mothing question

[George Stimson]

I see "mothing" all the time in descriptions of caps. Did this occur in the past when the cap was kept on a closet shelf for twenty years, or is this an ongoing concern for the collector today? What's the safest way to display items prone to this phenomenon? If mothing is a concern today, how can it be halted/prevented?
Thanks!

George

[RoyA]

Hi George,
IMO the mothing is typically from the past, resulting from reckless storage. I really don't see mothing a problem for the collector today, provided proper storage care is excercised. I believe the safest way to display caps is in a sealed glass display case. If they're displayed on shelves in the "collection room", keep the elements at bay (no open windows). Here's a little tip....if you acquire a piece "out of the woodwork", which has been stored in an attic, cellar, barn etc,....wrap it in a plactic garbage bag and place it in your deep freeze for a few days. This should finish off any dormant moth larvae or other creepy crawlies residing in your new acquisition.
Best regards,
Roy

[RoyA]

One other thought....a couple of collector friends of mine place the artifact in a plastic garbage bag for a few days with some moth flakes or moth balls. In any event, if you have doubts about contamination, take the necessary steps to sterilize the item. If there is any contamination present, it could spread to your entire collection. Frankly I haven't ever seen any potential problems in my Third Reich acquisitions, likely because most of it came from other collections. I have however seen TONS of "stuff" in WWI items which surfaced out of the woodwork. It's not uncommon to find Brodie helmets with spider webs and larvae eggs.

[George Stimson]

Thank you, Roy!

George

[Donald L.]

Hi George,

Roy is right about the deep freeze method for potential infected items. For better results you should subject the item to the deep freezing as a sudden temperature change. If it's a gradual change it may not work. I live in the north, if I were to seal an item in a plastic bag and hang it in the garage in the fall and bring it back in mid-winter, there may still be a problem as the larva can acclimate.

If I were to take it straight from a 60-70 degree environment into a chest freezer under freezing conditions for a week or so, I'd probably have better results.

Thanks,
Don

[Volkbert]

Doesn't cause it any damage on tunics caps etc. when you put it in the freezer?

I have a visor cap with some light mothing. The top cloth feels a bit thin and I am afraid the freezer will damage the cap.

[RoyA]

Hello Volkbert,
I've never personally had any problems with freezing caps or tunics, and I've done quite a bit of "cleansing" this way on WWI items, which are much more frail due to their age. When I remove an item from the freezer, I let it warm to room temperature (over a few hours) before removing it from the bag. If you're not comfortable using this method on your visor cap, you can always try sealing the item in a bag with some moth flakes/moth balls. It will take some time for the moth ball smell to go away, but it eventually will. Aside from that, the only other thing you could do is lightly vacuum the item around the suspect areas (unless the cap came out of a barn or attic, the mothing is likely very old).
The only other suggestion I have is to phone some of the museums in your country and ask for their 'textiles department'...they can tell you what they do in similar situations.
Cheers,
Roy