Caring for textile collections

Textiles are common in museum collections. Made from natural or manmade fibres, such as wool, cotton, linen, viscose, or nylon, they were spun into thread or woven or felted into cloth and used for domestic items, furnishings, upholstery, and flooring. They could be dyed or have other materials woven or sewn into them, such as metal threads, beads, and buttons.

Displaying or storing textiles comes with risks of fading or decay caused by environmental factors, especially pest damage. The way a textile was manufactured, used, or worn also affects its preservation. Examples include:

• Costume, clothing, and accessories
• Flags
• Carpets and rugs
• Tapestries
• Upholstered items
• Domestic furnishings such as curtains or bedcovers
• Artwork or craft, including batik, block-printed fabric, weaving, and embroideries
• Lace and knitting

Textiles deteriorate through physical, chemical, and biological damage, including:

• Light, which fades dyes and weakens fibres until fabric becomes brittle
• Moisture and heat, which cause fibres to swell, shrink, and grow weaker
• Pests, including moths and beetles whose larvae feed on wool, silk, fur, hair, and feathers
• Mould, which permanently stains and weakens fabric in warm, damp conditions
• Other materials in contact with textiles, such as poor-quality card, unstable wood, and rusty metal
• Dust, which accumulates on items on open display
• Handling, which strains brittle fibres and transfers oils and salts from skin
• Chemical deterioration

The sections below cover the main environmental and practical threats to textiles, with recommendations for each.

How does light damage textiles?

Getting the balance right is challenging: the item’s display and interpretation need appropriate lighting, but light causes photochemical damage. The most visible sign of light damage in textiles is colour fading. Details and subtle hues disappear, and the object can lose what makes it unique, or what the maker originally intended the fabric colour or thread to be.

Colour loss is symptomatic of a bigger problem. Sustained exposure to light weakens fabrics to the point where they shred or fall apart. Light causes textiles to lose their flexibility first. They then become brittle before breaking into fragments and eventually reducing to dust. Some textiles are large, or have areas obscured in hems, folds, or behind other material, so fading is not always even.

Preventing this irreversible damage is essential in caring for your textile collection.

Ways to protect your textiles from light:

• Monitor and control annual light exposure. Light damage is cumulative, so only light your exhibits during museum opening hours and maintain an intensity of 50 lux throughout the year.
• Put items on display for shorter periods and rotate them regularly if you cannot keep levels that low.
• Avoid putting textiles in direct daylight. Daylight is harder to control and fluctuates regularly.
• Install protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV-absorbers, glass laminates, and acrylics can eliminate UV radiation.

The MGS guide to conservation and lighting explains how to set appropriate light levels and reduce cumulative damage.

How do humidity and temperature damage textiles?

Textiles are hygroscopic: they absorb water very easily, which can cause irreparable damage. Fibres swell and extend when taking on liquid, then shrink while drying and grow weaker in the process. Fluctuating humidity, caused by temperature changes in a room or display case, makes decay worse, causing fibres to grow brittle and break up.

Dyes become unstable and fugitive at high relative humidity (RH). Textiles can also become stained by metal, leather, or adhesive components in the object. A wetted textile can stain if the liquid it absorbs contains soap, dirt, or chemicals.

Textiles present damage in a variety of ways. For example:

• Silk can lose its dressing, split, and weaken
• Samplers stain when dyes in the thread run or pins rust
• Painted decoration can curl or lift if humidity fluctuates
• Mould and pests can break out in high humidity or if items are contaminated or dusty
• Fibres and threads can become brittle and dry in low humidity
• Old repairs can fail

Tips for protecting textiles against moisture and heat:

• Prevent textiles from getting wet. Do not wash museum textiles. Always consult a textile conservator for any interventive treatments.
• Monitor the humidity and temperature of the air and adjust appropriately. Keep relative humidity stable, between 45% and 65%, for at least 90% of the time.
• Invest in conservation-grade display cases to create tightly controlled environments and reduce dust settling on items.
• Implement a heating regime that keeps temperatures between 10°C and 20°C to better control humidity.
• Do not allow temperatures to drop below freezing or create a dew point.
• Avoid storing textiles in natural problem areas of a building, such as dry or hot attic rooms and humid basements, or near spaces where food is consumed, rest rooms, and water pipework.
• Avoid local problem areas in your building. External walls can be damp, and the area surrounding radiators and heaters can be too hot and dry for storing and displaying textiles.
• Allow air to circulate by avoiding overcrowding textiles in storage boxes and hanging cupboards.
• Use humidifiers or dehumidifiers to control the museum environment if required.

