The best ways to save your favorite wool garments after a moth attack

 

In our previous blog post, we have summarised the best ways to prevent a moth attack to your closet. Unfortunately, even if you have been very diligent in applying the various prevention methods, it is still possible that a moth finds its way into your closet and snacks on your favorite wool item. Here are a few tips on how to get rid of moths, when you spot the intruder or the leftovers of your wool sweater. 

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Identify the problem

The first thing to do, when you find a garment with a hole, is to identify if moths are actually to blame. There are unfortunately several insects who feed on clothes but are easier to get rid of than moths. Many bugs and their eggs can easily just be vacuumed away, and you are done. 

 

When you actually see a moth, try to identify the size. The two types of moths that prefer eating textiles are 1 cm or less in size. If the moth you encounter is larger, it prefers eating your beautiful plants instead. Getting rid of the moths is one thing, however, you also need to find their eggs and larvae as the latter is doing the feasting.  

 

Clean up

Once you confirmed that moths are causing the damage, you can start to clean your garments and closet. 

Discard heavily affected garments

If a garment has been particularly hard hit by moths, it may be impossible to repair the item. Even through it hurts, it is the best choice to discard of the garment. 

Clean garments

After discarding the heavily affected garments, you will want to clean the garments you decided to keep. Many wool garments like wool suits will be best to handed over to the dry cleaners as they cannot be washed at higher temperatures (over 40 °C or even better at 60°C). The good news is that you can wash your Core Merino garments on a 40 °C wool cycle. 

Alternative cleaning methods

For those garments that cannot be washed at high temperatures, you can try two different methods. Place garments in your oven at the lowest heat (at least 40°C). However, this can only be done with garments that have no beads or plastic items sewn on to them. Alternatively, you can pop your garments into the freezer for at least 72 hours, preferably longer. 

Clean closet

After you have taken care of cleaning your clothes, it is time to clean your closet as well. Start with vacuuming your entire closet, especially the dark corners and gaps. Be sure to throw out your vacuum bag immediately after you are done. In addition, it will be good to wipe out your shelves and drawers to make sure you haven’t missed anything. In case you have a carpet in the same room, you should consider vacuuming and steaming your carpet as well, in case any uninvited insects have found comfort there. 

Once all is nicely stored back in your closet, be sure to follow the preventive steps of our previous blog post.