Tyvek versus cotton textile bags

Andrea Reichert <aj_reichert [at] videotron__ca> writes

>... We have a small
>collection of between 500 and 600 textile items for which we are in
>the process of determining which types of textile bags to purchase.
>We're looking at various options including bags made from cotton
>muslin as well as those made from Tyvek. We've also seen bags that
>are designed with the bottom open while others are designed to be
>closed, both at the top and bottom. ...

For our extensive uniform collection we chose hanging Tyvek garment
bags with closed bottoms from Foster Stephens to replace our cotton
muslin ones because Tyvek tends to be more resistant to pests, Tyvek
is vapor permeable yet would repel water to a better degree than
cotton muslin, and Tyvek is more durable for washing and re-use. I
have observed that our Tyvek bags, compared to our older cotton
muslin ones do not collect dust as readily since the surface is
smoother than cotton muslin. On a hanging textiles rack, the Tyvek
bags can be retrieved without them catching on one another. The
Tyvek bags with the additional small pocket with plastic window also
allow for a printed tag to be inserted with the catalog number and
photo if necessary.

Amber L. Tarnowski
Objects Conservator
U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC)
Carlisle, Pennsylvania


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:20
                Distributed: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-20-004
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