The purpose of owning a safe is to keep valuable items protected from losses, such as thefts, fading, fires and water damage. The next step to keeping your items secure is to protect them from incidents that may occur from within the safe, such as mold and mildew damage. When exposed to mold, coins, jewelry, firearms, passports, deeds, birth certificates and other items lose their value or effectiveness. By preventing moisture in a safe, you’ll keep your belongings in good condition and retain their worth.
Items that Require Protection from Moisture and Humidity
- Paper documents: Excess humidity or trapped moisture inside a safe creates a breeding ground for mold and mildew, especially when documents serve as a food source.
- Photographs and negatives: Excess moisture in a safe can cause pictures to deteriorate or stick to each other, glass frames, and other surfaces. The same is true for film negatives, which also break down when exposed to high humidity levels for too long.
- Coins: While an interesting patina on coins can make them look unique, high humidity levels can make them tarnish and decrease in value.
- Firearms: Moisture on firearms leads to rust and corrosion on the metal parts, as well as deterioration of wooden stocks.
Tips for Preventing Mold in a Safe
- Open the safe every two weeks and let it air out for 20 minutes.
- Place pictures, valuable coins, jewelry, and other delicate items in airtight containers before storing them in a safe.
- Store a safe in a dry area of a home or building. Avoid high humidity areas, such as basem*nts.
- Ensure the airtight seal on the safe is intact.
- Ensure the items that you place in a safe are dry before storing them.
- Use a box of baking soda, pouches filled with charcoal, a small jar filled with cat litter, or desiccant packs inside a safe to absorb dampness and reduce odors. Replace baking soda, charcoal pouches, and cat litter every six months. If using desiccant packs, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- If you have a larger safe or live in an area with high relative humidity levels, consider using an electric dehumidifier within the safe. These devices contain a desiccant material that absorbs excess moisture. After the dehumidifier absorbs the maximum amount of moisture, you simply plug it into an outlet or place it in a low-heat oven to dry out the device and use it again.
- Acclimatize a new safe before using it. When you purchase a safe during the winter, it may feel cool to the touch when you bring it indoors. Incidentally, condensation may form in and around the safe. Acclimatizing the safe while keeping the door open for 24 hours prevents you from trapping excess moisture.
What to Do if Items in a Safe become Moldy
As soon as you notice mold or a musty smell, remove the items from the safe and allow them to air out in a dry environment that has good air circulation. Clean the safe using a bleach-based cleaner to kill the mold within it. As you clean the safe, inspect it for areas that may have allowed moisture to enter, such as broken seals.
Clean and dry the contents of the safe before storing them again. You may require professional cleaning and restoration services to assist with this task. When documents or photos have mold growth, for example, a document restoration service will use gentle, effective cleaning techniques that restore items and prevent future damage.
Staying dry is the key to preventing mold in a safe. Follow the safe manufacturer’s instructions regarding the best types of desiccants to use in your safe to keep the contents within it mold-free. If mold already affected delicate or irreplaceable items, contact a restoration specialist, like Polygon. The sooner you call the less of a chance you give to mold to do more damage.
FAQs
Ensure the items that you place in a safe are dry before storing them. Use a box of baking soda, pouches filled with charcoal, a small jar filled with cat litter, or desiccant packs inside a safe to absorb dampness and reduce odors. Replace baking soda, charcoal pouches, and cat litter every six months.
How to keep papers dry in a safe? ›
To help prevent this from happening, you should plan to air your safe out at least every two weeks for a minimum of 20 minutes each time. You can also invest in a small packet of silica gel, the same packets that are used to keep moisture out of boxes and bags. It will help absorb moisture in your safe.
Why is everything in my safe damp? ›
Fireproof safes, due to their design, are well-insulated and airtight, making them prone to trapping moisture inside. This trapped moisture creates the perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew, especially when the safe's contents, such as paper documents, serve as a food source.
How do you prevent mold in stored items? ›
Using moisture-absorbing products like desiccant packets or silica gel to keep moisture out of storage containers. Ensure your items are completely dry before storing them, and consider placing a moisture barrier like plastic sheeting at the bottom of the container.
