Today I thought I would just make up a list of items that will likely perish when left unused for a long period of time.
- Elastic:- Found in webbing in sofas and chairs – Clothing items particularly underwear – Fitted Sheets – Bandages – Hair Bands
- Electrical Appliances:- Especially anything with a heating element
- Foam linings or filters:-As in Ski Goggles – Some Vacuum Cleaners
- Plastics:-Some soft plastics go sticky and some hard plastics go brittle.
- Rubber:- Seals on washing machines etc – Rubber Bands – erasers
- Leather Goods: Leather items need cleaning and conditioning on a regular basic and can go stiff when not taken care of and also mouldy if not stored properly
- Photographic Gear:- If not stored properly mould can grow and eat into camera lenses leaving permanent scars. Films will perish and colour slides and photos can loose their colour and clarity over time.
- First Aid Supplies & Medications: Medications and ointments go out of date and bandages perish – Eye Droppers (rubber)
- Drive belts: Both times my clothes drier has gone into storage the drive belt froze into a D shape and made an awful clonking noise and had to be replaced
- Glue: Items that are glued together such as shoes
- Pens: The ink dries up and/or the ball gets stiff and scratchy
- Batteries: Remember to remove batteries from toys and gadgets if they aren’t being used as the batteries can ooze acid and ruin the item.
- Food: This one is a no-brainer
- Wine: some are meant to be stored some aren’t.
- Make-up: The oils in them can go rancid and smell bad.
- Textiles: Clothing or afghans made from acrylic or polyester – Baby clothes, yarn, jackets and other woolens may become moth eaten if not stored properly. (Submitted by Willow @ willowscottage.blogspot.com )
I might consider making a page out of this list so if anyone has other items that experience has shown suffer from being unused please let me know.
ITEM 146 OF 365 LESS THINGS
Here is one of the items on the list above. When sorting through the ski gear to sell on eBay I found that the foam lining on these goggles had perished making them unsellable.
Any clothing or afghans made from acrylic or polyester. Baby clothes, yarn, jackets. Woolens may become moth eaten if not stored properly. (And if you’re going to store them and not use them, why are you keeping them?? To feed your favorite moths?)
Hi Willow,
Yes you are right on both counts. I was going to put fabrics in the post but I forgot I will remember to put it in the page I set up. I still have a few knitted items I made for my kids when they were little that I am not prepared to part with, yet anyway. They seem to be holding up OK as they have been stored in a camphor wood chest.
I admit to having a couple of afghans and sweaters that I’ve saved from my children’s babyhood. But not boxes and boxes of them 🙂