Clothes storage in tropical (very humid) climate

[Hengo]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice here. I am about to relocate from Europe to my organisation's regional office in West Africa (Dakar, Senegal). I have traveled a lot in the region and really look forward to the move, but have a big concern regarding clothes storage.

Basically, every time I return from travels in these super humid environments, I find that everything in my suitcase is moist. I suppose that's fine when you travel for a week or so, but what happens to my wardrobe when I am there for years? How do those of you who live in tropical places deal with the moist? I have a lot of suits and outerwear (including cashmere winter fabrics) that I have to bring because I have nowhere else to store them. Will they be fine? How do I limit potential damage?

Looking forward to your advice!

 

[tjd]

Hengo, your clothes collection seems nice - leave it in europe.

I lived in Freetown, Sierra Leone for about 2 years and the humidity will kill you clothes. The clothes that I kept in my closet at home got funky and moldy. There is a general mustiness that seeps into everything. I was able to keep two jackets at work where there was air conditioning during the day and they were okay because of the cool and lack of humidity. Dakar has more electricity than Freetown so it is possible to have the aircon on where you are going to store your clothes, but otherwise you will be getting a funky mold on them in no time.

Mothballs are also an option to try to keep the moisture down.

 

[Hengo]

Thanks for the reply tjd. Not what I wanted to hear, although I had expected it. Yes, electricity will be much more regular than in Freetown - will keeping the clothes in an aircon space do the trick then? Does that take care of the moist? May tailor told me I should put paper into sleeves and between the hangers and the clothes. Will that help?
Thanks!

 

[Gradstudent78]

Can't you rent out a storage space in europe to store your items when you away? Pretty much anything I bring to a long term trip in a hot/humid environment is something I'm ok with leaving there.

 

[pred02]

Freezer. Get a dedicated freeze and put all wool items in it. This will gurantee against moths. Not the cheapest solution, but that's exactly what we have at home.

 

[Joey Ma]

Hi Hengo,

I am wondering if you had found a solution for your clothing! I have a place to stay in Taiwan, and I am also looking for a specific clothing storage solution due to humidity problems because I want to save the amount of clothes I bring when traveling. I used to put them in a sealable bag that works with a vacuum. However, I only have large ones, and it's a lot of trouble to take all the clothes out, put them up, and store away them when I am only staying for a week or two.

For others who may like to contribute a solution... here's essentially what I am looking for: box-like solutions, preferably in small or medium sizes, that is vacuum sealable.

This one seems ok:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6247-...80&sr=1-9&keywords=clothing+storage+solutions

And I'm guessing this is exactly what I need, but I am a bit suspicious because it might be too good to be true.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/55048-ziploc-space-bag-super-12-piece-combo-set.html

 

[Sam Hober]

Air conditioning on the dry setting works well for us.

We keep it on in our silk room 24 hours a day.

 

[Keek]

Hi Hengo & Joey,

How did you guys go with your moves to tropical places? I'm about to do the same, moving from temperate Eastern seaboard to the tropical north. Do you have any tips?

I believe that:
- vaccum packed storage still allows mould and mildew to grow
- are closet camels enough?!

Thanks,
Elailne

 

[Joey Ma]

Hi Elaine,

Unfortunately, I have not yet found a good solution yet.

For in my case, my family is there most of the time; and it seems like as long as there are people living in the house, the humidity issues are manageable. (I am thinking the correlation between people living in the house and alleviating the problem is that day-to-day air circulation, turning on AC once in a while helps with decreasing humidity level.) I just don't leave expensive clothes there.

It is true that even in vacuum packed storage I am still seeing some minor mold and mildew problems, but the clothes look brand new after washing and bleach. I also suspect that the mold and mildew formed because I did not do a good job when doing the vacuum packing. Again, I was here for a better storage solution, but since I haven't found one so I just used my old vacuum packing and it doesn't work that well...

Look forward to your findings!
Joey