You don't how much you have...

[thehistorian]

Until you have to move it...

Stick with me a moment and then I'll alsk the real question...

So my roommate owns a local restaurant and the building he is in, gets purchased. The new landlord tells him to get out at the end of the month (there was screaming about him being a stupid, dirty American and that she had millions and he had nothing, but that is another story). He has been at this location for more than a decade and really wasn’t expecting to be kicked to the curb. So in order to move to a new location he has been forced to sell his home, in which I rent a room. This forces me to move as well. In the midst of all this chaos, I’ve found a new job. It’s my last day here and as you can see… I’m really working hard. LOL

So here is my question, due to the afore mentioned drama I’m forced to store my collection in a storage unit in here in Florida. Humidity will be an issue, as will heat.

Any ideas on how I can keep things safe for a few months? Cardboard likes to bend in humid places, and I’m not sure what I should add to the boxes to combat it…

[Jibbajaba]

Well what you need is a dessicant, like those little "DO NOT EAT" pouches you find in new clothes and shoes (I believe it's silica gel in those things). Anhydrous calcium chloride pellets make an excellent dessicant if you can get that stuff. Any possibility you could invest in some plastic bins with lids for your stuff instead of cardboard boxes? That would help a lot as well since cardboard is pretty porous stuff. There isnt much point in using a dessicant unless you put you games into a container that will at least partially restrict air flow. Now that I think about it, you could wrap the cardboard boxes in garbage bags and tie them off really tight if you dont want to get the plastic bins. Still get some dessicant though.

Chris

[goatdan]

Depends on what you're storing, really. I don't have any worries about storing things in plastic cases outdoors as long as you can keep things dry. Basically, the only problem I'd really worry about if that was what you were looking at storing (such as Dreamcast, Playstation, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, etc games in cases or just about any cartridge by itself) would be ensuring the boxes they are stored in done get wet. I would strongly suggest the big ol' plastic bins they have at Target or some other place for about $5.00 apeice. They work great, but don't seal airtight.

If you have things you are more conserned about getting damaged that are in paper boxes (All Atari systems, NES, SNES, Virtual Boy, N64, etc) then I would suggest looking for a more airtight solution. The biggest problem is that if water gets in and just sits around, it will greatly screw up those boxes. Even if it isn't much. If an airtight container isn't a possibility, make sure they aren't somewhere that they can get wet (IE off the floor) and keep the boxes as open as possible. If you can't keep the water out, make sure that it has the freedom to leave for when it gets in. Otherwise, it will only make things worse.

Good luck! I've been in that sort of situation before! Most of my larger boxes from my collection are currently stored in my basement storage area which has a crack that leaks constantly, so I've been really challenged to keep them nice. So far, so good :)

[thehistorian]

Now that I think about it, you could wrap the cardboard boxes in garbage bags and tie them off really tight if you dont want to get the plastic bins. Still get some dessicant though.

Chris

Ah, see.. and great solution.

It isn't large amounts of water like rain. It's the humidity level of this area that worries me. Today we have 45%, but the seasonal average is 72%.

[it290]

Try to get a storage unit that is either indoors, or one that doesn't have a metal roof. That will help with the heat issue.

[Sothy]

Get that thing on tv that you put your vacuum to those bags and it sucks all the air out. I always wanted one of those.

[Graham Mitchell]

Get that thing on tv that you put your vacuum to those bags and it sucks all the air out. I always wanted one of those.

I bought these when I moved across the country. They have some issues. First, they put an incredible amount of pressure on their contents (actually the outside air puts a lot of pressure on them, but that's a whole physics lecture) such that my clothes that were in it were hard as a rock. I could've broken somebody's skull with a shirt.

On top of that, the seals are unreliable. Somewhere in Wyoming all the bags started to overinflate and block our view through the rear-view mirrors. While it's a good idea, Sothy, they kind of need to perfect that product a little before I'd put anything moderately expensive in them.

