Storage units are an excellent solution for saving space and keeping your personal belongings secure, but some items need a little extra attention if you plan on storing them for a long time. Wood, fabric, valuable art, and much more are vulnerable to damage from changing temperatures and humidity.
Luckily, climate controlled storage units are purpose-built to store items like these and many more. Here, we’ll go over ten things you should consider storing in a unit with predictable temperature and humidity to avoid damaging them.
Watch this video to learn more about climate-controlled storage:
Wooden and leather furniture
All types of wooden furniture are subject to damage when they’re exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity levels, and while some are more sensitive than others, they all benefit from being stored in a controlled environment. High humidity can lead to moisture collecting on furniture and rot or mold setting in, and high temperatures can dry out the wood and cause it to crack and split.
Here are some specific concerns that affect different types of wood:
- Pine: Common in interior furniture, but very susceptible to rot.
- Cedar: Rot-resistant, but can shrink and expand in extreme humidities.
- Mahogany: Susceptible to bugs and moisture.
- Teak: Can dry out in extreme heat.
A leather couch or chair can also be damaged by major changes in temperature, causing the upholstery to split or crack, and the wooden frame it’s built on can also be damaged. Humidity can also discolor leather pieces and cause mildew stains that are difficult to remove, but a controlled environment will help nullify these effects.
Electronics
From printers to PlayStations, extreme temperatures can cause irreversible damage to electronic devices. Cold temperatures can cause the metal parts inside your electronics to contract, putting pressure on the electrical connections within and sometimes causing them to break. This kind of damage can only be fixed by soldering if it can be fixed at all.
On the opposite end of the temperature spectrum, heat can cause those metal parts to expand, which also puts stress on those connections. Heat also invites humidity and moisture, which can rust those metal parts and short out important connections. If you’re not careful, your device will come out of the unit as a very expensive brick.
Any object with electronic circuits inside is best stored using climate control. Keeping these electronics out of extreme temperatures and humidities ensures that they’ll stay in good working condition when it’s time to unload your storage unit.
Artwork and art supplies
Are you an art collector or an artist yourself? Climate-controlled storage units are an excellent option to protect priceless artifacts and your own masterpieces alike. Visual art canvases, textiles, and other materials are best stored in cabinets or tubes at around 50% humidity and a temperature between 70-75°F.
High humidity can easily damage canvases and wooden frames, leaving them with cracks and mold, while low humidity can cause fabric and wood to dry out and become brittle. Sudden temperature rises or drops can also cause paint to flake, wood to warp and paper to crumble. A climate-controlled unit will protect your art from these dangers, as well as keep UV light from fading the paints and pests from eating away at your canvas.
Art and craft supplies will also benefit from a controlled climate. Sewing machines can have their electronics damaged by humidity, for example, while unused canvases and frames are just as susceptible to environmental damage as they are after use.
Antiques and collectibles
A stable environment is best for antiques of all kinds, as they’re even more prone to damage than newer furniture. Rare collectibles can also be damaged by moisture and temperature changes, making climate control a necessity when storing them. The ideal humidity level for preserving such items is between 35% and 65%, with room temperature best kept between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Let’s go over a few specific kinds of collectibles and how they can be damaged:
- Coins. Extreme temperatures and humidity can cause unwanted oxidation or rust in coins, with copper and silver being some of the most vulnerable materials.
- Stamps. High temperatures and humidity can cause stamps to curl and their adhesive to run, while low temperatures can dry them out and light can cause their inks to fade.
- Comic books. Paper goods like comic books are easily damaged by moisture, and old comics with lower-quality paper are some of the worst offenders. Humidity can cause the pages to sustain water damage and permanent stains.
Musical instruments
Beginners and virtuosos alike should consider climate control if they’re storing an instrument. Different instruments will be damaged in different ways, so let’s take a look at how climate control can prevent that damage.
- Pianos. Even though they’re built to last a long time with proper maintenance, a piano can easily be damaged by high humidity. Metal strings can rust and break, wood can warp, and the glue that holds the thousands of joints together can lose its adhesive properties.
- Guitars. High humidity can rust your strings, while low humidity can cause them to contract. Both can lead to breakage, potentially damaging your guitar’s bridge. The wood in the guitar can warp as well, permanently altering its ability to play the notes you want it to or be tuned properly.
