed those more rounded collar tips?

It's a good question. I suspect, like a lot of things, it was ease of production as much as anything (I.e. not ruining the mouton as well as not fiddling with the collar points).

Personally, I kind of prefer the rounder collars, though I can't say quite why.


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[Deacon211]

Store them away from other Wool Articles, always keep wool Items in CEDAR boxes or use CEDAR moth Balls.

Make sure you check on them bi-annually, I live in the woods so my house is like a cottage, I get moths all the time in here and honestly havent had a severe issue so far. God knows Ive been Lucky so far.

If you see a small moth fly up out from your capret that might be a different story.

Just keep a close eye on things and make sure you take precautions, Moths are BASTARDS!!!

Ive seen one get into my Canvas Army Satchel OVERNIGHT! I checked the next day after I put the bag away, and there was a big fat old moth crawled inside next thing I know!!!

Just be careful how you store away things for long term. One day and one moth is all it can take sometimes.

I just read an article that tried all the old remedies and the one that seemed to work the best was actually Lavender essential oil. In all these cases, the concentration had to be extremely high to work.

Thus, while the Lavender wasn't the only effective method; it was the one that smelled the least odious when you pulled it out afterwards.


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[Dumpster Diver]

I have to Agree with you, That is probably the best way. Lavender.

 

[feltfan]

Yeah, I've read that cedar is totally useless. Moth balls probably work...

Another misunderstanding repeated here- your pantry moths (like the ones that come
with Trader Joe's food) are not the same moths as those that eat wool. So you can't
blame TJ's for that one. Pantry moths are pretty easy to control with pheromone traps,
but that doesn't help your wool much.