Preparing Electronics In Storage For Humid Months
If you need to put away a few electronics such as video game consoles, entertainment systems, computers, or office equipment, the hotter and more humid months are a risk that require serious planning. Corrosion and rust are just two problems to keep an eye out for, and there are a lot of storage facility features that can mitigate most of the risks for you. Here are a few of those risks, along with actions that you and your chosen storage facility can take to keep your belongings safe.
Humidity, Corrosion, And Rust
Electronics may have a lot of sleek plastics or seemingly rust-free metals on the outside, but most electronics have a few fragile core components. Electrical traces made of copper or gold, gold pins, and iron alloy components are protected from most outside dangers as long as the devices are kept in a safe environment.
A little bit of humidity while operating isn't a huge risk. Households and businesses in the American southeast and many coastal areas operate computers and video game consoles without suffering catastrophes in humid situations, and assuming the devices aren't directly in the rain, it's not a big deal. Sure, there's faster wear and tear, but the heat from the devices and moving air from cooling systems makes the risk less of a problem.
Devices left in storage are a different problem. Humidity can enter the system and water can collect, leading to corrosion or rust of critical components. Unless you're a skilled electrician or technician, you're not likely to take the device down to the component level--let alone the board level--to look for any damage.
As corrosion makes electrical traces and components more brittle, the heat created from simply operating the device can lead to a burnout that either completely damages the trace or causes greater damage for the rest of the system.
Protecting Against Humidity With Simple Solutions
The easiest option is to use a self storage company that has at least air conditioning. A side effect of air conditioning in an enclosed area is that the air becomes more dry and moves around a lot more, meaning that humidity will be significantly reduced. What little humidity there is won't be able to settle anywhere in a meaningful, harmful way unless water somehow directly gets into the air conditioning system.
A step up would be searching for self storage units with installed dehumidifiers, or bringing your own dehumidifier to a facility that has electrical outlets available for customers. Finally, try to keep your electronics in boxes that have rubber or silicon seals. They don't need to be perfectly airtight, but it can reduce the humidity that enters the box and your electronics.
Contact a self storage company, like AA All American Airborne Self-Storage, to discuss available features and other forms of protection for your electronics.