Selecting Quality Storage Features For Electronics

Do you plan on putting away a few computers, televisions, speaker systems, gaming consoles, or other consumer electronics? If they're getting too old to be relevant, but still worth revisiting and your home isn't big enough to keep everything at once, self storage is a great way to make some extra room. Unfortunately, consumer electronics aren't always built to withstand the storage standards in some of the most basic storage facilities, especially if you live in a hot or humid area. Here are a few features to keep an eye on when choosing a storage facility for your electronics.

Protecting Against Corrosion

Most electronics operate with a series of metal traces. These traces are usually made of copper, but gold is sometimes used on small, high-speed data components. Even inside computer cases and television shells, enough humidity can lead to corrosion.

Corrosion is often mistaken for rust, but is equally damaging as far as electronics is concerned. Pieces of precision metal used to transfer precision electricity--which is used to move data in computers and image information (which is technically data as well) in televisions--suffer a chain reaction that makes the system more brittle. With time, the insides of the system can break away, or burn in a small flash that ruins the internal components.

You don't need a perfect clean room with 0% humidity to keep your devices safe, but some of the more humid days in the American Southeast can be a problem. Days where the humidity can be felt on the skin and even inhaled and tasted like fog are dangerous, and if your storage facility doesn't have proper ventilation, your storage room can become a sauna that damages electronics.

The easiest way to combat humidity is to choose a storage facility that has at least air conditioning. Although becoming more commonplace, air conditioning is not a guaranteed feature in all facilities. A step up in case air conditioning isn't removing sticky, damp air quality from the storage facility is to choose a facility with dehumidifiers, or at least working power outlets to bring in your own dehumidifier.

Security Options For Valuable Electronics

If you can still use the electronics, they're probably worth something to thieves. The most basic thieves will pawn your electronics for a quick buck, while others may research collector's value. No matter the angle, electronics are usually a tempting option for thieves.

Choose a storage facility with adequate security. This means either choosing an indoor facility or an outdoor facility that has fencing and security guards. Outdoor facilities are often necessary for huge storage needs as everyone gets an individual partial warehouse, but fences are easy to scale and the open area provides too many hiding areas at night.

Security cameras are a must, but should be checked. Stand in front of any cameras you see and take not of the date and time. Ask to see security video from that specific time and make sure you're in the video.

If not, the cameras may have been placed as deterrents. This can work against the less adventurous thieves as a sort of high-tech scarecrow, but if your belongings are valuable, opt for facilities with working, recording surveillance systems. Contact a storage facility professional to discuss available features to protect your electronics.