Tips for preventing mold in your Self Storage unit
Self-storage rooms are useful when it comes to tidying up your home for some more space.
But if you are a self storage unit user, you might have experienced ‘mold’ in your storage unit.
In this article, we show you some tips on how to prevent mold in self storage units.
ACs are the first thing you should look for
Moisture (Humidity) and suboptimal temperatures are one of the main causes of mold growth.
Below shows the condition where it is prone to mold growth.
- Relative Humidity of 60 – 70% or above
- Temperature of 20 – 30 degrees Celsius or above
- There are mold spores, dust or food source in the room.
What you can primarily do is to choose an air-conditioned self storage unit,
and choose the facility that perform humidity check regularly.
On the other hand, if you choose a normal storage unit, you might experience these problems:
- Mold growth
- Dispersed mold spores
- Musty smells
Self storage units with ACs?
There are 3 types of self storage units. Each one has its own pros and cons.
- Indoor Self Storage
- Box Storage (Door-to-door Delivery)
- Outdoor Self Storage
Let’s look at some pros and cons.
Indoor Self Storage
Indoor type is the most popular when it comes to storing things that are prone to mold.
Indoor self storage units are units that are in a building. Most self storage facilities provide AC units,
units that are air-conditioned. Most places also perform humidity check regularly,
so mold growth problems are rare. Besides, you can access your units 24/7
and this makes indoor type a very good option for storing. The con of this type is that it
can be expensive if you want to store a lot of things.
Box Storage (Door-to-door Delivery)
Box storage is another good option for storing things that are susceptible to mold.
How it works is that the service provider, usually indoor type storage provider,
will bring boxes to your house for you to pack your possessions in. Then, the staff will bring the boxes
back to the storage facility and keep them for you. Usually, the boxes will be stored in a climate-controlled
room to ensure that they are always in the same condition as when picked up from your house.
The con is that, like the indoor type, this service can be expensive, and you cannot access your boxes any time.
You will have to contact the staff first and they will bring the boxes to you.
Outdoor Self Storage
Outdoor type is not so suitable for mold-prone things.
The pro of outdoor self storage or container storage is that they are cheap.
The con is that they don’t usually provide ACs.
So if you are looking for a unit for your moisture-sensitive stuff, say clothes or paintings,
the indoor type or the box storage might be better.
However, ACs are not the ultimate solution
Even though you rent an AC-unit, if the relative humidity is high, water drops can form on
your storage wall and they can cause the mold to grow. So to be safe,
we show you how you can prevent mold growth even more.
Use dehumidifiers or desiccants
Using a dehumidifier or desiccants can help bring the humidity down and therefore can prevent mold growth.
If you want to use a dehumidifier, you will usually have to plug it in to a power outlet.
But if there is no power outlet in your storage room, desiccants are a better solution.
There are many types of desiccants; they come in boxes, bags, etc.
But most desiccants contain either one of these 2 chemicals.
- Sodium Chloride: Also known as table salt. It can absorb moisture up to 300% – 400% of its weight.
- Silica gel: It might not be able to absorb moisture as much as that Sodium Chloride can, but it can be reused.
After leaving it in your unit for a period of time, just put it under the sun for a few hours and it is ready to be reused.
The best spot to put a dehumidifier is in the center of the unit, and the best spots for desiccants are the 4 corners
of the unit. If you happen to store some pairs of shoes, putting desiccants in the shoes in also a good way to prevent mold.
A pallet is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift.
We can use pallets for self storage units too. Pallets allow air to flow between your things and the floor.
Giving some space for air flow will make it less damp and more dry.
Don’t put your things too close to the wall
Leave some space between your things and the wall, about 10 cm to let air flows and
to prevent dampness which is a cause of mold.
Don’t put too many things into the unit
Each piece or box should be placed apart. Leave a small gap to allow air to pass through.
Try not to put too many things in the unit. If there is not enough space, you may want to consider a bigger unit.
Clean the unit periodically
Dust and food source are also causes of mold growth. Your unit might look clean,
but every time you go in there you also bring in some dust with you. Cleaning takes some time,
but you will thank yourself later for keeping the unit cleaned.
To sum up
You can prevent mold growth by choosing an air-conditioned unit, checking the humidity level, cleaning the unit periodically. Uses of desiccants and placing your things properly help prevent mold even better.
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Looking for a self storage unit?
Please feel free to contact us at
https://system.keep-it-th.com/getaquotation/en
We have AC units!!
Tel: 094-313-8448
Email : sales@keep-it-th.com
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