# Best Way To Store Fleece?



## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I know there was information on this somewhere...and I can't find it. 

What is the best way to store raw fleece? Plastic bags? Rubbermaid bins? Do you try to get as much air out as possible to make it take up less space or is that bad for the fleece? What things do you have to watch out for with raw fleece?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I store mine in plastic garbage bags tied in a knot. I also put several cotton balls soaked in Lavander or Patchouli essential oil to help with bug repelling. There are several essential oils that work well, Cedar, and Pennyroyal are two others or any combination of these. I also store my clean fleeces this way.

You may not want yo compress the fleeces for long in the greased state. It might make opening them up to wash difficult. You also want yo avoid having them where you have extreme temp changes, like an attic or outside in a shed. The extremes in temps can felt a fleece. Also don't have them in an area where you will be constantly be moving the bags or shifting them around, that bit of agitation along with the static of the plastic bag can cause felting.

I open each bag once or twice a year (outside in case there is a bug infestation), shake them out, check it over and refresh the cotton balls.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

I was told at the shepherds extravaganza to never store fleeces especially raw ones in plastic. Instead use paper leaf bags. That way they can breathe and won't get funny smelling or go rotten. With he top folded over twice and stapled the moths can't get at the fleeces. That's what I'm doing this year even though I don't store for long. Just until late August.


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

Kasota - Did you get some of that shetland?!!! Weee!! I hope so!


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

If you did, tell me all about it...details please!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

RB, I did not... I probably should have. Life got away from me. I'm not sure if it is all sold now or not. 

I'm also curious what I might find at Shepherd's Harvest and that is coming up quick!


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

I saw on a Maggie C (I forget her last name at the moment, but there can't be that many Maggies who make spinning DVDs) DVD something about just smooshing the fleece into a plastic bucket and putting the lid on top. That was a somewhat clean and very dry fleece, though. She also mentioned "yolky" fleece. Apparently the yellow stuff is a fungus/virus or some such and grows so it shouldn't be stored if it's a fleece with yellow on it. Unless you don't mind yellow fleece and/or are planning on dying it.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

I always try to wash my fleece before storing it .... then I use 5 gallon paint buckets and smoosh it all down , and get a few in one bucket ! Save a sample of each fleece, tape it to the top or side with the type , amount and date ! 

Unwashed gets a garbage bag with a knot until bath time !


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## raccoon breath (Aug 5, 2010)

Kasota - I would definitely be saving up my money for Shepherd's Harvest. I wish we had that here. I'd would love that. 

About storage, I'll wash fleece within a week of it arriving usually, let it dry out really good, then after that, I do what's convenient.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I used to store mine in the paper yard bags,,, but I haven't been able to find them here.
Right now, I have my Finn stored in a black plastic trash bag until I can send it off to the wool mill.
My finished yarn and Roving is stored in lined woven baskets.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

I bought one of the Shetlands, RB. Good staple length and lots of character. Not super dirty, but not real clean either.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Kasota you will have a zillion choices of fleeces at the Shepherds Harvest if you go to the fleece auction. You can get some great fleeces at great prices during the auction. Not to mention all the vendors selling fleeces and prepared fibers. I'm giggling because I can see you walking into one of those big barns with your mouth dropped open . You have no idea what you are headed into.

LAC I can understand if the fleeces are damp or warm and will produce condensation. The fleeces I have stored in plastic bags were all well skirted and dry and raw. I've not had a problem with them being in plastic. I think the plastic will also help keep the bugs out better than paper. I think it is just a matter of preference really, I'm not convinced it matter much one way or the other. I will say that one time when I had a bunch of raw Bison fibers in a plastic bag I was very happy that it was in plastic. When I opened the bag moths and bugs came swarming out  I was also outside and was happy for that so no chance they would get back into my other fibers.


