Moth-Proofing Your Winter Woollens: The Right Way to Store Cashmere, Wool and Knitwear for Spring

There are few disappointments like pulling a favourite cashmere jumper from storage in autumn and finding holes in it. By then the culprit is long gone. The clothes moth did the damage months earlier, in the warmth of spring and summer. Most people never actually see it. For anyone with fine knitwear, understanding the moth separates a wardrobe that lasts decades from one quietly eaten away each year. That is why a clean before storage is worth more than any sachet or cedar block. Real moth-proofing starts with the clean, not the drawer.

The Quiet Damage That Happens While You’re Not Looking

Sydney’s mild climate suits clothes moths very well. They do not need cold to survive. Instead, they thrive in the warm, undisturbed, slightly humid air of a closed wardrobe over the warmer months. That is exactly when you pack your winter woollens away and forget them. The end of winter, as you store your knits, is therefore the single most important moment for moth-proofing.

The insidious thing about moth damage is its timing. You do all the right things in autumn: fold everything neatly and close the drawer. Yet the destruction happens invisibly, in the pieces you are not wearing. By the time you next reach for that jumper, the season of damage is already over. You prevent this problem in advance or not at all, so the storage moment matters so much.

It’s Not the Moths — It’s Their Larvae

The adult clothes moth you occasionally glimpse fluttering out of a cupboard does not actually eat fabric. It has no interest in your jumpers except as a place to lay eggs. Instead, the larvae that hatch from those eggs do the damage. They feed on keratin, a protein in animal fibres such as wool, cashmere, alpaca, silk, angora, mohair and fur. Cotton and synthetics are largely safe, so it is the finest, most expensive natural fibres that face the most risk.

Crucially, soiled fabric draws larvae in. They feed most enthusiastically on body oils, perspiration, food traces and skin cells, because these provide extra nutrients and moisture. This insight changes how you should store knitwear. A jumper stored after a few wears attracts moths far more than a freshly cleaned one. Even if it looks clean, the invisible residue of wear is a dinner invitation.

This is also why moth damage often appears around collars, cuffs and underarms, where body soiling is heaviest. The moth is not choosing at random; it is following the food. Understanding this turns moth-proofing from guesswork into something you can actually control.

The Golden Rule of Moth-Proofing: Never Store Woollens Dirty

Everything about moth-proofing flows from one principle: clean garments before you store them. Professional cleaning removes the oils, perspiration and food traces that attract and nourish larvae. It also helps remove eggs already in the fabric before they can hatch in storage. A cabinet of clean cashmere is a far less appealing target than one holding lightly worn knits.

This is why the end-of-season clean is not merely about appearance. A jumper can look perfectly wearable and still carry enough invisible residue to feed larvae all summer. Cleaning it before storage is the most effective single step you can take, more so than any repellent.

At Luxe, we treat winter knitwear with methods matched to each fibre. That way we clean cashmere, merino, alpaca and blends without felting, stretching or loss of softness. Your garments come back clean and ready to pack away with confidence.

It is worth dispelling a common myth: that a garment worn once or twice is ‘clean enough’ to store. From a moth’s perspective, once is plenty. A single wear leaves enough skin oil and perspiration at the collar and underarms to attract larvae. Then it only takes one female moth to find that jumper and lay a clutch of eggs. So clean anything worn against the skin, however briefly, before you seal it away for the warm months.

Moth-Proofing in Layers: Smart Storage That Keeps Moths Out

Clean garments deserve clean, sealed storage. Fold heavier knits rather than hanging them, so they do not stretch out of shape. Then store them in containers or bags that keep moths out while letting fibres breathe. Airtight boxes and breathable cotton garment bags both work; loose piles on an open shelf do not. For fibre-specific advice, the Woolmark care guidelines are a useful reference.

Natural deterrents help as a second line of defence. Moths dislike both cedar and lavender. Cedar blocks and rings, or lavender sachets, tucked among folded knits create an environment moths prefer to avoid. Cedar loses its potency over time, so refresh it with a light sand or a few drops of cedar oil. These are deterrents, not miracle cures. They work best alongside clean garments and sealed storage, not as a substitute for cleaning.

One useful habit is to think in layers of defence rather than a single fix:

• Clean garments remove the food source.
• Sealed, breathable storage removes access.
• Cedar and lavender make the environment unappealing.
• An aired, occasionally disturbed wardrobe — vacuumed corners, wiped shelves — removes the calm the larvae need.

No single measure is foolproof, but together they make your woollens a target barely worth a moth’s trouble. Applied every year at storage time, this combined moth-proofing discipline helps keep a fine-knit collection intact.

Moth-Proofing After You’ve Seen the Signs

You may have spotted small holes, fine webbing, gritty residue that looks like sand, or the moths themselves. If so, treat it as an active problem rather than a one-off. Isolate affected garments and book professional cleaning promptly. Then thoroughly clean the storage space before returning anything to it. Prompt cleaning helps remove larvae and eggs from the garments and stop the cycle spreading to neighbouring pieces.

It also pays to check the pieces you are not actively worried about. Moths favour dark, quiet corners, such as the bottom of the pile or the back of the drawer. An infestation in one garment is a warning to inspect the rest. If in doubt, clean the whole woollen wardrobe before storing it, rather than sealing the problem in with your best pieces.

Fine knitwear is one of the most rewarding categories of clothing to own and one of the most vulnerable to neglect. A little discipline at the change of season goes a long way: clean, then store properly. If the scale of an infestation is unclear, err on the side of caution. Treat the whole affected wardrobe rather than one or two obvious pieces. When in doubt, our specialists can advise on how best to protect the rest of the collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What actually causes moth holes in stored jumpers?

Not the adult moths but their larvae. These feed on keratin in wool, cashmere, alpaca and silk, and feed most where body oils and skin cells remain. Soiled storage is the invitation.

Do cedar and lavender actually stop clothes moths?

They help as deterrents, but they are a second line of defence, not a cure. The decisive step is storing only professionally cleaned garments in sealed, breathable storage.

I’ve found holes — what should I do?

Isolate the affected pieces and book professional cleaning for them and anything stored nearby. Then vacuum and wipe the storage space before anything goes back in. When the scale is unclear, treat the whole drawer rather than one jumper.