[Ninjafingers]

Now that I think about it, you could wrap the cardboard boxes in garbage bags and tie them off really tight if you dont want to get the plastic bins. Still get some dessicant though.

Chris

Ah, see.. and great solution.

It isn't large amounts of water like rain. It's the humidity level of this area that worries me. Today we have 45%, but the seasonal average is 72%.

Oh man, I know what you're going through. We went to Jacksonville a year or so back and at 8 o'clock in the morning it felt like it was 2 p.m. everywhere else.

As to your problem, I've found that the thick Rubbermaid containers that seal are pretty darn good and I believe they guarantee to keep things protected up to 100 degrees. However, it does get hot in Florida and these containers may not fully protect your stash. In fact, things inside the containers may warp, even though they're sealed.

What you could do is find an indoor storage facility and use that, since it's climate controlled. Around here, an old grocery store has been converted into one. Good luck.

[Funk Buddy]

Yep, desiccants will be your best bet. You can get large ones that can be reused/regenerated by putting them in the oven.

http://www.multisorb.com/products/desiccants
http://www.desiccare.com/Default.htm

This is kind of a neat one:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007LOXYQ/102-1155581-6296121

[Stark]

Whatever storage containers you end up using I would bring along either a few 2x4's or some wood pallets to keep the boxes/bins off the ground in case of a flood. This might sound a bit overkill but just buy some plastic bins at walmart, seal them with duct tape and place them in a large garbage bag then put them off the ground on the wood. No worries about water then! Just don't stack the bins too high up in case they fall over. Indoor storage would help the humidity issue but water leaking would still be a big concern.

[l_lamb]

A climate-controlled unit would be the best solution, but they're usually more expensive. The previous suggestion to put everything on 2 X 4's (or pallets) so air can flow all around is a good idea. You can also get some of these:

http://www.damprid.dsiwebbuilder.com/index.asp?cat=40020

Get the refillable buckets and a carton or two of extra pellets. You'll have to go by and dump the water out of the bottom of the buckets or it will eventually rise to the level of the pellets and dissolve them. You can get them at Lowe's or Home Depot. The buckets are about $4 each and the carton of pellets is about $3 and will fill the small buckets 4 times.

You'll be amazed at how much water these pellets remove from the air.

[Iron Draggon]

Gee, don't they have air-conditioned units in Florida? I wouldn't care what it cost, if I had to put all my games in storage, they'd have to be in a nice cool indoor unit. They have those all over the place here in Texas. Surely they do in Florida as well. The humidity there is as bad as it is here, I've been there.

BTW, my concern would be more for your carts getting hotter than they should. I once had a temporary loss of power in my apartment that lasted several days. I had to move everything as close as I could get it to an open window. Fortunately my apartment had a window that was one floor above any way to get to it from the outside, so leaving it open wasn't a problem. It was also situated in a way that there was no way that any rain could get blown into it if it rained, so I totally lucked out. Otherwise I would've had to move all my games to my parent's house temporarily, to keep them all safe.

Anyhow, remember that carts aren't able to withstand temperatures as high as those that CD's can withstand, and CD's can begin to warp at fairly low temps. CD rot may also be a concern, and from what I understand, the theory is that it's caused by moisture, so those dessicants are a very good idea regardless. They should be replaced every 6 months. Those pellets can only absorb a certain amount of moisture before they can't absorb anymore.

If your storage unit isn't air conditioned, I would say that heat is gonna be just as much of a concern as humidity. So if you can get one with electrical outlets, plug in as many fans as you can, and place them in every corner. A good energy efficient fan shouldn't use much electricity, even blowing on high nonstop. Just make sure they're all as new as possible, so there's no risk of one shorting out and causing a fire while you're not around to monitor it. It's probably worth it to just go with an air conditioned unit though, because if you use fans, you're gonna be billed for all the electricity they use anyway.