I'm hoping I stay on-topic with this reply to Meade -
Ivory Snow Liquid is simply the liquid version of Ivory Snow powder. It is NOT dishwashing soap. Big mistake if you use that! I prefer Ivory Snow Liquid in the white plastic jug, at most large chain grocery stores, over the powder, but they should be very similar. There are other gentle wool soap products on the market, and I've even discovered a couple of other products that also work well. The first was recommended to me by the wife of former Worlds and Olympic Pro cyclist in the 1970s, George Mount. Caryne is a professional textiles restorer and artist and she uses WA Paste for washing fragile textiles. Its main ingredients are water and sodium lauryl sulfate. I also sometimes use a fabulous product called Orvus Quilt Soap by Quilter's Rule International. I use it to wash old wool jerseys that are extremely delicate. The key is using detergent that is gentle to delicate fabrics. All household laundry detergents are simply too harsh to use on Merino wool.
I do not recommend the use of moth balls. They contain toxic chemicals that
are lethal to house pets and they make you smell like your grandmother's fur
coat she kept in her front closet. Yechhhh. There is an excellent product
called Moth-Away, which comes in small tea bag-sized sachets. It is an
all-herbal concoction that repels moths. I place my jerseys in plastic
storage containers with a few of the sachets and make sure the lid seals
tightly. No problem with moths. Available at The Container Store (24 sachets
for $3.99).
http://www.containerstore.com/
I also like CedarFresh brand Cedar and Lavender Essence Spray. You spray it on cedar blocks, cedar planks, or cedar balls to hold the smell for months. Works great! Also at The Container Store.
Any herbal concoction containing lavender, cedar, or peppermint is better than the two most-common chemicals used in mothballs - NAPHTHLALENE and PARADICHLOROBENZENE. Bad stuff.
Even if the wool clothing sits dormant in a dark space for a week or two, the eggs can be deposited. The moth is hoping you will let the garment lie just long enough for those little eggs to hatch. Then the feasting begins. Most people think that the moth eats the wool. On the contrary, it's actually the developing larvae which feast on the fiber, preferably with some protein deposits from your perspiration sprinkled in for added flavor. Yum-yum!
Sealing your jerseys in Zip-Loc bags or storing them in sealable plastic containers is a good idea. Hanging them on hangers in the closet is possibly the worst thing you could do, just slightly above throwing them in a heap on the floor and letting them sit for weeks undisturbed. I've found wool jerseys that my husband has worn that were inadvertantly placed on the floor, then gradually got pushed under the bed. The devastation was astonishing when I discovered them. They looked like Swiss cheese. I tell people to keep the wool jerseys in a drawer in their dresser or armoir that they open frequently (daily), like a sock drawer or t-shirt drawer. Activity deters the moth from settling long enough to lay the eggs. Daylight also deters the little buggers, so maybe keep them in a sunny part of your bedroom. Clear plastic containers will let the daylight in.
And if all these preventative measures fail to keep your wool apparel unharmed by clothes mothes, send your damaged jerseys to me and I will repair the holes with wool yarn. I've actually been quite busy lately, repairing jerseys with severe damage. One jersey came in with 60 holes and it took me several hours to repair. An old Raleigh wool jersey just arrived last week with no fewer than 70 holes in it. And one of the old Bridgestone longsleeve jerseys, with the side-buttoned collar, arrived with an apricot-sized hole from contact with the asphalt. I cut a section of knit wool from an old jersey that I use for yarn and knit the patch onto the jersey. That was a complicated repair, to say the least.
Woolistically yours,
Jan Johnson
http://www.vintagevelos.com