LadyLake Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Does anyone know what can be stored in a cedar-lined closet, now that it has been determined the cedar's acidity eats fabrics? I recently moved into a new (older) house with a cedar closet in the hallway. I'm wondering if I could get away with putting contact lining paper on the shelving and store sheets, etc (don't worry -- no quilts will go in there) or are cedar closets completely useless and I might as well remove the cedar wood lining and shelving? Anyone with any experience or knowledge about this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyce Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I would think that the cedar could be sealed. Check with a wood working place , or some one that does custom wood working Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspingler Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 You can still store stuff in there. Hang quilts and clothes from garment bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 You can seal the wood with a number of different thing...Lacque so you don't loose the ceder look, but the wood has been sealed. Or you can use a regular paint. There are ones now that have the primer right in the paint and that will also seal the wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Okay...someone needs to clue me in on why cedar is now bad for fabric!! Please! Never heard this one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 If the clothes lean up against it for a LONG period time....like you have a closet stuffed full...then in some areas the oils from the wood gets on the fabric and it starts to break down and rot. I've never had this problem never had a cedar closet, but I've heard others complain about it, and they just laqued the insides. Maybe its just to much of a good thing....I've just had the cedar gizmos hanging in my closets, never had the pleasure of having a real one. I'm wondering if this is a humdity thing...in NV we never had to worry about that. If it got to 20% humidity we were very sticky...and you really noticed it... AND here where I live in the land of 100% humdity, I fall asleep remembering the dry cool night air and convince myself all will be better in about 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Originally posted by Bonnie AND here where I live in the land of 100% humdity, I fall asleep remembering the dry cool night air and convince myself all will be better in about 10 years. And the crisp clear night skies where you see lots more stars. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I have never heard this - what I do know my mom stored family quilts in a cedar chest for about 55 years and we never had any damage to the quilts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreacher Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 If you choose to paint the cedar, use a stain killing primer first. Kilz is one brand and you may need to use the oil based product rather than the latex based. Check the can. After either primer you can then use latex based paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Thank you for your help everyone!:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sms Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Most wood (if not all) is acid (not basic). Old newspapers turn yellow because of the acid (chemical reaction: the paper breaks down, becomes fragile, and eventually disintegrates:)). This is why scrapbook papers are now acid free. This is why quilts should be stored in acid free paper or other fabric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 If you paint the cedar, does it loose it's effectiveness as a moth deterrent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizybess Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Yes, if you paint or seal cedar it does lose it's effectiveness in detering moths. If you have a cedar chest or closet that no longer has that destinctive smell you can bring it back by sanding the wood lightly to open the pores in the wood. This lets the smell out again. Cedar should only hurt your quilt if it's making direct contact. My mother always wrapped her quilts in an old sheet before putting in the cedar chest. You can make sleeves for your quilts from old sheets sorta like pillow cases or even use old pillow cases depending on the size of your quilts. You can put quilts in acid free boxes used to store wedding dresses and set that box on a shelf in your closet. That way the cedar can still do it's job and when you open the door you get to smell all that lovely cedar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 Originally posted by Bonnie ... AND here where I live in the land of 100% humdity, I fall asleep remembering the dry cool night air and convince myself all will be better in about 10 years. I'm laughing so hard! I've nver thought of it as "humid" here in upstate. Don't go south! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbigailE Posted September 25, 2009 Report Share Posted September 25, 2009 My friend is a curator at a museum and give lectures on storing your quilts. She says plain ol' aluminium foil will provide a successfull barrier between the wood and your fabrics. You want a cedar closet to smell, it's doing it's job then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.