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Long term Storage - What to use


hirohawa

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I plan on putting some of the toys and empty boxes up in my attic and basement. What should I do to ensure that they will not get destroyed?

I know humidity can occur if I just wrap a plastic bag around it. Has anyone shrink wrapped their toys?

What long term storage methods have been proven against the elements?

Hopefully someone here can help.

Thanks

Steve

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well i've had some stuff in storage and one thing i can tell you as a fact, is to use those little silica bags that say "do not eat" on them. they suck up all the moisture/humidity that comes near them.

i have no idea where you can buy the but they do come in an array of food products and also come in the drawers of wood furniture(it keeps the wood from warping).

i(psycho)usually toss a silica bag when i box it up, wrap it with tissue paper then some bubble wrap, then into a large cardboard box. :ph34r:

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Hirohawa,

For small boxes, try storing them in totes, they are relatively strong and stackable (useful in small storage spaces).

For large boxes use a large box that you can assemble in the attic, line the inside with a plastic bag and tape and place the boxes inside. You can also fit boxes within boxes to make more room.

Once they are store, place a few moth balls in there to repel small animals (they just hate the smell).

And never forget to place or write an inventory on the box. This you will appreciate when you need to find something inside the boxes (or totes) without opening them.

;)

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Well actually, if you place the boxes up in the attic by themselves that would be just fine. Just remember there are small animals that do tend to navigate and use as shelter and breed in cardboard boxes.

I store most of my boxes and items in the aforementioned method. So far it has been 10 years and still working great. Everytime I open one box I place at least a handfull of mothballs to help detour small animals from wanting to get into the boxes.

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well i've had some stuff in storage and one thing i can tell you as a fact, is to use those little silica bags that say "do not eat" on them. they suck up all the moisture/humidity that comes near them.

i have no idea where you can buy the but they do come in an array of food products and also come in the drawers of wood furniture(it keeps the wood from warping).

i(psycho)usually toss a silica bag when i box it up, wrap it with tissue paper then some bubble wrap, then into a large cardboard box. :ph34r:

You can actually buy those by the can. You just leave it open at a place where you're trying to avoid humidity and it sucks it up. you see the can fill up with gel after a while... you throw it out and buy a new one or empty it out. Maybe you should buy some of those and put it in your basement/attic... come to think of it... so will I... :lol:

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I plan on putting some of the toys and empty boxes up in my attic and basement. What should I do to ensure that they will not get destroyed?

I know humidity can occur if I just wrap a plastic bag around it. Has anyone shrink wrapped their toys?

What long term storage methods have been proven against the elements?

Hopefully someone here can help.

Thanks

Steve

my room is excelet for toy storag.e send them here.

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well i've had some stuff in storage and one thing i can tell you as a fact, is to use those little silica bags that say "do not eat" on them.  they suck up all the moisture/humidity that comes near them.

i have no idea where you can buy the but they do come in an array of food products and also come in the drawers of wood furniture(it keeps the wood from warping).

i(psycho)usually toss a silica bag when i box it up, wrap it with tissue paper then some bubble wrap, then into a large cardboard box.  :ph34r:

You can actually buy those by the can. You just leave it open at a place where you're trying to avoid humidity and it sucks it up. you see the can fill up with gel after a while... you throw it out and buy a new one or empty it out. Maybe you should buy some of those and put it in your basement/attic... come to think of it... so will I... :lol:

no basement/attic for me, just a spare bedroom.

so they make it in a can? any idea what its called? i can get the little bags anytime(i work in a furniture store) but a whole can?, this i must see...especially for the summer time when the humidity gets bad in NYC.

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I would say use some dessicant packets and keep everything in the coolest, dryest place you can find. If you have a separately air conditioned room it would probably be best to keep it at a steady 70~75 degrees Farenheight (don't know if I spelled that right) with some sort of bug repellent plentiful and strategically placed. Just imagine if termites were to get to it without your knowledge, in NO TIME you'd have nothing but toys and droppings!

