4 Easy Ways To Store Leather In Humid Weather

How do you store leather in humid weather

By nature, leather is a very porous material and because of this, it is susceptible to a lot of damages during humid weather – especially if it’s not stored properly. So in this article, I’m going to share with you the 4 easy ways to store leather in humid weather.

So how do you store leather in humid weather? You can store your leather during humid weather by;

  1. Storing The Leather Items Wrapped In Paper
  2. Storing The Leather Item In Its Original Package
  3. Storing The Leather Item In An Art Portfolio-Like Cardboard Tubes
  4. Using A Dehumidifier Or Your Air-Conditioner

To learn more about how to store leather in humid weather, keep reading this article. But first, it is important to emphasize the type of damage humidity can do to your leather items and how it happens if the necessary preparations and right storage practices are not ensured.

What Are Some Of The Effects Humid Weather Has On Leather?

Leather comes with a lot of qualities which makes it very unique. One of such common features of real leather is how breathable it is due to how porous its surface is.

However, with this unique quality comes a price and that is, it makes leather susceptible to severe damages during humid weather.

During humid conditions, the amount of moisture in the air increases, and leather tends to absorb or trap a lot of the moisture.

While not every single drop of moisture is bad for leather, it’s very important to ensure your leather does not get into contact with too much moisture from the atmosphere.

And yes! this is to say leather will always need some amounts of moisture to keep it soft, supple, and prevent cracking. All your leather typically needs is lower degrees of humidity in the space where the leather item(s) are stored.

While the treatments given to leather from to time is vital to the overall health of the leather, knowing how to properly maintain and store your leather items especially during seasons with the most humidity is going to save you a lot of money that would have gone into expensive leather restoration and repair works.

So here are some great ways to store your leather items during humid weather to ensure your leather items last long and remain healthy.

How To Store Leather In Humid Weather – Details

1. Store Leather In Paper During Humid Weather

Storing leather items by wrapping or covering them with paper is one of the easy ways to keeping your leather items safe during humid weather.

Paper makes for great storage for leather items because it allows the leather to breathe while preventing any form of ambient light and moisture in the air from getting into the leather.

The catch is you would need to use newspapers or clean heavy dark-colored paper in order to keep your leather safe during humid weather.

The way you go about it is by simply wrapping your leather items with either of the above-mentioned papers. If necessary, stuff the leather item before wrapping it – to avoid deformation.

Never wrap your leather items in plastic as it will not allow your leather to breath properly and can lead to irreparable damages like mold and mildew.

2. Store The Leather Item In Its Original Package In Humid Weather

Most small leather goods such as handbags, shoes, wallets, to mention a few will usually come with a nice clean dust bag and a box.

Repackaging your leather item in its original packing is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to store your leather items during humid weather.

So never again should you allow the excitement of finally getting that leather bag or shoe you have been waiting to get all year to cause you to rip the box apart when you’re unboxing your new leather items.

You would want to be as gentle as possible so that you will be able to reuse the packaging not only during humid weather but also whenever you would want a simple but effective way to put your leather away for a couple of days, weeks, or months.

One very important thing you need to do prior to storing your leather item this way is by preparing your leather by cleaning and conditioning it.

Also, you would want to stuff the leather item if necessary to maintain its shape and also avoid creases on the leather.

Keeping your leather by putting it in its original dust bag and box is another great way of protecting the leather items from dust and more importantly a humid environment.

If you would like to keep your leather items for even longer periods, you can also add silica gel packets into the box to absorb excess moisture from the air that may sneak into the box.

3. Use A Dehumidifier Or Your Air-Conditioner

Using a dehumidifier or your air-conditioner is a great way to make any place a suitable space to store your leather during humid weather.

Storing your leather items this way during humid weather is a great way to keep the environment around your leather items at a good humidity level – which is usually below 40%.

I know this is not the cheapest option but it can save your leather items that are worth thousands of dollars. So if you can afford one, it’s absolutely worth the investment.

Here’s what I will suggest. If the place you live is consistently in humid climates and you have a lot of leather items (such as leather furniture, garments, etc) in your space, then consider getting a high-range electric dehumidifier that can effectively help to regulate the humidity levels or reduce the moisture content in the air.

