We started getting prices for storage facilities along the Wash. State coast(1 mile from ocean and 1/2 mile from bay) and have come across many that are heated. Was told by one that this is a necessity since there is alot of humidity, rain, etc and could destroy most paper, books, documents, and pictures due to mold/mildew. Is this correct or a marketing pitch? EVERYTHING will be in storage until the house is finished, probably in 6 months- we hope. Of course we are cheap and don’t want to pay for the luxury if it is not needed.
Thanks in advance. -Brian
Replies
I can't answer your question on my own experience. Two of my past clients, moving here from upper N.W. Washington state said they left the "state of mildew". One even had a little chant that I can't recall but remember as sounding very cute, possibly a local children's hopscotch chant. Anyway heated storage-- couldn't hourt!
I'm up in B.C. (wet coast of Canada, but you knew that...). and have stored in lockers before...result, .....mildew...so go for it. I don't think the cost went up that much.If it is to be.... 'twil be done by me.
Absolutely !!
It is a must !!
I have the tons of moldy, mildewy, crinkled, and just plain warped books to prove it. I even have a contract with a rainbow of molds and mildews on it, that was kept inside a sealed fireproof box...
Lots of things will be affected that you would never have thought of, as well.
Unheated...good for a month or so. Maybe.
Go for the heated one.
A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.
Quittin' Time
That's what it is Luka.... You lack a heated enviroment.
Fix it an you should be on the road to recovery, well sorta any ways.
People here in Southern California don't know how lucky we are. We never had mildew grow unless we went on vacation and a hot water line broke. When Calif. Lawyers see mold, the call it "toxic mold". It it real common to use calcium chloride (Drizid) to pull are the moisture out of the air? Is silica gel used a lot too? I hear that it can be so humid that you are still sticky even when in a shower. Tell me how bad it is when it is humid. Maybe it will keep Californians from invading your states.
It's humid in the winter, usually because it is raining.
In the summer, it can get hot, but it's usually a dry heat. We were at 98 degrees yesterday with 22% humidity. I've never had that problem being sticky in the shower, except when I spent a few years in the midwest.
Oh, wait... Yeah, it's really awful here!... don't even bother visiting. We all live here because we're masochists, but Arizona is much nicer for Californians to move to. Try New Mexico too.
I use the dri-z-air stuff in my trailer. Wouldn't work in a storage unit, unless you want to visit your stuff every month and empty the water and add new chemical.
Well, I've lived in the Pacific North Wet since the late 70's and I don't mind the climate anymore. You can pretty much count on a couple sunny days a week in summer and all that talk about the rain is overblown - in fact, I'm pretty sure the constant drizzle is why we have all these big arsed trees here.
You don't ever hear anyone saying they got skin cancer from too much rain, have you? Or spending their hard earned dollars (Canadians $1.50's) for "rain glasses" or "rain screen" to slather all over their bodies, do you?
You don't ever hear anyone saying they got skin cancer from too much rain, have you? Or spending their hard earned dollars (Canadians $1.50's) for "rain glasses" or "rain screen" to slather all over their bodies, do you?
Nope. We use Rust-oleum and Moss-B-Gone. :)
I live a bit inland from the South Oregon coast and, while summers here are usually dry and pretty hot, from about June to Oct., with very little rain, late Fall is when the relative humidity rises and the mildew wars can begin in unheated spaces.
My problem has not been the mold and mildew so much as keeping that orange patina of rust forming on bright or machined surfaces of tools. Since my shop is only heated when I'm using it, I use a variety of methods to keep machine tables, handsaws, chisel steel, etc., from rusting.
If I was in your situation, I would rent the heated storage.
Migraine -
We don't call it the Evergreen state for nothing: Everything is green, even the sidewalks.
We bought a dehumidifier to put in the room of the house we're remodeling where we're storing stuff from our present home. We go up there (Seattle to Mt. Vernon) on the weekends to work on it. Every week, the reservoir is completely full (over a gallon of water capacity).
Any paper or fabric articles are at risk in unheated spaces during the winter around here, even more so the nearer the coast you get. A mile from the coast you may even be subjected to salt air from the ocean as well.
Turn the heat up!
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Now, when a storage facility says that their units are heated they are basically saying that nothing will freeze. I think the units are usually only heated to about 50-55 degrees via a hydronic heating system.
Personally I wouldn't waste my money on a heated unit. Rent a normal storage unit , and replace the light bulb with socket oulet and plug in your own heater. Individual units are not metered for power.
"plug in your own heater. The units aren't metered."
I agree this sounds better but put a 15amp trip strip to plug into. Check your unit regulary,(I often check my unit,-oops-sorry).
Anyway this might protect you from an overload or short that might make for a worse problem than mold.
Also protect you from getting caught violating any agreement with the storage facility.
2 or 3 years ago I rented a 10 x 12 "heated" storage unit in Anchorage AK for a few monthes during the winter. The fin tube was at the rear of the unit and pretty small. I brought in some stuff that had snow & ice on it, left it towards the front of the unit. Came back by 2 or 3 weeks later and most of the snow and ice was still there. My guess, the back 1/3rd was maybe heated to 40 degrees and the front was just a bit warmer than outside.
Every storage unit that I have ever used here, had fire regulations against using your own heater. If they caught you using a heater, you would come back next time, and find all your stuff in the dumpster, and a big fine from the fire dept in your mail. (If you were lucky !)
Aside from that, every one of them also had the light in the unit, on a timer. You gonna go back every 45 minutes to an hour and a half and turn the lights back on ? LOL
A good heart embiggins even the smallest person.
Quittin' Time