Enjoying The Moving Process

Keeping Things Dry In Self-Storage

by Ava Sanders

There is nothing as wrong as keeping your things in self-storage only to find them damaged by moisture when you come back for them. In some cases, you can end up blaming the storage facility while, in the real sense, your actions (or lack of actions) contributed to the damage. The next time you are taking things to a self-storage unit, take these measures to prevent moisture damage:

Clean the Items Before Storage

Dirt attracts moisture so you should ensure all items are clean before taking them to the storage unit. This is especially true with organic dirt such as leaves, dust, bits of paper, seeds and flowers. Leave such things in your storage boxes and pretty soon they will be attracting and retaining moisture in storage.

Ensure They Are Dry Going In

In some cases, you can think that your items have been affected by moisture during storage while, in the real sense, you stored them in that state. This is especially true if you have heeded the above tip and cleaned or washed your items before storing them. Therefore, ensure everything you are planning to store is thoroughly dry first.

Use Breathable Packing Materials

The packing materials you use also determine whether the packed items will remain dry in storage or not. If you use airtight packing materials and they trap humid air, the air may shed its moisture and affect the stored items. Breathable materials help because they allow water vapor to be transmitted through them so that the moisture doesn't affect the stored items.

Encourage Air Circulation in Storage

Enabling proper air circulation is one of the best things you can do for your stored boxes if you don't want them to be affected by moisture. Encourage air circulation in your storage unit by leaving some spaces between the boxes, leaving some spaces between the boxes and the sides of the unit, and raising the boxes above the floor.

Use Desiccants

A desiccant is any substance with a high affinity for moisture (such as silica gel); such substances will absorb any water in their surrounding; thereby leaving the surrounding dry. Therefore, if you store your boxes or items with a desiccant, the material will absorb any moisture that would have affected the items.

Use Climate-Controlled Storage Units

Lastly, you can also ensure that your items aren't affected by moisture in storage by keeping them in climate-controlled storage. A further advantage of climate control is that it also maintains the temperature at a preset (safe level) so you don't have to worry about damage from extreme temperatures too.

For more information, contact companies like Horton Properties Mini Storage.

Share