"Moist": How to Stop the One of the World's Most Unpopular Words From Affecting Your Stuff in Storage
"Moist" has been classified as one of the world's most unpopular words, and this word doesn't just sound unsavoury. In reality, it can actually have a lot of negative consequences. In particular, if the items in your storage container get moist, they can get mouldy and ruined.
Clothing, books, textiles and papers are the items most threatened by this concept, but luckily, there are ways to keep these items dry. Take a look at these ideas:
1. Hire a humidity-controlled storage unit
If you're storing a vehicle or power tools, you can easily choose a garage-style storage unit without any heating, cooling or humidity control, but if you are storing clothing, blankets, photo albums and similar items, you need a facility that offers humidity control. It may cost a bit more, but in the long run, the protection it provides your items from getting moist is well worth it.
2. Don't put anything that is already moist into storage
This tip seems obvious, but if you're moving and throwing your items into storage quickly, it's often easy to overlook moisture. For example, if you have an old pot from a houseplant that just died, make sure you remove the dirt before putting it in storage -- the potting soil could be harbouring moisture. Similarly, if you're storing scuba gear, surfboards or other water toys, make sure that they are dry before putting them in storage.
If you put anything that's moist into your storage unit, the water will condense as the temperature rises. It will then form water vapour that will travel to the ceiling of the storage unit, where it will form water droplets. Eventually, those droplets will "rain" down on your stored items.
3. Use plastic and other moisture barriers
If you cannot find or afford a unit with humidity control, keep in mind that some condensation may be unavoidable. To prevent condensation from moistening your items, store them in moisture-proof containers. Plastic storage bins are ideal, but even well sealed plastic rubbish bags can work.
4. Plant some natural desiccants in your storage unit
You can buy packs of desiccants and put them in your storage unit. These are silica gel packs that absorb moisture from the air so that it doesn't get to your items. However, you actually don't have to buy anything special.
Instead, you can easily make your own desiccants. Do you have an old bag of charcoal from your last barbecue? What about some clay kitty litter? Both of these items are natural desiccants. Open their bags and plant them in a corner of your storage unit, and never worry about hearing the word "moist" applied to your possessions again.
For more information on storage options and properly storing items, contact a self storage company.
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