Why? One potential problem with putting your clothes away stained is moth damage.

I have personally seen too many instances of small holes appearing in clients' clothes after cleaning.

This usually happens in the fall when my clients have their sweaters cleaned for the season and subsequently tiny holes appear. The clients are not happy as they think something went horribly wrong in the dry cleaning process. The culprit is, invariably, moths.

Moth damage is most prevalent on garments made of wool, silk, cotton and linen. The end results are clothes with small, irregular holes sometimes contained to small areas but sometimes the damage can be widespread. Additional evidence will be white, silky lines or “trails” near the damaged areas.

Moth damage does not occur from the moths that you see fluttering around light bulbs, but is caused by moth larvae, specifically the webbing clothes moth or the casemaking clothes moth.  

As the larvae are hatched from eggs they look for food and are happy to munch away on your woolens. They are attracted to clothing with body odors, or food stains. They also love dark, cozy places like dresser drawers and overstuffed closets. 

Cedar blocks and moth balls only act as a deterrent. If the infestation is widespread, your entire wardrobe should be cleaned. We have developed a protocol to remove all infested articles and work with an exterminator to eliminate the problem.

Your best insurance? Store your woolens for the season clean. Proper cleaning will remove the body odor, sweat and food stains that make your clothes look like a “All Night Diner” to moths.

Fear not. if you have moth damaged garments that you wish to save, I have on staff specialists who can re-weave most moth damaged garments. In many cases the result is an undetectable repair.

The cost? Prices start around $100 and can quickly add up depending on the number of holes.

With the price of a cashmere sweater hovering around $250, isn’t the expense of a seasonal dry cleaning worth it?