Oh yes, this can be expanded by any means!

Good question! Hopefully someone will jump in and help you out. I will see what I can find too.

I would like to suggest that this Preservation Menu be expanded to include room for more topics.

I hope you don't think it was limited in the first place, it is a completely open topic as the title and subtitle suggested.

Preservation

Tips and helpful hints on how to preserve and care for your old photos, manuscripts, letters and more.

Ahh. Yes. Now that sounds all-encompasing.

Thanks.

Okay, I hesitated to answer at first, but I guess my first hunch was correct; cold water, woolite! I confirmed this by conferring with some of my reenactment buddies. This is what they have to say.

Wash your wools in Woolite. You can either wash by hand or the gentle cycle in your washer. Use COLD water. If you do wash it in the machine, use an extra spin at the end of the cycle to get out the most water you can, then hang dry. A lot of the guys then hang them outside if possible.

They are saying that you might get some shrinkage, but that is to be expected.

They say most cleaners won't touch old uniforms (as you stated) because of the liability. You can see why. Some will do it, but only after you sign a waiver.

Hope that helps ya.

most cleaners won't touch old uniforms (as you stated) because of the liab

I was going to make a few calls to some local musuems and see if they have a special shop that will do this. Someone a little more experienced than an average Laundry.

I also have a cotton flag that has some moth holes and would like to restore it if it doesn't cost an arm & a leg. I have plans to sell it or display it at a museum.

Steve

That's an excellent idea. I know some of the guys who are really into this, won't even clean their uniforms. Ah, a matter of choice!

I have a couple of swastiki flags. Any suggestions as to preservation. AL

Do you know what they are made of? I presume cotton?

STORAGE:

Store the flag you want to preserve in a dark place. Bright light, especially sunlight, causes fading and deterioration of fabrics. Avoid very humid places and rooms where temperatures vary a great deal.

Store your flag where you have sufficient access to inspect it for pest or mildew damage at least once a year. Garages, basements, and attics are probably the worst places to store textiles because these risks are high.

The crisp “official†fold is appropriate for a flag in regular use, but prolonged storage will lead to permanent creases. If you don’t have room to store the flag flat, there are some options. One is to use acid-free tissue paper, or clean, unbleached cotton cloth to fill out the folds. Another alternative is to roll the flag on a tube of acid-free material; do not use cardboard or wood, both of which are likely to be acidic.

In fact, it is important to avoid storing your flag in contact with wood. Be sure to line the storage drawer with a polyester film or other inert material, or wrap the rolled-up flag in a cover of unbleached cotton or some other acid-neutral material. Don’t use pesticides or mothballs. They contain chemicals that are harmful to fabrics.

CLEANING:

Minimize washing or cleaning flags or other textiles you want to keep. If your flag is very old, more than 30 years, you should not wash or dry clean it except with the advice of a professional conservator.

The only appropriate cleaning method for old flags is vacuuming gently (on low suction) using a brush attachment covered by a clean piece of cheesecloth. It is best not to contact the flag with a brush that has been used for other cleaning, and the cheesecloth will prevent tears and snags. Vacuum a fabric by gently patting the surface as if you were blotting it.

New flags should be clean when they are stored. Depending on the type of material, the flag can be washed gently by hand using a mild soap.

Good info on the flags. Thanks.

I have a heavy weave cotton flag that has damage. I wish I could repair it and find a home in a musuem for it.

I have a Nazi banner. It is thin weave cotton. I folded it and placed it in a large plastic bag. I hope that will work. But I never considered the permanent folds---but I guess, now that I think about it, permanent folds were formed in it some 20 years ago.

Steve

An aside: German uniforms.I was told by a German soldier that not all of their uniforms are wool. They came up with a synthetic? using wood fibers.Anyone ever hear of this.

During the latter stages of World War Two, Italian camo zlet material was widely used by German combat units on the field made uniform. This practice seems to be very common between the elite units such as 12th SS Panzerdivision (Hitlerjugend) and Fallschirmjager on the Italian front.

This material was used for the M43-M44 german Waffen SS uniforms

Same as many other "field-made" Italian camo uniforms, M44 style tunic in Italian camo material was widely used in various German arms force units. Same tunic features as regular WH M44 tunic.

In late 1943, LAH seized Italian camo fabric from disarmed Italian troops. The Germans later used the camo material on many of their garments. The fur anorak is one of them. Virtually same garment cut as regular type of SS green fabric fur anorak. Not only seen on the Italian front, this camo anorak was also used in the battle of the Bulge.

Some items could have contained some wood fiber as for the anorak + jacket because some of them were made using recycled materials because it was hard to find the proper textiles in this stage of the war .

Hope this helps a little

Lennon