How do pests damage textiles?

Make your museum a pest-free zone. Beetles, clothes moths, silverfish, rats, mice, and even birds can infest textiles. Wool, silk, fur, hair, and feathers are all sources of nutrition for certain insect larvae. Key signs of a pest problem include visible adult insects, holes in the surface of your textiles, and droppings or pupae left on fabrics.

Pest prevention

Prevention is better than cure, especially for pest control. Create an integrated pest management (IPM) plan for your museum, limit the use of pesticides, and adopt more passive treatments, such as freezing infested material, instead. The MGS guide to pest management explains how to set up an IPM programme.

Tips for preventing pests:

• Know your pests. Identify what pest issues you might have and maintain the museum environment within recommended levels.
• Maintain robust housekeeping, keeping display and storage spaces clear of food debris and rubbish. Pay close attention to areas near cafes and roof spaces where birds might nest.
• Use a separate area as a quarantined space for packing, unloading, and examining textile material for pest activity.
• Thoroughly examine new acquisitions to your collection and outgoing objects.
• Check regularly for infestations in undisturbed, warm, dark places such as chimneys, fireplaces, and under cabinets.
• Screen any open windows in display areas with netting and keep doors closed.
• Isolate and contain the source of any infestation you identify. Section off the area and seal infected items.
• Hire a conservator to treat infested textiles, or learn about deep-freezing textiles at the What’s Eating Your Collection? website
• Log all pest infestations as part of your pest management plan to prevent recurrence.
• Consult specialists on widespread pest problems, or contact a subject specialist network.

How does mould damage textiles?

Mould occurs when an environment is both warm and damp, with little air movement. It is extremely damaging to textiles, appearing as furry growth or scattered stains. The first sign of mould is usually a musty smell.

Mould spores are everywhere in the air, but they only start growing when conditions are right. Once growing, mould permanently decays, stains, or weakens fabric. Mouldy textiles are also a health risk, causing allergic reactions and occasionally diseases.

Wear protective clothing such as dust masks, goggles, disposable gloves, and overalls whenever you handle mouldy items. Keep staff and volunteers with breathing problems away from areas with suspect material.

Protecting textiles from mould damage

Mould can be prevented. The most important step is controlling the heat and moisture in your museum. Removing mould from textiles is a complex process and could cause further damage if attempted by a non-specialist. You can deactivate mould by airing items and gradually lowering the RH with HEPA-filtered dehumidification.

Tips for creating a mould-resistant environment:

• Keep relative humidity below 65% and the temperature below 18°C. Introduce heat slowly if you have an active mould outbreak, as sporadic bursts of heat can make the problem worse.
• Allow air to circulate. Avoid stacking boxes next to damp walls or over-packing boxes where textiles are stored.
• Avoid spreading contamination. Keep a quarantined space for unpacking mouldy textiles and do not reuse boxes that have held contaminated items.
• Wrap affected items in acid-free tissue paper to stop the spread of spores while still allowing air circulation. Acid-free tissue also absorbs some mould spores. Dispose of it after contact with mouldy items, then contact a conservator for advice.

Plan ahead when preparing textiles for storage or display. The materials you choose, and the way you store and display items, all affect how long textiles survive. This section covers how to choose safe materials, how to care for textiles in storage, and how to care for them on display.

What materials should you use for storage and display?

Textiles come into contact with other materials in storage, on display, and during transport or movement. Some of these materials can damage the objects. Certain packing and display materials pose a risk. Objects mounted on hardboard, for instance, can go yellow and brittle due to chemicals in poor-quality materials.

When packing or storing items, look out for:

• Poor-quality card
• Paper and board made from wood products
• Chemically unstable wood
• Chemicals in certain plastics, paints, varnishes, adhesives, dyes, and inks
• Rusty metal
• Combinations of incompatible materials

Reduce the risks

Choose safe, conservation-quality materials for packing, storing, and displaying textiles. Adapt your existing display and storage furniture until you can purchase more suitable materials.

