Is clothes storage in damp basement possible?

StephieBee

I have a holiday apartment which has a portion of the large basement area set aside for my storage. There is no obvious water, but anything I put down there seems to gets mildew on it quite quickly. The basement is semi-subterranean and has windows at the top which are just above ground level. About 20 apartments share the basement as a whole (we each have a locked room but air can flow between), so I don't think there is any possibility of making the whole space dry.



However, I have seen previous posts about damp basements mentioning the fabrication of dry storage containers, which I think would work well for me if I had any idea what it was. Has anyone out there tried this or have any experience of such a thing? My internet searches are just full of tanking companies and storage of dry (food) goods.


My constraints are:
No electricity- I can use desiccants but not a dehumidifier
Lengthy gaps between visits- I can be away for 4-5 months during the busy season because I'm trying to get as much rent as possible.



I was wondering if I could use a plastic garden storage cupboard and just put some non electric humidity traps inside it, but am VERY open to other suggestions.



Any help greatly appreciated!

Aylesbury_Duck

Vacuum bags? Pack the clothes in them, attach a vacuum cleaner to them to remove as much air as possible, then seal. Buy some desiccant packets from eBay and put a couple in each bag for good measure.

martinthebandit

Put stuff in plastic boxes, seal them with tape, jobs a good 'un

Make sure you fill and seal them in a warm dry place though.

Norman_Castle

we each have a locked room but air can flow between

As above, wrap things to keep them dry but if any vents are blocked they will increase the problem. I blocked a hole between mine and my neighbours lofts which caused mold problems, unblocked it and its mold free. Both lofts are ventilated but they need the through flow of air. Can you check if all the vents are clear and open? Can you ask the property managers about increasing the ventilation as this problem will affect everyone who uses the basement.

awindup

In short yes. As above but I don't recommend using standard plastic wrapping as it has to be totally airtight. As long as it is packaged out of a damp environment the air inside the bag will be damp free and as the bag is airtight regardless of whether it is vacuum bag or just a simple zip seal bag then no damp can penetrate or form the only possible way moisture can get inside the bag it if it exists in the first place. An example of this would be clothing in an airtight bag but that is left in direct sunlight the residual moisture in the clothing could cause condensation in the bag which in turn could cause damp but other than that I doubt the you would have sunlight in the basement? If you do make sure the bags aren't in the sunlight because even a vacuum bag can develop damp if there is moisture in the clothing!!