Protect Your Stored Supplies From Moisture

One of the many problems that you can face in storing supplies is moisture. Moisture is a big problem for your supplies such as medical supplies, survival equipment, and most especially food supplies. A lot of materials can be damaged by moisture when they are stored for a long period of time. Unfortunately, you cannot immediately see the causes of moisture from outside the container of your supplies. You can see the damage when you open up and inspect your supplies. Make sure to check your supplies regularly for moisture, some people don’t check their supplies and they only open it when they’re going to use it.

Your stored dried foods can be damaged by moisture in some ways. One of the signs that they are damaged by moisture is that they become stale. Cereals, crackers, and potato chips become stale when they absorb moisture. Although it is possible that you can use them again by removing the moisture, it is still best that they remain fresh.

Moisture can be the cause of mold and mildew in your supplies, which renders your food inedible. These fungi do not only affect your food supplies, they can also affect clothing, wood, toilet paper, etc. Moisture can also be the cause of growth of bacteria and certain types of pests or insects, giving them an environment where they can grow and multiply quickly.

Here are some ways you can protect your supplies from moisture.

Use airtight containers

Make sure to use airtight containers in storing your food supplies. Using airtight containers will not only prevent moisture but it will also extend the life of your supplies. You can use sealed 5 gallon buckets for your food storage. Sealed commercial cans and sealed canning jars are also air tight. You can also use normal kitchen containers in storing smaller items.

Use silica gel

Most things that you buy in store are wrapped in plastic bags. You will sometimes notice that the bags contain small packets, these packets contain silica gel. Silica gel is a naturally occurring mineral that can absorb moisture. Since silica gel is used to absorb moisture, it can protect a lot of products from moisture. Although this gel is not dangerous to your health, it is often mixed with chemicals which can be dangerous to your health.

Silica gel packets should be stored in airtight containers, so that they will remain fresh and moisture free. To protect your supplies from moisture, put one or two silica gel packets or one or two tbsp. of silica gel in the food container before sealing it.

Silica gel packets are available commercially.

Use sugar and salt

If you don’t have silica gel or if you cannot find any in stores, you can use sugar and salt to protect your supplies from moisture. Although these two are not as good as silica gel, they can still absorb moisture. Add one or two tbsp. of sugar or salt to your food supplies before sealing the container. Make sure that you seal the containers tightly to avoid attracting ants.

Use oil

To protect metals from moisture, all you have to do is coat them lightly with oil. Use this process to protect your tools, weapons and other survival equipment except for your electronic devices, because this process will not work on them.

Use paint

You can also paint your tools or equipment to protect them from moisture. Paint is a good thing to use in making your tools free from moisture. Dipping your tools in paint is one of the best ways to coat them, and then hang them to air dry. Make sure that you only use oil-based paints; latex paints have water that can cause rust in your tools and equipment.