This month I received a question from Troy in Sacramento, California. Troy is wondering whether he should vacuum-seal his polyester sweaters.
Moth Guy,
Your website says moths only eat wool and silk. I don’t own anything silk, just wool. When I put my wool sweaters away for the season, should I vacuum seal my synthetic fiber sweaters?
Thanks,
Troy
Storing synthetic sweaters in vacuum-sealed bags is like doing extra credit on your math test. I bet you were one of those kids, weren’t you?
To answer your question, first I need to talk about fibers. Garments can be made from cotton, wool, silk, polyester, acrylic, nylon, and a slew of new-age fabrics like viscose, bamboo, and more.
The only fibers that a moth wants to eat contain keratin. Keratin is a naturally-occurring protein in animal-based fabrics like wool and silk (and it’s even in human hair). Could a moth eat your synthetic fibers? Sure. It would be a bit like eating a bag of celery though. No nutrients there!
You may have sweaters that are weaved from a blend, usually wool and acrylic. These sweaters are susceptible to moth infestation. The synthetic fibers will not repel the moth; rather, the moth will need to consume more of the fiber to meet its keratin intake.
What you should look out for is moths that are incidentally hiding in your synthetic-fabric sweaters. Moths are well-versed in stealth. If synthetic sweaters are placed adjacent to wool sweaters in a closet (which they often are), moth may hide there.
If you’re putting clothes away for the season, I would just shake out the synthetic sweaters and store them how you would normally store clothing. If you want to group them with wool sweaters, of course that’s perfectly fine as well, but it’s up to you.
Rest easy my friends,
-The Moth Guy