Investing in a high-range electric dehumidifier can help maintain the humidity levels below 40%. Again, even though these may seem like an expensive investment, the money you will save on damaged leather will be far higher. 

High-range electric dehumidifiers are excellent if you have large leather items like leather furniture, lagagues, etc.

If the electric dehumidifier is completely out of your budget, you can buy small, disposable dehumidifiers that can help keep moisture from the atmosphere away from your leather items during the humid months of the year.

Also, if you do not want to buy any form of dehumidifier, you can make use of your regular air conditioner if you have one. All you do is simply turn on your air conditioner at the place where you have kept your leather items.

If there’s no air conditioner installed in that particular space, you can leave your wardrobe doors open to let the air conditioning in!

You would want to dehumidify your leather storage space for at least an hour every day. Dehumidifying your leather storage for very long hours can cause your leather to dry out.

4. Store Leather In Cardboard Tubes

This is a quick DIY activity you can do to help store your leather items from humidity. As the heading suggests, this method of storing your leather items will involve keeping them in a rolled cardboard.

These cardboard tubes look like a portfolio for artworks. Due to the nature of the cardboard tubes, you will only be able to store flat leather pieces like leather rags, leather wall hangings, to mention a few.

This kind of storage help to keep the leather item in the right shape while securely keeping it away from the harsh weather conditions that can possibly harm it.

The way you store leather during humid weather using cardboard tubes is by rolling a flat piece of leather item and then slipping it down the cardboard tubes for safe keeping.

Usually, these cardboard tubes will have some kind of cover to secure the leather item inside while it’s being stored.

Using the cardboard tubes is also a great way to keep raw leather materials from bad weather conditions.

Pro Tip: Whenever you’re storing your leather items or leather materials in a cardboard tube you would want to ensure the leather or item is rolled inside out.

Tips To Help Keep Your Leather Items Safe In Storage During Humid Weather

From my experience, I find storing leather alone does not keep the leather from damages. Important things like preparing the leather for storage, preparing the leather to remain in great condition during its storage, and treating the leather after the leather has been kept in storage after some time.

I’m going to share with you some important hacks so that you are able to keep your leather items safely without any damages throughout the humid seasons.

Here are Important tips before you store your leather items.

Clean Or Dust Off The Leather Item Before Storage

  • Before you put the leather away into storage, one of the most important things you would have to do before shelving the leather item is to dust it, clean it, and thoroughly dry (air-dry) the leather item.
  • This is to ensure you’re not going to put your leather item into storage with dust, dirt, debris, and stains. This is to also remove any dirt trapped within the pores of the leather before your put it intp storage.
  • You can start by dusting off your leather with a piece of cloth or brush to remove any debris or accumulated dust. If you have a vacuum cleaner, vacuum off the dirt or dust to bring your leather to a nice clean surface.
  • If it has been very long since you cleaned your leather, this is the perfect time to do so. You can use a leather cleaner or a soft clean rag dampened with water to clean the entire surface of the leather.

Always Treat Your Leather Before Storage

  • After cleaning your leather, it is important to condition and protects your leather before storing it. Usually, after leather is cleaned, the leather loses some of its natural essential oils and this can make your leather become dry during its storage.
  • Conditioning and protecting your leather is also a great opportunity to nourish your leather with rich oils that can help to prevent the formation of mold and mildew during storage.
  • Apart from treating your leather with conditioner and leather protectors, you can also polish your leather with a good leather polish to safeguard your leather from any kind of moisture that may find its way onto the leather.
  • Leather polishes are great because they help to maintain the moisture levels of the leather and enhance the look throughout its storage.

Place Your Leather Items Properly During Storage

  • Last but not least is how you place or position the leather item during storage. This is something most people get wrong. My first tip as far as placing the leather item in storage goes is to leave about an inch around the leather item.
  • Putting leather items very close to other things or even other leather items can result in serious color transfer which may be very difficult or impossible to fix.
  • You also do not want to put or stack other things on top of your leather items when in storage. Always store separately.
  • And finally, do not put leather items close to windows that receive direct sunlight.

Kwabena

Hi! I’m Kwabena, the owner and founder of Favored Leather. I’m a huge Leathercraft enthusiast and I’ve been that for almost 13 years now. I'm excited to share my experiences and all the new stuff I learn each day about leather craft, leather cleaning & care, and everything in-between!

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