Damp Lock Up Garages

[Atari Boy 11]

I have rented a lock up garage to keep one of my 205's in and I have heard horror stories of them being havens for damp causing damage to the cars stored in them, particularly this time of year.

I have checked on the car a few times since storing it in the garage (the car is off the road for the winter) and it seems fine, the garage is local authority owned and as such quite basic, brick walls, concert floor, asbestos sheet single pitch roof and a metal up and over door - you know they type. It does not seem overly damp but, I don't hang out there so have no idea what it gets like on wet or horrid days. It seems there is some ventilation however, from under the door sand a crack on the asbestos sheeting. Being slightly odd, I have a humidity meter, which I could stick in there and measure the high and low readings, what percentage humidity is bad?

Also, would a tarpaulin sheet on the floor reduce rising damp from the concert floor?

 

Your thoughts would be most welcome.

[feb 47]

Not much help but I have heard of stories when a roof was leaking and caused damage to a car that was covered so best to leave it uncovered as you have done and give it a good waxing before hand.

 

Saying this there are covers that are breathable so I don't really know what's best.

 

I have read that companies that store cars have a humidity level of around 35% or so but you would need a power supply to run a dehumidifier in there.

 

IMHO I would imagine that it is much better in the garage than outside, as long as humidity stays no higher than 70% it should be OK I imagine.

 

I used a dehumidifier when my old sorrento was in the garage and the container would fill up in a couple of days so in the end I connected a pipe to it.

There were no leaks from the roof and it was fairly OK but wind could get in from under the garage door. I can't remember humidity levels though, it was quite a while ago.

Edited December 8, 2011 by feb

[kyepan 291]

you can get the pressurised bubble covers for a reasonable amount of money, then put some kind of desiccant in it to absorb any residual moisture.

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

Alternatively, use lots of old rolled up newspaper that you replace on a regular basis.

 

Chris

[matt.f 16]

I have my RS Turbo in a Permabag(£450) which completely covers the car and has 2 big canisters with descicant in which last around 6 month before the need recharging(place them in a household ovan and dry out).It also has a little window on with a humidity level and thermostat inside the bag.The beauty is no electricity is needed like other brands like Carcoon/Cairo-o-port.The previous two use fans outside the bubble that blow air inside,crazy really as the air outside has moisture in!!!

 

If you can't afford this I'd make sure the garage is water tight,put a plastic sheet on the floor,get a few moisture traps and one inside the car,leave windows open 2"

[matt.f 16]

And a decent indoor breathable cover from classic additions or similar

[Atari Boy 11]

Good advice everyone, thank you.

[MiniGibbo 142]

Put carpet under the wheels and roll it in and out once a month to stop flat spots.

 

I hear kitty litter in the foot wells works well for soaking up moisture in the cabin too..

[harryskid 193]

Put carpet under the wheels and roll it in and out once a month to stop flat spots.

 

I hear kitty litter in the foot wells works well for soaking up moisture in the cabin too..

 

Handy for the odd stray cat !

[MiniGibbo 142]

Does it not work then, I got it off another forum but never tried it?

[harryskid 193]

Does it not work then, I got it off another forum but never tried it?

 

[MiniGibbo 142]

Yeah I'm confused now :S

[Liquid_106 97 1 Cars]

Don't forget the inside of the car

 

http://www.frost.co.uk/car-care-tools/air-dry.html

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I believe you get the same interior drying effect with a bucket of salt in the footwell.

 

The downside with outside covers is that they can trap moisture and move in the wind which can scratch. With house roofs, you need to have ventilation and also the closer you can keep it to a standard temperature the better.

 

My CTI is just driven into the garage that is part of the house and left, usually getting filled with xmas presents to hide them from the kids!

[Atari Boy 11]

I have a garage at home which is not heated but it's modern and has never been damp etc. I think half of my issue is that the car is now 5 minutes away and I can't just pop outside to check/do stuff.

[MrG 3]

Its not a case of stopping damp rising Jonny, its making sure there is enough air movement to prevent the damp getting into the fabric of the car. Keep the garage vented as best you can and it will keep the damp at bay. Also have the windows open a bit to allow the air to move inside. My cars are normally on jacks so the wheels are off the ground, and I used to use the salt in a bucket to draw the moisture out, seem to work as I never really had an issue inside the car.

Edited December 10, 2011 by MrG

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I have three bags of cement under the car, not that I put them there for a reason, I put them there as storage. But I figure they will hold moisture so they can stay

[lagonda 42]

I think ventilation should be your main concern.

 

We left England in 2008 & left everything we owned & wanted to keep in two lock-up garages. These were a free rental as part of the deal with a property developer for buying our house. We knew there was a damp issue...and then some. Whilst the roofs didn't appear to have holes in them, there was so much dead vegetation on top that rain water would leach through this & pour into the garage through joints in the roofing. It was so bad we had to stack our stuff so that it wasn't under the leaking areas. There were two large windows in the back of each garage, all of which were smashed....fortunately these backed onto private property. We didn't buy a house until late last year, so were really worried about how bad our furniture would be....but it was all OK...can only have been because those broken windows kept them well ventilated.

[Atari Boy 11]

I need to pull my finger out at leave the humidity meter down there, then we can see how good or bad it is.

I'm hoping it will be okay, there are loads of leaves in there now which must have been blown in which is a good sign.

[Atari Boy 11]

I have left the thermometer and humidity meter in the garage for over a week now, I'm hoping it's a cheap piece of crap as it has recorded high/low figures of 37 to 99%! (-1.8 to 21o C).

 

It does not seem to damp but how can I check for sure, any ideas?

[2-Pugs 57]

That humidity meter is probably correct. The relitive humidity of the air in a given space is proportional to the temperature - and the higher the air temperature, the more moisture the air can hold. So if you have an air temperature of let's say 21'C, there will be 'x' amount of moisture contained within that air. The problem comes when the temperature drops, let's say to a few degrees C - and the air reaches the dew point - it cannot hold the same volume of water ('x') that it could at 21'C, so some of it condenses out as water and is drawn to the coldest items. So at very cold temperatures the humidity will get quite high in there, and if some condensation has formed on your meter it's entirely possible it has read 99%.

 

I do have a similiar problem, as I keep my 205 in the garage covered over for probably 360 days a year, and in spring time I do worry if it has been damp over the winter. I have never seen much to worry about yet though. I think though like somemone else said the key thing is to ensure you have good ventilation, as moving air won't cause the problem - or if you can afford it the carcoon type devices. The dessicants/salt/cement/cat litter/dehumidiifer is also a good shout. Think I might try that myself this winter.

 

OT: to prevent flat spots on tyres, you could try some 'tyre shoes', they are shaped plastic things you park the car on, I got some a couple of years ago, they seem to work ok.

[MrG 3]

you'll soon notice though if damp gets in as switches stop working, trim feels damp to touch and its not long before mould grows along the window lines.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Put a nice crisp bit of a4 paper in the garage. It'll soon feel soft and less crisp if there is any damp about.....

[harryskid 193]

Sorry to piss on all this, have you all forgotten Mice, Spiders and all the rest of the wild life

[Atari Boy 11]

I like the paper idea, I will give it a go.

I need to sort the damp first, then I will look at the mice prospect although I have not seen any evidence to date.