It Kept You Warm All Winter - Now It's Time To Cool It

With summer rapidly approaching, it's time to stow away those warm fur coats and luxurious wraps that kept Old Man Winter at bay.

Nick Tsamis, owner of Greenwich Furs, says now is the time place your fur in cold storage. Storing your furs at home, especially in a cramped closet is an open invitation for pest infestation -- particularly moths -- that can destroy the fur, the silk lining and leather inside the fur.

Storage in a cedar-lined closet won't deter the winged pests which deposit larvae deep within the fur and can go undetected to an untrained eye.

Optimal storage for furs is at 50 degrees with 50 percent humidity, says Tsamis who owns the shop founded by his father in 1948.

Tsamis had racks of fur coats, vests and jackets that clients dropped off for storage at his 1076 E. Putnam Ave. salon in Riverside. He inspects each piece and recommends cleaning before they are placed in his secure refrigerated vault he installed in the building before relocating from the top of Greenwich Avenue in February.

"There are benefits to proper servicing and maintenance, just like a car. You can add a lifetime to it with refrigeration" and not need costly repairs, explains Tsamis.