Tips For Protecting Your Belongings From Dust And Mold While In A Storage Unit
Items kept in storage tend to collect dust and take on a musty odor. That might make the idea of renting a storage unit less than appealing when your home is short on space. However, you can rent a climate-controlled storage unit that is better for your belongings than keeping them in a shed, garage, or attic. Here's how to protect your clothing, furniture, and other belongings from dust, mildew, and musty odors while they're in storage.
Rent A Climate-Controlled Unit
The best thing you can do for your belongings is to rent a climate-controlled storage unit. However, before you do, consider what you'll be putting in the unit and how long it will stay there. A regular storage unit without climate control is often good enough for certain items, such as things you might keep in an outbuilding or shed. Climate control costs more, but it's worth it if you want the best protection for your belongings.
Find Out The Temperature Range Of The Unit
The storage facility should be able to tell you the temperature and humidity range of the unit so you can decide if it is suitable for your needs. If you're not sure, look in the owner's manuals for your possessions to see what the recommended storage temperatures are. The temperatures differ for different materials such as wood, paper, fabric, and wine. However, a typical climate-controlled unit will probably meet the needs of most of your basic household items.
Dry Everything Thoroughly Before Storing
Never put anything in storage that's wet or damp. This can cause mold to grow and give your belongings a musty odor. Try not to move things into the unit when it's raining unless you take time to dry them thoroughly with towels and remove the towels from the unit. You may even want to keep tubs of desiccant in the unit to help pull excess humidity out of the air.
Cover Belongings In Bins Or With Sheets
A climate-controlled storage unit is usually well-insulated to help with energy costs, and this can help control dust accumulation on your belongings. However, take extra precautions and cover everything you put in storage, or at least things that are made from fabric.
Do this by enclosing small things in bins and totes and by spreading sheets over larger items such as a sofa. You'll want to keep dust off of your belongings so they won't get coated in dust or ruined, but it's also important to control dust since dust is a food source for mold.
A climate-controlled storage unit is helpful when you want to control dust and mold in your storage unit, but don't rely on it alone. Take steps to keep the unit dry and protected from dust. That way, your things will come out of storage in just as good of shape just as they went in.
Share
