Ouch.
We finally did it.
My husband has been mentioning this for a while, but I’d successfully pretended I didn’t hear him.
At some point in the past ten years, we had moths.
His suits were ruined.
Every single one of them.
He wears a dress shirt and tie every day to work, but never a full-on suit. For the random times he needed to dress up, he had a sport-coat and had borrowed a jacket from a friend.
But he did have some good suits. Over the years, he had used them for job-interviews and he pulled them out for funerals.
We attended a dressy event Saturday night, so he pulled them all out of his closet to double/triple check that they really truly weren’t wearable.
They weren’t. At all. It was time to stop living in denial and let them go.
Y’all, this hurt. Even though we’re guessing some were rather out-of-style anyway, it was physically and emotionally painful to declare hundreds of dollars worth of suits officially worthless.
But living in denial had gotten us exactly nowhere.
What do you do to prevent moths? I’m thinking of ordering this (affiliate link alert) package of cedar-based moth prevention products, but he’s allergic to cedar at certain times of the year so I’m concerned. (Though maybe it’s the pollen rather than the wood?) I’m allergic to lavender, and the thought of traditional moth balls and their distinctive (and horrendous) smell makes me shudder.
But we have to do something to be sure this doesn’t happen again.
Ugh.
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--Nony
We have some of that too—we discovered it when we moved. But yet I still have those items—I hate to throw them away if they can be re-used in some way. Thoughts? Did you throw your husband’s suits away?
I’m going to ask the guy who hauls off my donations if he wants them. He has told me before that he wants ALL clothes, stained, ripped whatever because he sells them to rag-makers by the pound. Not sure if these count. If he doesn’t want them, I’m going to throw them away. As crazy as that feels, there’s not another option that I can think of. Nobody wants a moth-hole suit in a thrift store.
Thanks. I hate hate hate throwing stuff in a landfill unless that is really the only option (and probably the a big reason I struggle to get stuff cleaned out). I have heard that Goodwill will also take all clothing and sell what can’t be re-sold to rag-makers, but I guess I need to confirm that.
I also hate the thought of all that money spent on these, but like your husband’s, they are little-worn and out of style. He got good mileage out of one for weddings and interviews, but since he rarely does either these days, it would be time for a more current suit anyway.
I would try checking with local day care centers or, even better schools or campus for folks with disabilities. The camp my girls worked at had a let of dress up costumes and clothes for the campers, who LOVED it. They even had a dress up dance every week. Doesn’t Meyer if they’re worn a bit because it’s just for play.
That’s a great idea!
Glad you could understand with all those typos! 🙂
I’d been holding onto some fraying t-shirts… I finally threw them out (turned some into rags). This morning I caught myself trying to find one to wear… oops.
That is the worst! However, it does make the decision a little easier to make. Just not a fun one. I hope you find something to help with the moths.
It probably is the pollen since it is only certain times of the year.
At our old house we put in cedar flooring in the closets. It’s on the list to do here. It’s only been fifteen years so quit rushing me!!! 😉
It has a POWERFUL stink…er, smell in the beginning. But it either tones down or you get used to it. You need to “scuff ” the surface every couple of years to release the moth repelling smell. But it’s effective.
You should have everything cleaned including the closet itself first. Demoth including eggs and larvae. Then the cedar will keep them out. It won’t make the eggs and larvae disappear.
Good information. Thanks!
Perhaps you might want to ask around at the schools in your area and see if any of the drama departments might be interested. If the damage isn’t huge they might work on stage as costumes where you aren’t looked as closely. It might make you feel better about the whole thing if they not only go to a good cause but to one so close to your heart 🙂
That’s what I thought too! They could probably camouflage the damage so it looks OK from a distance.
Spacebags.
They have some especially made for hanging clothes. Worth their weight in gold.
Put a couple suits in, make your vacuum seal, then come back in a couple days and make sure the seal held. If not, get another space bag and take that one back wherever you got it. cough Walmart cough.
Make sure things are clean. Never allow your husband to hang up a suit he’s got something on. Ever. A drop of grease from lunch? Can’t go back in the closet. Got an elbow in the ranch dressing, no it didn’t clean up well enough.
Reweaving is a thing. Ask your dry cleaner, tailor and ask around among your friends for recommendations. Then ask for an estimate. Some of them might be worth saving. Might even be most. Maybe you can do some now and some in a couple months.
Don’t use cedar wood if your husband is allergic to any kind of cedar even sometimes. Its not worth it. Just get them rewoven, cleaned, and put them right in the space bags. Don’t skimp on the number of bags.
