The Impact of Temperature & Humidity on Long-Term Storage
Whether it’s seasonal belongings, collectibles, investment pieces, or furniture from downsizing your home, there are many reasons to store your possessions that you want to keep safe, organized, and well-preserved.
However, when storing items long-term, high temperatures and humidity can pose a threat to delicate belongings, leading to degradation, mold growth, and damage. This often-neglected aspect of long-term storage results in discarded heirlooms, documents, and other sentimental and valuable possessions.
Understanding Temperature’s Role in Long-Term Storage
Storage spaces that lack climate control can expose your belongings to extreme cold and hot temperatures, as well as overly dry or humid air. Delicate items stored under such conditions can crack, warp, or even start to decay.
How Hot Temperatures Affect Stored Items:
- Warping and Distortion: Items made of wood, plastic, and some metals may become distorted or warped due to the heat. This is especially true for musical instruments and wooden furniture.
- Electronic Damage: Electronics can malfunction if they are kept in hot conditions for too long because the heat affects their internal components.
- Mold and Mildew Growth: Warm and humid conditions are perfect for the growth of mold and mildew, which can damage clothes, leather, books, and paper.
How Cold Temperatures Affect Stored Items:
- Brittleness: Cold can make materials like plastic and rubber brittle, which affects the usability of items such as toys and tools.
- Metal Contraction: In cold conditions, metals contract. This can alter the structural integrity of metal tools, machinery, or furniture.
The Significance of Humidity Control When Storing Items
Humidity levels are critical in maintaining the condition of your stored items. High humidity can lead to mold and mildew, which are harmful to various belongings. This is a particular risk for furniture, clothes, and important papers, as mold can cause damage and health problems.
Conversely, very low humidity can dry out items like wooden furniture, musical instruments, and leather goods, leading to cracking.
Climate-controlled storage facilities maintain optimal humidity levels, ensuring a balanced environment that protects your stored items from the harmful consequences of both high and low humidity.
Choosing a Climate-Controlled Storage Facility
When it comes to protecting your stored items, choosing a climate-controlled storage facility makes the greatest impact on the preservation of your possessions. There’s no denying that temperature changes can lead to damage.
A climate-controlled storage facility provides a consistent environment, protecting your belongings from extreme heat and cold.
Benefits of a climate-controlled storage facility include:
- Temperature stability: Protects items from extreme temperature fluctuations, preventing warping and cracking.
- Humidity control: Maintains optimal humidity levels, reducing the risk of mold and mildew growth on belongings like clothing and documents.
- Pest deterrence: The controlled environment helps deter pests that thrive in extreme conditions.
- Preservation of items: Enhances the longevity of stored possessions, ensuring they remain in excellent condition over time.
- Protection for specific items: Ideal for safeguarding sensitive items such as wooden furniture, musical instruments, electronics, and upholstered furniture.
By controlling the humidity and temperature of stored items, you can prevent the effects of temperature fluctuations on materials and ensure the long-term protection of your belongings.
Tips for Long-Term Storage
There’s more to storing your items than simply bagging or boxing them. Long-term storage requires proper preparation.
Here are a few crucial tips for preparing your items for the extended duration:
- Clean & dry items: By cleaning and thoroughly drying items, you can reduce the risk of mold and mildew growth. This applies to large home appliances like fridges, ovens, and dishwashers and small items like blankets, clothing, and other fabric items.
- Invest in quality packing materials: Avoid plastic bags and use high-quality boxes, bubble wraps, packing paper, furniture covers, vacuum-sealed bags, and other reliable packing materials that help properly store items. Consider using desiccant packets or moisture-absorbing products within sealed containers to maintain optimal humidity levels.
- Use pallets or shelves: Elevating items off the floor can help prevent water damage and allow air circulation. Pallets are a relatively cheap solution that can help.
- Regularly check on items: Schedule periodic visits to check on your storage unit to inspect your items and identify any issues.
Best Practices for Preserving Items For Long-Term Storage
Understanding Temperature and Humidity Control
Maintaining the right temperature and relative humidity is crucial for the preservation of architectural records. Aim for a temperature range between 65-70°F and a relative humidity level of 45-50%. Consistent monitoring is key. Use tools like a hygrothermograph, which can be in the form of pen & ink graphing systems or digital meters. These tools help track conditions over time, identifying potential problem areas in your storage spaces.
- Keep away from heat sources: Ensure storage areas are removed from radiators, heating pipes, and direct sunlight.
- Monitor systematically: Regular checks will reveal how your building adapts to seasonal changes and pinpoint areas needing attention.
- Collaborate with facility managers: They can provide insights into air handling systems and suggest solutions for identified issues.
Managing Environmental Conditions
It’s important to strike a balance. While drier conditions may cause materials to become brittle and difficult to handle, excessive humidity can foster mold growth and accelerate material degradation. Here are some considerations:
- Dry conditions: Can lead to problems such as book bindings becoming inflexible and materials shrinking or cracking.
- Humid conditions: Increase the risk of mold and speed up the decay of paper and plastic through acid hydrolysis.
Special Considerations for Photographs
For example photographic materials require cooler and drier conditions compared to other architectural materials. If certain collections are not frequently accessed, explore alternate storage spaces with even stricter control over temperature and humidity. When removing items from cold storage, allow them to acclimate to the surrounding environment before handling.
Additional Preservation Strategies
- Use proper storage solutions: Acid-free boxes and folders can protect records from environmental damage.
- Adopt safe handling practices: Train staff on proper handling techniques to prevent unnecessary wear and tear.
- Stay prepared for disasters: Have a disaster recovery plan in place to quickly address and recover from any potential threats.
By following these best practices, institutions can effectively safeguard their architectural records, ensuring their longevity and continued accessibility.
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