P.S. Does anyone have the calculation for farenheight to celcius for those of us who don't live in the us?

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The new "crystal" clear kitty litters are 100% cilica gel.  Save some money and make your own packets/cans.

:blink: Wow! I never heard of the idea of putting kitty litter with stuff I'm storing. Seriously though, thats a very intriguing idea!

Just don't use clay litter ;)

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  • 1 year later...

I just had an unpleasant surprise. I live in the bay area and there's lots o' fog about. Usually I don't think the inside of my house gets it too bad but every now and then I notice mold build up around the windows. Anyway, I just pulled a cardboard box out of my closet that I had stuffed with toys and a few of them have what appears to be the very early stages of water damage. :( The toys that I just threw in that closet all appear to be fine but for some reason, a few of the toys in that cardboard box look like they got the worse of it. I'm wondering if that cardboard box didn't somehow facilitate the water damage??? I dunno, glad I caught it now!

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Long term storage apparently is tricky.

I have everything in plastic totes sealed

in plastic wrap.

The totes make things easy for stacking

What i'm not sure about is the plastic wrap.

Will it retain or prevent water damage?

Either way this is temporary. Since

I'm trying different things out to protect

everything from potential damage.

I may try some of the suggestions already provided.

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I just had an unpleasant surprise.  I live in the bay area and there's lots o' fog about.  Usually I don't think the inside of my house gets it too bad but every now and then I notice mold build up around the windows.  Anyway, I just pulled a cardboard box out of my closet that I had stuffed with toys and a few of them have what appears to be the very early stages of water damage. :(  The toys that I just threw in that closet all appear to be fine but for some reason, a few of the toys in that cardboard box look like they got the worse of it.  I'm wondering if that cardboard box didn't somehow facilitate the water damage???  I dunno, glad I caught it now!

407098[/snapback]

A shame about your toys mate ....

:(

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I just had an unpleasant surprise.  I live in the bay area and there's lots o' fog about.  Usually I don't think the inside of my house gets it too bad but every now and then I notice mold build up around the windows.  Anyway, I just pulled a cardboard box out of my closet that I had stuffed with toys and a few of them have what appears to be the very early stages of water damage. :(  The toys that I just threw in that closet all appear to be fine but for some reason, a few of the toys in that cardboard box look like they got the worse of it.  I'm wondering if that cardboard box didn't somehow facilitate the water damage???  I dunno, glad I caught it now!

407098[/snapback]

Interesting, are your windows the older metal ones and not the doublepane glass ones? Also the proximity of the window to your closet will definitely affect the temperature in the closet. From my experience putting the items you want protected as far away from the windows or any open light source helps. Yes, at times I've even experimented with covering all the windows and seeing how it helps, to be honest it does help preserve the toys better. However, given how we are in the bay area, I'd be more concerned with protecting items in secure boxes as much as possible for the next large quake.

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Interesting, are your windows the older metal ones and not the doublepane glass ones? Also the proximity of the window to your closet will definitely affect the temperature in the closet.

You know, it's the damnedest thing about the moisture in my house, I sometimes think it's because I keep the windows in those rooms closed all the time that they get the moisture. Maybe they get moisture because the temperature outside is cold and the house is pretty toasty inside and it causes a condensation effect? Clearly I'm just pretty clueless about it. The windows are double-paned and seem to make a great seal when closed but the closet is in pretty close proximity to one. As a result of my discovery I placed all my most valuable boxes in a plastic tote with a desicant package. As an experiment I put a ton of MPCs in a big garbage bag and taped it sealed shut and left that in the closet where the old cardboard box was.

Side note, my biggest fear about earthquakes won't be the stuff I have stored (unless there's a fire) but rather all my display cases! Man, if those took a tumble it'd suck but I think the more realistic problem would be that the toys would fall over, bump the door open, and then fall to the floor.

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