Great advice!
we had to do that s few years ago. We bought the little cedar rings that go on the coat hanger and so of the cedar balls. He puts his good suits in garment bags with this. I have always had trouble with cedar molds (like pollen) but have no trouble with the wood.
One word of advice. Anytime you are throwing away clothing with buttons, cut the buttons off and save them. It only takes s few seconds and have been able to save items that were only missing a button. I have even replaced whole sets of buttons if I didn’t have s match and they would all show. It doesn’t take long and can be done while watching tv. To make it easier, replace the button before washing, you can see exactly where it goes,
I’ve had good luck with lavender sachets to keep the moths out of my woolens. They don’t like the smell (although your husband may not either!)
Don’t throw them out! Cluttering landfill with fabric is never a good idea and as said above, there are other ways they can be useful for someone. And never, ever use mothballs–they are basically poison, you sure don’t want that in your closet.
Good luck on keeping it from happening again.
Can’t remember where I read it but apparently moths and most other bugs don’t like soap, so I hacked up a couple of bars and scattered them through all of our cupboards and put some pieces in the pockets of hubby’s suits and jackets. His face was a picture at a wedding when he stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled out a handful of soap! Nice fresh smell too!
Haha!! I can imagine that look on his face! Great idea!
Just a tip on the no-cedar, no-lavender side…
In our home we use “China Oel” for EVERYTHING!! It works perfect to repel mosquitoes and a lot of other pests… You can use it as a disinfectant on small wounds and such, and inhale it if you have a cold… It really is our go-to product and the first thing I’d think of to try and repel moths.
I saw that it is available on Amazon but I’m not sure if they ship to the US. But to be fair, it’s just really very pure peppermint oil… So if you could find something similar to that, that would be the thing I’d try….
Oh and I also once read something about rosemary and/or thyme-oil being very effective!
Any possibility that it could be repaired? Especially if it’s a high dollar item like a suit and still in style. Check out “reweaving suit repair” on the web.
The “cedar” that causes such awful mountain cedar allergies is actually a type of juniper tree. It is not related to cedar and the cedar chips would not cause any problems.
Good to know! Thank you!!
We had a horrible moth problem last winter and bought moth traps on amazon. Some work better than others, but you don’t get the smell of moth balls or other things. We tried the cedar, but it didn’t get rid of them. The traps worked eventually, but you have to have fresh ones set up all the time so if some hatch, they get trapped before they make more.
Also, I heard that the moths like to eat pet hair. So make sure you regularly and thoroughly vacuum all of those corners and crevices and under the furniture spots where pet hair can hide. Dryer lint too. I emptied the waste can where we toss the dryer lint and a very large number of moths flew out of there.
There are a number of herbs and ssential oils that work for moths. If lavender and cedar are out, you can try rosemary, mint, thyme, cloves, peppercorns, lemon, eucalyptus or ginseng. I’m partial to mint because to also chases away spiders and have been known to use peppermint herbal tea bags.
Good info!
You need a sewing friend that can turn them into something else using the good bits of the fabric. Mens suits are a great start to a short sleeved ladies jacket or they could be turned into outfits for your boys. Ask a local sewing class if they would like them for an upcycle project? BTW I think I read something about cloves keeping away moths….stupid moths.
There are also garment bags that are more fabric than plastic that you can out them in.
Dry clean your silk/ cashmere/ wool after wearing and store it in a bag – the bugs are attracted to dirt/ dust & skin cells. They won’t touch clean clothes that are stored properly. When I was told this by a friend who owns a ton of cashmere, I thought it was hooey, but I haven’t had a single item munched by moths since taking her advice, even when they weren’t worn for years. It makes it even harder to declutter them though!
I know it’s all about getting it out of site asap. But I hope you donated or free cycled them. As a quilter and rug maker I would have died to get my hands on that good material. Holes and all. Must be nice to have that close space back.
I donate everything! As a former theatre teacher, I’d grab these in a thrift shop!
Animal rescues, and some shelters, will take items that you don’t want to give to Goodwill. T-shirts and towels can be used for bedding, for example.
Someone already mentioned about donating them for dress up situations. Some other options in that regard are local theaters and school theaters. My daughter participated in national History Day every year during high school and we bought a suit from Goodwill because she had to dress up to play a part one year in a short skit.
Dana! Put a bar of soap in your draws and the bottom of your suit bag 😁 moths don’t like it and it will smell way more agreeable! You’re a superstar! Whenever I’m overwhelmed I go to you for motivation, thank you!