Safeguarding firearms and other valuables is important to get a service for an extended period. Most people perceive that safeguarding valuables just entails hiding them in hard to reach places. However, this isn’t all; you need to maintain them in the right conditions to extend their lifespan.
Gun safes collect moisture in them that can corrode the contents inside. Long-term corrosion might destroy everything and make your valuables nonfunctional. So, how do you control the amount of moisture in gun safes? Herein, we shall get it clear how to maintain gun safes free of moisture throughout.
What Can You Put in a Gun Safe to Keep Moisture Out?
Image Source: tacticalexposure.com
Gun safes provide firearms and other valuables utmost safety against misuse as well as fire tragedies. However, those aren’t the only dangers the content inside gets exposed to. Humidity is the greatest killer to firearms. Excessive exposure to moisture makes the metal components rust.
Consequently, excess moisture might cause sticking together of parts ending up causing fire mishaps. Therefore, moisture control is of great importance in gun safes to get a long term service from these investments. Below are key strategies of preventing moisture in gun safes.
Usage of Home Products
We have several home products you can employ as dehumidifiers. We don’t necessarily purchase them for clearing moisture traces in gun safes. But they have the properties to carry out such tasks. A few of the home products that can help you include the baking soda, mothballs, and dry rice.
Baking soda is generally the sodium bicarbonate we know. You can use it in gun safes to absorb all water traces inside to maintain driest conditions all through.
Dry rice is another essential home product that most people have employed from the past to absorb moisture. Most people use dry rice to dry up their phones whenever submerged in water. In gun safes, you need a cup of dry rice and you are sure of controlled moisture throughout. It takes months before you plan to change your rice.
Furthermore, we can use the mothballs to eliminate traces of water in our gun safes. In the past, people employed mothballs to keep insects away from papers and clothes alike. However, research suggests that mothballs form the best alternatives for eliminating moisture in safe guns.
Chemical Substance
Apart from the products above, you can consider employing other chemical substances to keep gun safes moisture-free. Several chemical substances can absorb moisture to maintain places dry. Among these substances include calcium chloride, activated carbon, calcium sulphate and alumina. You will find these chemical substances in crystal forms in store mainly for use to absorb moisture.
Gun Safe Dehumidifiers
Of all the recommended ways for this project, gun safe manufacturers recommend using dehumidifiers for this project. They use electricity to function and they are the surest options to keep off all traces of moisture around. They get designed with rod-shape so that they easily fit into gun safes.
We have both the battery and electricity powered dehumidifiers around. They offer a similar function of absorbing moisture in gun safes. People purchasing electric options need to drill a hole where electric wires will pass. Drilling gun safes is tiresome and you will take a long period to get through. You can however consider the battery powered options to avoid such hassles.
Beside the battery and electricity powered dehumidifiers, we have the desiccant models. These ones don’t require neither batteries nor electricity to function. Instead, they have highly absorbent materials for soaking all the surrounding moisture. Desiccant dehumidifiers form the best options for individuals running out of budget.
Allowing Air to Enter
Most people might ignore this but believe it to be an efficient and free method. However, opening gun safes isn’t permitted in all environments. Experts recommend the method only in areas of low and high temperatures. Avoid opening your gun safe if you reside in humid areas. You need nothing to accomplish this. Just open the safe and allow air to circulate sufficiently.
Silica Gel
Another tested method of eliminating moisture in gun safes is employing the silica packs. Everybody knows about the silica gels. From the old days, people employed them to keep off moisture from closed places. Not only do they absorb moisture but also suck all water traces in the air around to maintain a dry environment.
You don’t require too much silica for this project. Just a few and you will maintain the environment dry all the time. Changing packs is important; usually done after two to three weeks. If you lack new packs, experts also recommend recycling of silica gel. Just dry the used packs in the oven and they are super to use again. However, ensure the packs don’t get into contact with the metal components since they can corrode them.
Employ a Light Bulb
Another way of keeping off moisture from gun safes is employing light bulbs. Lighting your gun safe is the simplest and most effective method worth considering. You just require a light bulb and run electricity all through. The bulbs will play a role of heating the surrounding air to ensure all moisture inside vanishes.
However, like installing the electric humidifiers, you will also drill holes where wires will pass. Considering the size of your safe, use a light bulb of the right size to get effective results.
Employ a Casing equipped with a Sealant System
Few safe gun models have inbuilt sealant systems. Manufacturers design the sealant systems with foam or silicone. You will install them in your gun safe door jamb to prevent moisture from getting entry.
Conclusion
The methods we have discussed above do a great job in absorbing water in gun safes. Besides these, experts recommend walking along with a hygrometer. You will employ this instrument to measure the amount of water or moisture inside your gun safe. By incorporating above techniques, you would have safeguarded your valuables to offer you long-term service.
You may read also - What to Look for In a Paintball Gun
