I recently rescued some very old horsehair from a badly-decomposed mattress (never accessioned) found in the attic of our historic house that was too far gone to be saved. I would like to sew it up in some scrap fabric as a hand-on for kids who are dying to touch our horsehair-stuffed couch. But none of us knows the best way to treat this stuff to ensure it's free from critters, mold, dust, and so on. Would it be better to attempt hand-washing it? Or would it be more effective to put through a few cycles of freezing and thawing? Or something else altogether? We're not talking much here - just a handful or so. Thanks, Leslie Goddard Manager of Programs and Education Evanston Historical Society in the Charles Gates Dawes House www.evanstonhistorical.org 847-475-3410 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).