Linen storage
What is the best way to store linens if you don't have a cedar closet? I have lots of antique and newer linens that are just hiding in drawers or shelves in bathroom closets. Also, handmade quilts and knitted blankets that have significant sentimental value! Worried about perserving them in pristine condition.
Answers ( 2 )
The Right Way to Store Your Linens to best preserve the color and integrity of the fabric::
1. Find a dark and dry space
Avoid damp storage areas. Keep excess moisture away from bedding. A linen closet is ideal, but if you don’t have one, there are several design-friendly alternatives that will do the trick. A trunk at the end of the bed, or even one that serves as a coffee table, is a perfect alternative. Storing your sheets under the bed in appropriate containers is another great space-saving solution.
2. Keep them contained
Protect your linens from dust by storing them in a fabric-friendly container like a white fabric bag. But make sure you’re also washing your fabric bags to make sure your linens are staying as fresh as possible. Go the extra mile by separating your sheets with acid-free paper to increase circulation. Allow fabric to breathe. Fabric should 'breathe' when in storage
3. Avoid plastic
Steer clear of cedar or cardboard as well as plastic to prevent yellowing.
You probably need Vacuum Storage Bags- and they are not going to be cheap.
See, the problem is the acid in the fabric and the dyes- and the shelves they lay on, and the shelf paper, and the other fabrics- and even the air. It can't be helped; it's how these things are- and were- made. Cotton, especially, because most dyes are fairly acidic (lower than neutral pH) or, perhaps worse, somehat basic (higher than normal pH- those are ones that use ammonia to set the dye). Do you want me to tell you how felt used to be made? Are you sure? No? Suffice, then, to say it involved pouring hot, stale urine onto piles of wool-- enough? Yup, me, too.
Anyway, if you have any very good pieces, you might want to speak with a curator at a museum- it will be an eye opener.
However, fold your pieces one at a time, and if I was worried about creasing, I would likely use cotton-batting rolled into a couple inches diameter "rod" shape to place in folds to keep the piece from becoming tightly creased. I would then cover the piece in an acid-free light paper- such as acid free glassine (available from art supply stores). I would then place a few at a time in the vacuum bags, and I would store them in the dark as much as possible.
And once a year or so, I would get out a bag or two, and wash the contents in plain water, dry them on a line, or laid flat, and then repack them.
I'd worry less about not having a cedar closet (cedar repels moths- but so do moth balls) and more about keeping them away from light, and cleaning them once a year or so.
You are so very lucky to have such a nice collection- and smart to try to keep it in the best condition possible.