can you restore my mailbox to a date before my custom folders were emptied?

Cleared cache on IPAD, is it necessary to clear laptop as well?  In answer to your question, the folders are missing yet we can see the folders on the IPAD when looking on "Settings/Mail/Comcast/Advanced/archives"

You'd want to clear it on any devices you access the email on through the browser. If you access the archived section is there any options to recover the archived folders?

We can see what we can do on our end. But this may be an issue you will need to contact our Customer Security Assurance team for as they handle a lot of email related issues. But we can give it a shot first. Please send us a direct message with your full name and the service address to get started.

To send a "Direct Message" to Xfinity Support: 
Click "Sign In" if necessary 
Click the "Direct Messaging" icon or  https://forums.xfinity.com/direct-messaging 
Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon 
The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there 
- As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list 
- An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line 
Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window 
Press Enter to send it.