September 2005
| Storing summer clothes This advice should keep you from exclaiming, “I thought these were clean!” when you remove clothes from storage next spring. • Store clothes in a ventilated area away from furnace vents, which can leak small amounts of exhaust gases that can react with dyes to fade any exposed edges of stored clothes. • Wash or dry clean clothes before storing them. Some stains take time to appear. Sugars (from clear soda, say) can turn brown; oil stains (from skin, makeup, or lotion) can turn yellow. • Store clothes in ventilated bags. Cotton is good: It breathes and moths don’t like it. Sealing clothes in plastic (especially dry-cleaner bags) can let mold or mildew form, allow fading, and cause leather or suede to dry out. • Store white clothing away from direct sunlight. White clothes often have colorless dyes that can turn yellow when exposed to sunlight for a long time. |
