UKC

Hello,

I’m letting out my flat for a year and planning on leaving my remaining possessions in my cellar - which is pretty dry. 

There is a set of shelves/corner area I am planning on boarding over with chipboard and storing my stuff behind. Basically it’ll be a false wall. 
The stuff is mainly climbing gear, ropes, skis, a few framed photos, tents, some clothes. Whilst I don’t want to loose the stuff, nothing is particularly valuable. 

Does anyone have any advice about how to store stuff so it doesn’t go mouldy whilst being sealed off.

Thanks.

Tom

Your arrangement doesn't sound like things will be hermetically sealed in, but you will be restricting ventilation/airflow. Unless the cellar is heated this doesn't sound like a great idea to me.

Put things in vacuum sealed bags (they’re a thing, done with a domestic vacuum cleaner), having ensured they’re nice and dry first.

Well, don’t do that for leather.

I agree with nikoid. It's going to get damp and corroded / mouldy. If it has to go in the cellar I would buy some plastic storage bins with either a proper sealed lid, or as a cheaper option a good fitting lid and some good tape. Put a large bag of dessicant in each crate and seal it up airtight. With the skis I'd probably coat all the metal with grease and leave them out.

Loft in plastic boxes will be better than a cellar. 

I'd recommend putting the photos (and maybe clothes?) in large plastic storage tubs and have them stored with friends / relatives. Basically, anything that can't be replaced.

Don't do it. With no air flow it'll all go mouldy in a cellar, even one that feels dry. If you're determined to proceed anyway then pack your stuff in properly sealed bags/boxes with dessicant sachets inside. And put a couple of chemical dehumidifier packs in the boarded off area. Supermarkets sell them.

Lofts are drier, as long as there are no leaks obvs, but can get brutally hot in the summer, especially slate roofs. Probably not good for ropes and slings, or anything made of paper.

Have you considered renting a locker in a self storage place? Many of them do fairly compact spaces.

Hmmm…

Thanks all. Not ideal.

The cellar is in france and above ground. It’s not noticeably damp. 

Most of the stuff lives in there permanently and isn’t damp. 

Would putting it in boxes behind a wire grid be a more effective solution?

Isn't that a.....room!?

If you go ahead, can you leave gaps top and bottom of the chip board to encourage air circulation

Lose!

A reum? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OsCW2N-6MUM&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

I assumed a “cellar” was underground as I think everyone else did; even if it’s above ground, walling it off raises is risk of damp / moisture accumulation so I’d still want to either ensure adequate mitigation (ventilation or chemical dehumidifiers) or seal pre-dried objects within vacuum bags or air tight boxes.

If its in France its probably like our cellar - one of a series of small rooms in the basement of a block of flats. In our old flat back in Paris our cellar was close to the collective central heating boiler so dry & warm (good for gear, not for wine), unfortunately our present cellar isn't heated but it is dry.

Tom - coudn't you just let the flat (I assume that's what you are planning) without the cellar & just leave it locked with your stuff inside?

My advice would be to get rid of the stuff now. You can sell and buy again later. I reckon in a year you won't want to use it anyway.

My advice would be to get rid of the stuff now. You can sell and buy again later. I reckon in a year you won't want to use it anyway.

Yep it’s like that. On the ground floor. 

I can’t do that as the washing machine and boiler are in the cave. 

If stuff stores fine in there currently then it should be ok into the future so long as the tenants use the room the way you do (could go badly wrong if they use it as a drying room).

I'd just add some vents top and bottom of the new wall, the machines will circulate air through your store as they warm and cool the remaining space.

jk

If they fit in the space, the blue shipping barrels/drum are air tight, water tight, and cost peanuts in marketplace (though might not be so freely available in France).

This sort of stuff (ebay 235398171169). Normally around 10 to 20 quid on FB