[beth&rich]

Happy Saturday everybody!

My OH is very concerned that the shipping container won't be completely water tight and that as such there's no point taking things like mattresses, cos they'll just get damp and mouldy on the trip. I suspect this is a silly thing to fear, because every year people DO put soft furnishings and fabrics in shipping containers and live to tell the tale.

So, I was just wondering, how many of you suffered from damp?

[cappuccino]

The best advice I had was to go into the container before they start loading, close the door and check to see if any light gets in. If it does, then there are holes and water will be able to get in. If there is no light then it should be watertight. For extra piece of mind, get mould and mildew cover on your marine insurance.

[Georgebulldog]

Our container turned up with a hole in it, luckily it was spotted so we got a new one so things did turn up a bit dusty/dirty bit not damp, matress was fine along with a whole house full of things
Good luck

[Familyofmonkeys]

Decent shipping companies wrap soft furnishings in breathable acid free thick paper/cardboard, which allows items to breath (as opposed to plastic that can cause mould to accumilate when moisture can't escape) and they can also add (if you ask them) big industrial sized bags of that Silica gel stuff (like the little sachets that you get in shoe boxes etc) to absorb moisture....very useful if you have a lot of books or material items. Bear in mind that matresses may contain mould spores even if you can't see them especially if you have ever spilt drinks/food on matress or child had accident.....and of course when item goes through tropics and it is very hot, those mould spores can mulitply.

You are actually much more likely to have mould and mildew problems with items like washing machines and dishwashers. Our packers told us that the vast majority of people don't unplug their machine in good time and allow it (all all pipes) to thoroughly dry out....they said you really should allow it to dry for a week or so before packing (in a warm place), not a day or so like most people seem to do, otherwise you risk mould building up on all the rubber parts inside the machine. You can also ask them to add bags of the silica stuff to the inside of the drum if you are concerned too.

[Charlou]

As previously stated, important to make sure anything going into the container is dry and free of moisture. Can be a problem if loading is done in the rain. If any timber is used for framing it needs to be treated correctly and preferably kiln dried. Would also recomend mould and mildew cover.

Getting inside the container and shuting the doors should always be done but probably wont be unless you prompt it.

Another less common problem can be container damage during transit. You would be surprised at the amount that are damaged but they are rarely penetrated.

Even though it seems expensive at the time, you cannot under estimate the importance of taking full insurance cover.

[IanW99]

Happy Saturday everybody!

My OH is very concerned that the shipping container won't be completely water tight and that as such there's no point taking things like mattresses, cos they'll just get damp and mouldy on the trip. I suspect this is a silly thing to fear, because every year people DO put soft furnishings and fabrics in shipping containers and live to tell the tale.

So, I was just wondering, how many of you suffered from damp?

The advice by others is sound but can just say that we never had any problems with damp at all.

Don't remember anyone else on the forum complaining about this either so would guess that it doesn't happen very often.

Ian

[Carey]

You are actually much more likely to have mould and mildew problems with items like washing machines and dishwashers. Our packers told us that the vast majority of people don't unplug their machine in good time and allow it (all all pipes) to thoroughly dry out....they said you really should allow it to dry for a week or so before packing (in a warm place), not a day or so like most people seem to do, otherwise you risk mould building up on all the rubber parts inside the machine. You can also ask them to add bags of the silica stuff to the inside of the drum if you are concerned too.

So how do you get your dishwasher clean and dry before moving it? Use one of those cleaners you can buy and run it empty on hot cycle, then is it sufficient to just let it sit unused for a week? Should we try and drain the sump on dishwasher? How?

[Familyofmonkeys]

So how do you get your dishwasher clean and dry before moving it? Use one of those cleaners you can buy and run it empty on hot cycle, then is it sufficient to just let it sit unused for a week? Should we try and drain the sump on dishwasher? How?

Sorry, can't help with dishwasher as we didn't take ours with us, but for washing machine it is recommended that all pipes removed from back, not just coiled up, and after running machine empty on hottest wash cycle with bleach in it to kill off any mould spores on the parts outside the drum that you can't wipe clean...that you then leave it to air dry in warm dry place with door open for about a week. Can't remember how long exactly we dried ours out for, but I do remember we had the heating on full blast 24 hours a day for a few days to thoroughly dry out stuff including OH diving gear and sofa covers (that had all been washed prior to packing the week before packers came).

[kanatakiwi]

Happy Saturday everybody!

My OH is very concerned that the shipping container won't be completely water tight and that as such there's no point taking things like mattresses, cos they'll just get damp and mouldy on the trip. I suspect this is a silly thing to fear, because every year people DO put soft furnishings and fabrics in shipping containers and live to tell the tale.

So, I was just wondering, how many of you suffered from damp?

We were warned by our shippers, that since the ship passes through the tropics and takes a good time (ours took nearly 3 months!) humidity is a more likely to be a problem that water leaking in. all our items with wood, were packed with tissue and absorbant paper, as wood expands in humid conditions and soaks up the moisture we were told. We put our bedding and fabric stuff in vaqcuum sealed plastic bags. Things smelled a little stale when they arrived, but didnt see any mould and had stuff washed and dry cleaned and it was fine.