Bags and bugs
June 7, 2018 3:43 PM
I found three dead psocids in the outside pocket of a dearly loved leather handbag of mine. What do I do to make sure that there are no more bugs inside?
The wall against which I stored -beside other things- my handbags suffered from some mold issues, which I'm getting on top of. Unfortunately, this led to a few psocids (booklice) developing in the area- today, I found three of them (already dead upon discovery) inside a couple of clean paper tissues I had in the outer compartment of a lovely bag of mine. I assume they were feeding off the -invisible to the eye- mold that must have been growing on the tissues themselves.
What do I do with my handbag now? I inspected it and there were no psocids in the dustbag at all and none that I could see inside, but the lining itself is black and stitched to the leather, so I can't quite take a good look. I intend to vacuum it, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to be very thorough for this very reason; considering it's a structured leather bag, I can't just wash it nor can I microwave it {which could kill the bugs} because of the hardware. Freezing it scares me too, because I'm afraid of getting the leather damp and ruining it. Still, I want to save my bag {it has sentimental value and it's quite expensive) and be able to wear it again. It's unlikely for the bugs to have made it between the leather and the lining, past the stitching, isn't it? I'm honestly getting a bit worried here and would welcome your help. Thank you.
The wall against which I stored -beside other things- my handbags suffered from some mold issues, which I'm getting on top of. Unfortunately, this led to a few psocids (booklice) developing in the area- today, I found three of them (already dead upon discovery) inside a couple of clean paper tissues I had in the outer compartment of a lovely bag of mine. I assume they were feeding off the -invisible to the eye- mold that must have been growing on the tissues themselves.
What do I do with my handbag now? I inspected it and there were no psocids in the dustbag at all and none that I could see inside, but the lining itself is black and stitched to the leather, so I can't quite take a good look. I intend to vacuum it, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to be very thorough for this very reason; considering it's a structured leather bag, I can't just wash it nor can I microwave it {which could kill the bugs} because of the hardware. Freezing it scares me too, because I'm afraid of getting the leather damp and ruining it. Still, I want to save my bag {it has sentimental value and it's quite expensive) and be able to wear it again. It's unlikely for the bugs to have made it between the leather and the lining, past the stitching, isn't it? I'm honestly getting a bit worried here and would welcome your help. Thank you.
What about blowing it out with a hairdryer? Take it outside on a dry day and blow it til there's no possibility of dampness. I'd be uneasy freezing it, any moisture in the bag could condense on the inside of the plastic and leave a stain.
If it was mine and I was worried about bugs, I might dust lightly with diatomaceous earth, let sit for a few days and then vacuum it out. It might leave a trace of dust in the crevices though.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:53 PM on June 7, 2018
If it was mine and I was worried about bugs, I might dust lightly with diatomaceous earth, let sit for a few days and then vacuum it out. It might leave a trace of dust in the crevices though.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 4:53 PM on June 7, 2018
If this bag is worth it to you, you could get an ozone generator and run it with the bag inside some kind of sack, like a garbage bag. A few hours of concentrated ozone should kill just about anything without harming your bag.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:54 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:54 PM on June 7, 2018
I think you are overthinking this. As a person who is easily distressed by bugs, in your situation my DIY choices would be vacuuming, blow-drying, inspecting with a flashlight and then leaving out in a dry area, then pushing myself to carry the bag for a couple of days to normalize things because I'd be almost 100% sure that the issue was my discomfort, not the likelihood of more bugs.
Other stragegies: Call a good leather-cleaning company and ask if they do bags or if they have advice for getting a bag cleaned, and have it professionally cleaned. Wrap it well (if this were me I would wrap it in a thin sweater, put it inside a pillow case with the pillow and pin closed, then dry on regular heat for 20 minutes. This assumes that the bag does not have sequins or super fragile pieces or a lot of plastic parts. Regular heat will not destroy leather but it will kill bugs - drying things on regular heat is what they recommend for small/soft stuff on return from situations where you may have been exposed to bedbugs.
posted by Frowner at 6:08 PM on June 7, 2018
Other stragegies: Call a good leather-cleaning company and ask if they do bags or if they have advice for getting a bag cleaned, and have it professionally cleaned. Wrap it well (if this were me I would wrap it in a thin sweater, put it inside a pillow case with the pillow and pin closed, then dry on regular heat for 20 minutes. This assumes that the bag does not have sequins or super fragile pieces or a lot of plastic parts. Regular heat will not destroy leather but it will kill bugs - drying things on regular heat is what they recommend for small/soft stuff on return from situations where you may have been exposed to bedbugs.
posted by Frowner at 6:08 PM on June 7, 2018
I would consider using dry ice inside the bag inside a small cooler to concentrate and hold the negative 109 degree CO2 for a few hours .
posted by hortense at 8:13 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by hortense at 8:13 PM on June 7, 2018
Thank you everyone for your input!
As of now, the bag is still sitting in its plastic bag {sad, I know}, but, after I've managed to control the mold issue in the room, I decided I will put it in the sun, trying to leave it open for a while, afterwards I'll vacuum it AND dry it with a blow dryer, then I'll sprinkle some DE on it, leave it in the sun still and vacuum it out after a few days. I'll be checking on it to make sure it's bug-free from time to time. Thank you for your help!
posted by opalshards at 5:08 AM on June 14, 2018
As of now, the bag is still sitting in its plastic bag {sad, I know}, but, after I've managed to control the mold issue in the room, I decided I will put it in the sun, trying to leave it open for a while, afterwards I'll vacuum it AND dry it with a blow dryer, then I'll sprinkle some DE on it, leave it in the sun still and vacuum it out after a few days. I'll be checking on it to make sure it's bug-free from time to time. Thank you for your help!
posted by opalshards at 5:08 AM on June 14, 2018
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posted by tipsyBumblebee at 4:15 PM on June 7, 2018