Top 10 Types of Items that Need Climate-Controlled Storage
Do you need climate-controlled storage for your belongings? It depends on what you’re storing! Many people are surprised by which possessions require climate-controlled storage, so we put together this helpful guide on the top ten items that do best when stored under temperature-controlled conditions.
10. Sports Equipment
This one often surprises many people, as football helmets, baseball bats, and other soccer balls are usually seen as durable. The issue is that excess heat can degrade the seals that allow sports balls to be inflated, melt the adhesives along baseball bats’ grips, and damage the integrity of a helmet’s protection. Short-term storage for some equipment should be fine, but always be careful with your high-quality balls and sports safety equipment and consider a climate-controlled storage option.
9. Plastics (including toys)
Plastics, while usually durable, are sensitive to heat and will grow brittle over time. While short-term storage in non-temperature controlled units will be fine, particularly during cooler months, be careful with your children’s action figures, Barbie dolls, or Nerf and water guns. Nothing’s more disappointing than bringing the summer toys out of storage only to find they’ve grown brittle and unusable.
8. Electronics and Appliances
High temperatures can essentially render electronics and appliances useless. Anything with wiring that you plug into an electrical socket requires climate-controlled storage, as excess heat can damage sensitive internal parts.
7. Artwork
Whether it’s a Rembrandt painting or your children’s macaroni pictures, climate-controlled storage is the best choice, as high temperatures and humidity can ruin artwork by corrupting paint colors and causing adhesives, like glue, to degrade.
6. Photographs
Don’t risk losing years of photos by not using a climate-controlled storage unit to keep your photo albums safe. Excessive exposure to humidity can cause photos to curl and distort. And prolonged exposure to excessive heat will cause a photograph’s image to separate from its base–which will mean priceless memories ruined.
5. CDs, DVDs, and Video Game Cartridges
Excessive heat will cause any object to expand slightly. For sensitive objects like CDs, DVDs, and video game cartridges, that means corrupted data. Even the slightest damage might prevent your disks and cartridges from functioning properly. And while VHS tapes tend to do better with heat, we still recommend climate-controlled storage to keep them safe.
4. Makeup and Medicines
Anyone who has left lipstick in the car knows that makeup will melt in even moderately high temperatures. It’s important to note that many of your medicines are similarly negatively affected by the heat. A good general rule of thumb is: if you keep it in your medicine cabinet or a drawer beneath the bathroom sink, it probably will benefit from climate-controlled storage.
3. Wine and Other Consumables
A fine-aged wine is a delicious thing, but climate-controlled storage is necessary for it to remain delicious. Increased heat can damage the long-term flavor of a wine, but what’s even more likely in a hot storage unit is that the corks will expand and come loose from the bottle. That means ruined wine–and a serious mess.
2. Important Documents
Storage units are a great way to keep your important documents safe—but note that climate-controlled storage is a must. Excess heat can cause important documents to wilt, and humidity can cause them to curl and ripple, or worse—ruin them entirely.
1. Batteries
Last, but certainly not least, batteries are an extremely important item to store in climate-controlled storage units. While heat will certainly damage a battery, reducing its effectiveness, the reason we’ve listed this one number one is because hot batteries are a fire hazard. Whether it’s AAA batteries or a rechargeable Lithium cell—power cells need to be stored safely in a unit that protects against heat and humidity.
Looking for a climate-controlled storage unit option? STASH Storage has you covered, with secure temperature-controlled spaces available today. You can get a free quote from STASH here. And for more valuable tips about storage, be sure to check out our Storage Unit Tips and Tricks; 7 Ways to Use Your Space!
