No matter what the season is, we always have this eternal anxiety as to how we can store our clothing, upholsteries and bedding without any activity of insects on those, and also without letting those take up all the space in the closet. And when winter ends, the anxiety increases manifold because we need Storing Winter Clothes and Blankets.
This article will have all those useful tips for you which you would need to store clothes for a long-time. We shall also throw some light upon how to treat the clothes before you take out the large vacuum storage bags to store these.
Long-Term Clothing Storage Tips
To Vacuum Seal or Not
When you consider long-term clothing options, vacuum sealing will always come up in your search results. While you seal your clothes in large vacuum storage bags, this will seem to be a great idea due to its space-saving qualities.
Though this is a great option for space-saving storage, vacuum storage bags suck out all the air, which prevents ventilation of clothes properly. If you stay at a place with high moisture content in the air, this can lead to growing moulds or fungus in the bag.
If you stay in tropical regions, or areas with high humidity, you can pack your clothing in plastic bags or packages with proper ventilation. You can add packs of silica gel into the containers.
Proper Packing
Wash your clothes properly before you pack them away for the long term. This will not only allow to remove surface stains easily, but also would be less likely to attract vermin.
While you should not HAVE to iron the clothes before storing them away, you still need to handle them with care.
Put blankets, coveralls and other heavier items at the bottom, at the lighter clothes at the top. If your clothing allows, roll the items to make room for other items. But do not overstuff your container. For clothes that need to be hung, buy wardrobe boxes with hanging rail.
How to Choose the Right Storage Bag/Container?
Choosing the right storage bag also becomes a key point to store your clothes for a long time. We would suggest going for airtight plastic containers, rather than the plastic bags or cardboard boxes. The clothes in plastic containers remain dry, which prevent the growth of moulds on clothes.
Just be sure when you put clothes in these, the containers are clean and dry. You can follow an extra step by lining the boxes with clean cotton sheets.
Plastic bags on the other hand, trap moisture leading to the growth of moulds. Not only that it can also cause yellowing of fabric. But why not cardboard boxes? Because pests can easily nibble through cardboard boxes and chew your clothes.
Now that you know where to store your clothes, let’s read how to prep the clothes before storing.
How to Prepare Winter Clothes Before Storing Them?
Step 1: Wash Each One of Those
Even if they do not look dirty, make a point to clean all your winter clothes before you store them.
What About Those That Need to Be Dry Cleaned?
Do get them cleaned, whatever kind of wash they might need, before you store them. You may have a new cashmere sweater or stole, that you have worn only once, get that dry cleaned too before storing. Dirty clothes can wear out or get mould even with the presence of subtle body oils. It will also create an odour that will be nearly impossible to remove after months.
Step 2: Using Deodorisers
No matter where or how you store clothes, there remains a chance that the clothes will start smelling a little musty after the summer months. Put in a few drops of essential oils like lavender or peppermint or dryer sheets inside every garment rack or containers in which you are storing the clothes.
Before the summers hit, buy vacuum storage bags and keep things ready, so that you need not have to hunt for them when you sit down to store the clothes. At online stores like KEPLIN, you can buy the best vacuum storage bags to store your goodies, and them without taking up a lot of space.
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