I have stored in Cedar chest for years without damage. However, my sister had wood worms eat through her cedar chest and leave a small hole and then nested in her linens. My DH says this is possible if they used some of the sap wood (the wood on the outside of the tree) instead of the heart wood (the wood on the inside of the tree). Cedar woods contain oil but not acid. I think the difference is the fact that in old cedar chests, the oil has dried out and thus no stain on the linens.
There is a chemical in the wood but it is not acid. Acid is in cardboard, paper and tissue paper and comes from the paper making process.
Last edited by twinkie; 05-10-2013 at 02:46 AM.