Our country is in the middle of a bedbug epidemic, and I need to change the way I do things. Let me preface this by saying that I have not had any insect problems of any kind, I have just become more aware through the news & articles. These changes are strictly of a preventative nature. I have not heard of any in my area, but many thrift stores in the US have had infestations of bedbugs. Due to the nature of what I do, and the volume of thrift store sweaters that are brought into my home, I need to make changes before it's too late. I could just keep the sweaters in the garage, to protect my family, but that doesn't protect my customers once I send the sweaters out. Bedbugs are extremely resilient, and it takes a lot to kill them & their eggs. I obviously wanted a safe non toxic method for our environment, and for the safety of both my family & yours. After speaking with a pest control expert, we agreed that the best solution was freezing. He said it takes 10 days of deep freeze to guarantee that any bedbugs & eggs will be dead. I bought a large chest freezer this weekend, just for the sweaters, and put it in my garage. From now on, I will be taking the sweaters as I get them, and placing them into the chest freezer for 10 days or more. After that, they will be brought into my house for Sweater Sunday and proper inventorying.
What does this mean for you? You can be absolutely certain that there are no bedbugs, moths, eggs, or bugs of any kind, in any sweaters you buy from me. No thrift store can offer you that guarantee. The downside is that if you are requesting me to look for certain colors/patterns/etc. that I don't have on hand, it will take longer to fill those requests because of the 10 day "quarantine". Also, I will start charging an additional 25 cent charge per sweater, to cover the additional costs & labor involved in the process. So, what was $6, will now be $6.25, and what was $8 will be $8.25 etc. I am hoping that you all agree with me that the 25 cents is well worth the piece of mind.
ETA: From time to time I will also be putting sweaters in the dryer, in medium size loads (a large load could cause insulation from the heat), for 30 minutes at a time. This way I can add to my inventory in a quicker way when needed, though it is not as cost or energy efficient.
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13 comments:
Oh my gosh, what has this world come to? I think it is great that you are being so proactive. Best of luck to you.
I know it has been a while since I have purchased sweaters from you, but I really appreciate that you are taking these steps to assure that the purchases I make in the future will be safe for my family. An extra $.25 is totally worth it.
Thanks!
It's too bad that this outbreak has occurred, and that you have to take these strides, but you are so good to be caring of your customers.
Well thank you bunches. I recently bought some of your sweaters and put them in the wash and hot dryer thinking I'd kill anything that may cling on. I'm more worried about my business traveling husband at this point!
p.s. I made a cute cashmere hat with one of your sweaters! http://sascharomeo.blogspot.com/2010/09/pixie-hat.html
Wow, that's great. Thanks for being so proactive about it! 25 cents is more than fair, considering you even bought a special freezer.
-Holly
Thank you for the great idea. I'm not selling sweaters, but the stuff I make from the sweaters. We have a freezer, so the new "old" wool I bring into the house will now go into the freezer before it goes into the washing machine.
I've been shaking everything outside, but worried that it wasn't enough given the new worry about bedbugs.
Lora, If you are washing them in hot water, that should be enough to kill them. Shaking them will rid you of any moth eggs, but bedbugs will just cling tighter onto the sweaters.
Yes I always freeze the sweaters overnight before I wash them. That apparently will kill moth, but I had not thought of other critters. Thanks for taking so much trouble Kris. We had an outbreak of moth a while back and my husband blamed my sweaters but it turned out to be my daughter's boyfriend bringing up moth from london (he's no longer her boyf)
Jilly, I would break up with someone if they brought moths in too! ;)
If you google it, you'll find that putting the sweaters in the dryer on high for even half an hour is enough to kill bedbugs and their eggs. Wool makes it fine in the dryer when it's not wet. you don't even need to wash. Just dry. The heat kills them.
I just came across this blog because I buy wool sweaters at thrifts as well. I put them in the dryer as soon as they get home for exactly the same reason. Bedbugs are my worst nightmare.
Just thought this might help you out. :0)
Anonymous,
Yes, I have read that, and that will work with a sweater or 2, but I have also read that this does not work with a load of insulated materials. It would actually take longer with sweaters. With the volume of sweaters I deal with, I would be spending large amounts of energy & time if I put them in the dryer... about 10 loads a week! I have done a lot of research, and consistent deep freeze is best option for me.
Anonymous,
I have done a little more research, and as long as I use a medium load, so they don't get insulated in a full load, this will work! While i'll still use the freezer for the majority of the sweaters, I will now use the dryer from time to time too, to get the sweaters into my inventory quicker. Thanks!
I wish more people were this proactive! I put everything non food in the dryer, even stuff from amazon, because some of the fulfillment centers are plagued. At this time all I can do is the dryer, but will invest in a freezer for the garage so i don't have to even take stuff into the house!
Maybe I will able to go thrifting again (I stopped!)
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