When putting your belongings into storage, you need to be aware of certain conditions that could change over a long period of time. Leaving papers, cloth, plastics or wood in an open storage room may be good for certain months in certain areas, but you need to be aware of daily climate changes that could affect indoor climate. Before leaving everything to chance, take the time to understand a few protection and preparation ideas for stored items.

Use A Dehumidifier For Moisture Issues

In areas with a lot of humidity, such as coastal areas and much of the American southeast, high humidity percentages can last for days at a time. Even if the self storage facility is designed and sealed with modern construction protocol in mind, humid air can eventually saturate a storage room.

Unless you're investing in a specifically air-tight or ventilated storage facility, the storage room is susceptible to the same air leakage issues as any home or business building. This may not be an issue in areas that have regular human traffic and regular cleaning, but objects held in humid storage may deteriorate faster.

Untreated wood can hold moisture and begin to rot faster from different issues such as fungus growth, which may be already present in the form of spores. Cloth and papers can swell and wrinkle with different levels of humidity, and the pollutants or debris in the air can soak into certain materials if left in humid areas for long periods of time.

Like many buildings in regularly humid areas, you should invest in a dehumidifier to combat the daily moisture threat. Dehumidifiers are rated for certain room sizes and humidity levels, so be sure to refer to the product information or contact the manufacturer to find out if a specific model is right for you.

The manufacturer needs information such as the dimensions of the storage room. The size of the room determines how long it would take for the the dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air, and there are optimal areas to place the dehumidifier to get the job done best.

Sealed Containers Must Be Tested

The idea of a sealed container can be deceptive. Some people may confuse the idea of a sealed container with an airtight container, which are two different product qualities. Unfortunately, some deceptive marketing may sell a sealed container as an airtight container--an issue that may not be discovered until it's too late.

It's difficult to test sealed containers for their quality over long periods of time. One option would be to fill the container with water to see if it leaks. Another would be to close the container, then place it in a deep, but controlled water container such as a tub or a pool for a few hours to see if water leaks in.

Airtight isn't necessarily a requirement for long term storage. To keep most of the moisture out, vacuum sealing furniture in plastic or placing paperwork and clothing in sealed containers can be good enough to keep the biggest problems of open air humidity at bay.

Contact a self storage center like AA All American Airborne Self-Storage to learn more.