- Brass instruments. While short-term storage of a well-maintained trumpet or other brass instrument is unlikely to lead to damage, storing brass for a long period of time can cause materials such as felt, rubber, and cork to break down if exposed to extreme temperatures.
- Drums. Percussion instruments are made of many different materials that can warp and become brittle in extreme temperatures. Metal joints can rust, wooden drums can develop mildew, and drum skins can become brittle and break.
- Woodwinds. The “wood” part of “woodwind” can easily expand, contract, mildew, or crack in bad weather. Other wind instruments with fewer wooden parts can also develop mold or have their pads and valves expand, leading to detuning and expensive repairs.
Wine
Specialty wine storage exists for a reason! Extreme temperature, humidity, vibration, and light exposure can all lead to wine developing an unpleasant taste for different reasons. Climate-controlled storage, and wine cellars in particular, go the extra mile to protect wine bottles from all these potential dangers at once.
Wine also requires a degree of humidity to be properly stored, as too little moisture in the air can cause the cork to break down and leak. It’s best to store corked bottles on their side to keep the liquid against the corks and make sure they don’t dry out. Extra protection from light and vibration can keep the flavor from oxidizing and the sediment from becoming unsettled.
Plenty of other valuable alcohols require climate-controlled storage to maintain their quality and flavor, such as expensive whiskeys and other aged liquors.
Clothing
While some fabrics are hardier than others, all kinds of clothes will benefit from a predictable environment. Delicate fabrics like laces, linens, and leathers are some of the most susceptible to moisture damage, leading to mold and odors that just won’t come out. Pests can also find their way into an improperly secured unit and eat holes through your favorite vintage wear.
Alongside a controlled climate, it’s best to store clothes hanging up in garment bags. These protect from excess moisture and temperature while allowing a little airflow so any moisture doesn’t become trapped. Less delicate clothes are best stored in plastic bins that pests can’t eat through and moisture can’t sneak into; try using them as insulation for other objects that need it.
In a controlled environment, your clothes will easily come out of long-term storage as good as they were when you put them away.
Books and documents
Paper items, such as antique books and important documents, do not get along with extreme humidity. Too much moisture will cause mold stains and degraded bindings; too little will cause covers and pages to become brittle. A consistent 50% relative humidity with a temperature around 70 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect for maintaining paper goods.
Light is also an important concern when storing documents and books. UV light, in particular, will cause the ink on pages to fade and the pages themselves to yellow. Indoor lighting isn’t as damaging, but it can still speed up this degradation. Climate-controlled storage units isolate your paper goods from all external light so they won’t fade.
Photographs
The ink used to print developed photos is particularly sensitive to humidity. Too much moisture can cause photos to stick together, with no easy way to separate them safely. With the wrong kind of paper in a photo album, moisture can also cause pages to degrade and release damaging acids into your important photos.
Heat and light are also worth protecting your photos from, as both will cause your photos to fade away and age faster. Low temperatures can also damage and crack any photo negatives you happen to be storing, rendering them completely unusable.
To prevent all this potential damage of important memories, keep your photos in an acid-free album and make sure you store them in a climate-controlled storage unit at a temperature between 65 and 70 degrees.
Mattresses
A mattress can be an expensive investment, and that investment goes down the drain if you allow moisture or temperature changes to damage it. Mold and mildew are some of the worst offenders that can damage mattresses beyond cleaning or repair, so keep them in a controlled, well-ventilated unit that can keep moisture and pests from collecting.
Remember to always store your mattress flat so it maintains its structure, and don’t store heavy items on top that could damage the springs. Extreme temperature changes can also cause the springs to expand and contract, degrading your mattress’s quality over time.
How to find climate-controlled storage units
By now, you should understand why climate control is a must for several kinds of commonly stored items. It often costs a bit more than standard storage without a controlled environment, but the payoff is well worth it if you’d like to avoid repairing and replacing important belongings.
Ready to start searching for the perfect place to keep your delicate items? We can help! Use Storage.com’s built-in search tool to compare prices and features of the top-rated facilities near you, and book through our site to receive discounted monthly rates.