Follow these guidelines for choosing materials:

• Use acid-free paper and card products, especially when packing, making sure these sit against the object
• Find materials free from damaging chemicals, such as archival polyethylene and polyester materials. These include Tyvek™, non-woven polyester sheeting, and Melinex™, a colourless transparent polyester film.
• Remove impurities from cotton dust-covers by washing them in advance, or make covers from Tyvek™, which can be sewn
• Keep a record of suppliers and product specifications for all materials purchased
• Invest in good materials at all levels
• Always use the correct display materials, as lighting can speed up chemical reactions
• Insert acid-free tissue paper or Melinex™ as a barrier if you must use unstable materials for storing and displaying
• Wrap and interleave other materials such as paper, plastics, and metals with barriers such as acid-free tissue paper and Melinex™ if you must store them with textiles
• Keep a wide range of materials in stock, as acidic packaging may need replacing. Check for yellowing tissue and dusty, dirty, or pest-infested packaging. Swap out as necessary.

Caring for textiles in storage

• Be vigilant with housekeeping in museum stores and warehouses. They need as much housekeeping and monitoring as public spaces.
• Avoid moving textiles as much as possible. Consider locating research areas nearby.
• Plan sufficient storage space to allow for growth of the collection.
• Organise stores so you can access individual items quickly without handling other textiles to find them. Add images of wrapped textiles to labels outside packaging to prevent unwrapping every item.

Caring for textiles on display

• Gravity can change the shape of an item. Take this into consideration when displaying textiles. Avoid displaying textiles already in poor condition, as they will deteriorate further on display.
• Use textile conservators to assess the quality of textiles before and after displaying them.
• Mount textiles in a way that fully supports them. This helps avoid stretching.
• Change displayed textiles frequently. Switch collection objects with replicas when they are used for set dressing or as working collections.

Textiles are at the greatest risk of damage when they are handled, moved, and touched. This might happen when you rotate an exhibition or move items into storage. If textiles have been weakened by light, heat, or moisture, handling puts these brittle fibres under great strain. Rings or watches can catch fibres, and too much pressure from lifting can split fabric.

Upholstered furniture coverings can also split if sat on. Dirt accumulates on items on open display and on rugs on floors from the public touching them.

Accidental damage like this is irreversible. Regular handling also presents long-term risks as items absorb salts and oils from skin. Too much touching causes textiles to fade, stiffen, weaken, and wear away.

Guidelines for handling textiles

Train your museum workforce on how to handle textiles correctly.

Basic guidelines for handling textiles:

• Determine the policy for your museum. Everyone should wear close-fitting nitrile or clean cotton gloves whenever handling textiles, unless the object is particularly fragile, in which case clean, washed hands without hand cream are acceptable.
• Keep bare hands clean and ring-free when not using gloves, to prevent the transfer of oils from skin or jewellery snagging. Alternatively, use acid-free tissue as a sling or support to move textiles in and out of boxes.
• Use trays, boxes, or clean dust sheets when carrying textiles.
• Make sure textiles are not shaken, pulled, or slid about when moving them.
• Develop a plan for publicly displaying your textiles. Consider designated handling collections for the public to touch, protecting more valuable items.

Plan installations carefully and leave enough time for unpacking, moving, and setting up displays, ideally with large tables to lay out textiles. Make sure nothing is rushed and everyone is trained.

Textiles and textile-based materials are especially vulnerable in a fire or flood. A robust, active emergency plan that identifies risks and sets out how to reduce or respond to them is essential.

The Scottish Council on Archives has produced emergency planning guidance for collections with practical advice on preparing for incidents.

Scotland has dedicated networks for specialist help during emergencies. Find contact details on the Scottish Council on Archives page listing emergency response networks across Scotland

For more collections care guidance, find our other advice guides on collections.

The Collections Trust provides a wide range of guidance and advice on collections care.

The Institute of Conservation has produced collections care guidance for costume and textiles and for carpets and rugs.

Two books offer further in-depth guidance:

• An Illustrated Guide to the Care of Costume and Textile Collections (Robinson, J. and Pardoe, T; Museums & Galleries Commission, 2000, ISBN 0948630957)
• The National Trust Manual of Housekeeping (Butterworth-Heinemann; The National Trust 2006, revised 2011, ISBN 978-1907892189)