If you are like most people, you treat your garage like a big junk drawer. I keep lots of random stuff in my garage since it’s such an easy place to use for storage! Garages are super convenient when it comes to storage space, so it makes sense that many people use the space for storing their extra items. However, just because the garage is convenient, doesn’t mean that it should be used to store all items. There are certain things that shouldn’t be stored in the garage because of several reasons.
Food
Open food shouldn’t be stored in the garage, because of pests. It is difficult to keep garages sealed, even if you keep the garage doors closed for most of the time there is still ample opportunity for pests like rats and mice to get in. When those pests get in and you have food stored, they will never want to leave! It can be very difficult and unsanitary to have pests and it can be very difficult to get rodents to leave. Typically, what we recommend is to not even invite the problem by having food stored in your garage and keep it inside of your home itself.
Fabrics and Clothing
Even well insulated garages are difficult to keep moisture and temperature controlled in the cold winter months. As you know, in this area it is very common that the winter will be extremely wet period because of this, it is highly likely that fabric items like camp chairs or strollers and even clothing in bins will develop mildew therefore ruining the clothing during the winter months if stored in your garage.
Family Photos
Another thing that should never be stored in the garage are old family photos or any sort of photography that you would like to keep in good condition. For the same reasons as described in the previous section family photos are susceptible to a lot of damage due to moisture in port moisture control.
Refrigerators
Something that is kind of little known is that many refrigerators cannot be stored in a garage. If they get over or under a certain temperature, the refrigerator will shut off, ruining the food inside. If you store a refrigerator in your garage, make sure that it’s a model specifically made to go in a garage.
Propane Tanks
It’s pretty common to store propane tanks in garages, but because there is a risk of a tank not being completely closed, we recommend keeping the propane tanks outside of the home. Propane is obviously highly explosive, so if there was a leak and a spark, the whole home would be at risk.