What can I spray to prevent mold? ›
Concrobium Mold Control effectively eliminates and prevents mold with no bleach, ammonia or VOCs. Concrobium works as it dries by crushing the mold spores at the source, leaving behind an invisible antimicrobial barrier to prevent future mold growth.
What are 3 ways to prevent mold? ›
Summary of mold prevention
- Mold is favored by a high humidity – keep your property below 60-65% humidity.
- Keep an eye out for water leaks in your property and clean them up straight away.
- Be mindful that opening windows isn't always the solution to venting your home.
If your safe is in a location without electrical power access, silica gel desiccants can be appropriate for keeping humidity at bay.
How do you store paper in a safe? ›
There are two additional tips on how to keep documents dry in a safe. For a complete peace of mind, equip your safe with a dehumidifier which will regulate the level of moisture in it, and keep your documents in plastic page slips.
How do you make paper moisture resistant? ›
To waterproof paper, coat it in paraffin or bees wax. Start by melting it in a pot or crock pot over medium heat until it's liquid. Then, use a pair of tongs to dip your paper completely into the pot. If your pot's too small to fit your paper in one go, turn it around and dip it in again.
How to keep money from molding in safe? ›
Therefore, it's crucial that your storage location (a safe, ideally) be humidity controlled at between 30-50% humidity, and ideally kept in a climate-controlled room between at no more than 75 degrees fahrenheit. Again, the lower the temp the better, and the lower on the range of humidity, the better.
Over a long period of time moisture in a gun safe will cause metals to corrode. DampRid is a perfect gun safe moisture absorber, it can help you protect your guns. By absorbing the moisture in your safe, DampRid can help prevent condensation by lowering the humidity level. DampRid is a desiccant dehumidifier.
Do fireproof safes have moisture in them? ›
Fireproof and waterproof safes are airtight and items stored in the safe are likely to contain moisture that will cause condensation to form over time. You should regularly air your fireproof and waterproof safe or box to avoid mold or mildew build up and moisture damage.
How do you prevent mold permanently? ›
The best way to prevent mold is to control moisture. Keep the indoor humidity below 60% relative humidity, ideally between 30% and 50%.
What is the best moisture absorber for storage units? ›
Use Desi Paks (or Desiccant), which is a material that comes in vitamin pills. It's like a large baking soda container, but it's kept in a breathable bag so that the material can absorb humidity. Cat Litter is an easy to use dehumidifier for enclosed spaces.
What is the key to mold prevention? ›
The key to mold prevention is moisture control. Water entry into buildings or building crawl spaces should be controlled. If water enters a building through a leaking roof or because of a flood or accident, it should be removed immediately and affected areas should be dried out.
What preservative prevents mold? ›
In the baking industry, the most commonly used chemical preservatives to prevent mold spoilage are the following: propionates (calcium or sodium propionate), sorbates (sorbic acid and potassium sorbate), benzoates, parabens (methyl and propyl) and acetic acid (Pyler and Gorton, 2008).
What is the best material to avoid mold? ›
Use mold resistant construction products, such as mold resistant drywall, which uses fiberglass instead of paper facing, and drywall tape; paint treated with an EPA-registered fungicide, which discourages growth on painted surfaces; mold resistant insulation, such as Nu-Wool; wood treated with anti-mold chemicals, such ...
What is the best defense against mold? ›
The best way to prevent mold is to control moisture.
- Keep the indoor humidity below 60% relative humidity, ideally between 30% and 50%.
- Repair leaky pipes and faucets.
- Turn on the exhaust fans when bathing and cooking.
- Clean out the gutters.
- Make sure water drains away from your home.
What to Wear When Cleaning Moldy Areas
- Cleaning with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Gloves, goggles, N-95 respirator. Avoid breathing in mold or mold spores. ...
- Wear gloves. Long gloves that extend to the middle of the forearm are recommended. ...
- Wear goggles. Goggles that do not have ventilation holes are recommended.