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## lambs.are.cute (Aug 15, 2010)

Interesting to know. This is coming from people who live in a VERY wet area. As in you pretty much need a boat . I live over on the dry side and have stored fleeces in plastic for the summer no problem, but I don't store them very long. Either they get used by next shearing time or they get sold. I can use 3-4 fleeces a year myself, everything else goes. I have found that the plastic bags tear pretty easily - at least the ones I can get to store a whole fleece in. 

bergere have you tried walmart? they have them here and they are called paper leaf bags. Tucked away in the dark corner by the ugly pots that nobody looks at. (plant pots not kitchen pots :smack)


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I store mine everywhichaway. :shrug: Clean, dirty, in plastic totes, in pillow cases, in paper bags, in garbage bags, in burlap bags, in cardboard apple crates. BUT ALWAYS skirted and dry. 

I have seen urine-soaked fleeces that were stored in plastic bags. :yuck: No thanks. 

One day I will likely invest in matching Rubbermaid totes (though I have real hatred for plastic) - or maybe clear totes would work better for me - since I NEED to see my fiber. Hiding it away in tubs takes some of the joy out of it for me. :sob: 

Even though I know it is "safer" - I would prefer to be able to see and touch it.


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

've been storing fleeces over the past 25 years, and I've never had any problems with plastic garbage bags, or compressing the fleeces, or temperatures. 

It seems I always have to take extra precautions, the moths appear from nowhere. The flour and pantry moths are also fiber eaters.

The big garbage bags fail when they get even so much as a pinhole in them, the moths can get in. You would want thick, heavy lawn and leaf bags, going that route. I just tie them shut with string, and I put a tag on the string so I know what's in them, and if they've been washed, fermented, or are raw. What color, and breed, and who they came from.

Since moving here, I keep all my fibers in a vented attic off one of the upstairs rooms, with a No Pest Strip in it, as the vapors are flammable in an enclosed place. I have moth problems in Fall and Spring, when temperatures are moderate and allow them to hatch; March thru May, and September to November is the time I have to be careful. Otherwise it's freezing cold or baking hot and i don't have to worry. I have 25 sheep fleeces in my attic right now. Yes, 25, plus bags and boxes of other fibers! The No Pest Strip kills the moths, the larvae AND the EGGS. If you use mothballs and your wool has eggs in them, the eggs will hatch and they will eat some fiber before they are killed. 

The moths will also eat silk and ruin it. Asian Lady Beetles will eat some fiber, too, when convenient. I have hundreds and hundreds of dollars in fibers, and I'm not going to take any risks with them!

If a cedar chest or closet is used, you have to renew the cedar oil regularly, or it won't repel them; it evaporates over time. The oil is expensive. I wouldn't trust essential oils at all, but that's just me. I know other people like it, tho. I find the moths are aggressive invaders.

Sometimes I use the heavy, vapor-proof plastic bags I buy crystal cat litter in. Zip them closed with a couple of moth balls inside just to make sure. 

The moths can SMELL the wool, if the plastic isn't vapor-proof. Regular ziplock type bags, even the heavier freezer bags, are NOT vapor proof! The Seal A Meal bags are, but they aren't very big.

Maybe people don't like mothballs, but it's better than losing it all, in my view. I lost a lot of fleeces when I lived in Cali, cuz the trash bags got a few little holes in them, and that was that. Several hundred dollars was now trash.

You can use the Space Bags. They are heavy and vapor proof. I wouldn't rely on pillowcases. Cardboard boxes are okay as long as they are completely taped shut at every single crack and crevice. I have so much fiber, any other means of moth-proofing aren't possible.

If you are going to seal up your wool airtight, make sure it is not damp with humidity, or it will mold and mildew.

I guess you have to find what works for you, but look out, the moths are tricky things!


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Thank you for all the tips and tricks and first hand info, everyone!


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

Iowa-Lez, where do you get the no pest strips ? I have a battle with pantry moths !


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## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

Miz Mary,

They are hard to get locally in most places. I don't know why, I used to go to the farm store here, but now they don't ever have them in the store. Order them from Amazon. But you cannot use them in an inhabited part of the house, the vapors are carcinogenic. The full name is Hot Shot No Pest strips.You can use pantry moth traps in cupboards, they use a pheromone lure to attract them to the gluey interior of the cardboard trap. The traps are small enough to fit just about any space.


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