Alright, let’s talk about something we all hate here in Arkansas: that thick, soupy air in the summer. You know the feeling. You walk outside, and it’s like you have to push your way through it. It’s miserable for your hair, but it’s a straight-up disaster for anything you’ve got sitting in storage.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had folks come to us with a heartbreaking story. They pulled their grandmother’s wooden hope chest out of their garage, and the lid was warped shut forever. Or they opened a box of old photos to find them all stuck together in a solid, moldy brick. It’s the worst. That muggy air gets everywhere, and it doesn’t forgive.
But listen, you can beat it. It’s not rocket science. You just have to be a little bit smarter than the weather. Here’s the real, no-BS advice I give all my friends and customers.
First, You Gotta Clean Your Stuff. For Real
I know, it’s the last thing you want to do when you’re moving. But trust me on this. Dirt and spills are like a welcome mat for mold.
- That patio furniture? Don’t just hose it down and throw it in. Scrub it with a little soapy water and let it bake in the sun for a day until every single part of it is bone-dry. I mean, tap on the metal parts dry.
- That old bookshelf? Wipe it down inside and out. Get the dust out of the corners. Dust holds moisture.
- Your clothes and fabrics? Don’t just toss them in a trash bag. Wash them first. The oils from your skin are still on them, and mold loves that. Use a cardboard box? Absolutely not. In our humidity, a cardboard box is a fancy mold incubator. It soaks up moisture like a sponge, gets all soft, and then the silverfish and roaches move in for the feast. It’s a nightmare.
Go to the store and invest in some of those plastic totes with the lids that click shut. The solid-colored ones are best. They’re your first, best line of defense. They create a hard shell that tells the damp air to take a hike.
Get It Off the Floor. I Don’t Care How You Do It
This is the simplest, cheapest, most effective trick in the book. Concrete might feel solid, but it breathes moisture. If your stuff is sitting right on the floor, it’s basically soaking up that dampness all day long.
Go down to the local hardware store and grab a couple of the cheapest wooden pallets they have. Or even just some scrap 2x4s. Lay them down and put your stuff on top. That tiny pocket of airspace is a game-changer. It lets air flow underneath and keeps everything high and dry.
Your Secret Weapon: The Thirsty Buckets
For like five bucks, you can buy a bucket of DampRid. It’s just a bucket of crystals that is thirstier than you are after mowing the lawn in July. You open it, set it in the corner of your storage unit, and it just silently sucks water right out of the air. A few months later, you’ll see it’s collected a whole bucket of water, and you’ll feel like a certified genius.
Also, those little “do not eat” packets that come in new shoes and purses? Start saving them. Toss a handful into each of your plastic totes before you seal them. They’re free moisture magnets.
Okay, So Where Do We Fit In?
Look, I own Downtown Mini Storage. We’re not some giant, faceless corporation. We’re your neighbors. We started this business because we were tired of seeing people get burned.
A standard storage unit is great for a lot of things—tires, tools, things that can handle the elements. But for the things that matter? Your family photos, your wedding dress, that expensive leather sofa? You need to bring in the big guns.
That’s exactly why we built climate-controlled units. It’s not a marketing gimmick. It’s a sealed-up space where we run dehumidifiers and air conditioning 24/7 to keep the air as dry and cool as your living room. It’s the ultimate cheat code. It’s the difference between hoping your stuff will be okay and knowing it will be. My wife made me put our own family photo albums in one. She was right.
The Takeaway
It all boils down to this: don’t make it easy for the humidity to win.
- DO clean and dry everything until you’re sick of it.
- DO use plastic tubs, always.
- DO get everything up on pallets.
- DO use DampRid or those little silica packets.
- DON’T be lazy and use cardboard.
- DON’T ever store anything that feels even a little damp.
Be smarter than the weather. A little bit of work now will save you from a real heartache down the road. And if you’ve got the really important stuff, you know where to find us. We’re here to help you keep it safe.
0 Comments