divorcingjack Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 So we are nearing the end of our build (finally!!) and have been looking for furniture. Of course, it being the end of the build, we have pretty much zero cash to afford the style and quality of stuff that we like. We've been looking at mid-century sofas and have found a cracker fairly locally. It's solid wood frame, original 1960's danish design, original wool upholstery..... This is where the problem comes in - we can't afford to have the whole thing reupholstered for probably a year or so, so we were going to live with it slightly shabby looking while we save up and our kids get out of the "drawing on stuff" stage. I knew it had a couple of little holes but I'm not too bothered about them. However, the seller has just got back to me to tell me that they have discovered a couple of moth holes and a couple of dead moths. Should I just forget this altogether, or is there a way of treating it? No carpets in the house, probably no wool rugs. A few merino jumpers and a bit of tweed. We can store it off-site for a while until we move in if necessary. Cheers for any advice, dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivienz Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 If you store it now, it may well need new upholstery by the time you bring it home as moths are voracious and this is getting to their busy season. The eggs will be nicely embedded in the fabric now with little chance of removing them. I treated my carpets at home with thorough vacuuming and spraying with flea spray. It worked for a while but I wasn't persistent enough and the moths won in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, divorcingjack said: So we are nearing the end of our build (finally!!) and have been looking for furniture. Of course, it being the end of the build, we have pretty much zero cash to afford the style and quality of stuff that we like. We've been looking at mid-century sofas and have found a cracker fairly locally. It's solid wood frame, original 1960's danish design, original wool upholstery..... This is where the problem comes in - we can't afford to have the whole thing reupholstered for probably a year or so, so we were going to live with it slightly shabby looking while we save up and our kids get out of the "drawing on stuff" stage. I knew it had a couple of little holes but I'm not too bothered about them. However, the seller has just got back to me to tell me that they have discovered a couple of moth holes and a couple of dead moths. Should I just forget this altogether, or is there a way of treating it? No carpets in the house, probably no wool rugs. A few merino jumpers and a bit of tweed. We can store it off-site for a while until we move in if necessary. Cheers for any advice, dj if you have time to wait, find a friend of a friend who works in a furniture factory as an upholsterererer. I have such a tenant, which is perhaps an unfair advantage :-). I have no idea where furniture is made for Scotland. F Edited April 29, 2019 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 3 hours ago, vivienz said: If you store it now, it may well need new upholstery by the time you bring it home as moths are voracious and this is getting to their busy season. The eggs will be nicely embedded in the fabric now with little chance of removing them. I treated my carpets at home with thorough vacuuming and spraying with flea spray. It worked for a while but I wasn't persistent enough and the moths won in the end. Bugger. This is what I was concerned about tbh. We do (unusually, I admit) have access to a walk in industrial freezer. If we left it in there for a while, do you think that would do the trick? Can they be professionally treated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Ferdinand said: if you have time to wait, find a friend of a friend who works in a furniture factory as an upholsterererer. I have such a tenant, which is perhaps an unfair advantage :-). I have no idea where furniture is made for Scotland. F Lucky you! Do they fancy a holiday in Scotland, I wonder .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Perhaps plastic sofa coverings will come back into fashion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 I can only hope. For the meantime, we're going to look at it tomorrow and see what might be salvageable. If we can get it for a reasonable price, it MAY be worth a punt and a call to rentokil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 (edited) 49 minutes ago, divorcingjack said: Bugger. This is what I was concerned about tbh. We do (unusually, I admit) have access to a walk in industrial freezer. If we left it in there for a while, do you think that would do the trick? Can they be professionally treated? The standard treatment for woodworm years ago was to just put the affected furniture outside during a severe frost. Seemed to work well, as there aren't many bugs or eggs that will survive being frozen. Personally, I'd prefer treating something this way than trying to spray it with insecticide, especially as it's really hard to be sure that insecticide has reached every nook and cranny. Leaving it in a big freezer for a couple of days should pretty much guarantee that all bugs and eggs will be killed off, I think. PS: Just been checking, and I was right, freezing works well, needs 48 to 72 hours in a deep freeze to kill the blighters: https://www.jgpestcontrol.co.uk/freeze-treatment-for-bed-bugs-insects/ Edited April 29, 2019 by JSHarris Added info 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 Excellent! Would this damage the wood frame, do you think? Now, I just have to look at reupholstering costs ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 16 minutes ago, divorcingjack said: Excellent! Would this damage the wood frame, do you think? Now, I just have to look at reupholstering costs ... I doubt it, as dry timber doesn't generally suffer from any ill effects for being frozen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Volunteers required with sofa sized freezers... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 The freezer we have access to is the size of a shipping container The sofa, not quite so big. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Customers required for sofa delousing unit... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 31 minutes ago, divorcingjack said: The freezer we have access to is the size of a shipping container The sofa, not quite so big. Sounds ideal to me. A couple of days or so in that should see off anything in the sofa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 We actually had a RAT get in an old sofa when we first moved in. Gained access to the lounge from under the floor via oversize pipe holes in the walls. Give the cat it's due it did sit and point saying "Oh look a RAT!" Missus moved out to her Mum's for a few days with the baby. Anyone know where I can get another rat? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divorcingjack Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 So, the sofa is not in as bad nick as we thought. There are indeed patches missing, but I'm not 100% convinced that the covers are wool tbh, and all the holes are between the cushions and along edges, so could easily be wear. We'll stick it in the freezer anyway! Just off to site to tape out the size on the floor and make sure it fits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now