Living in a house, you are bound to incur lots of items over the years. Old albums, magazines, used typewriters, and even plastic pallet bins to store those items in. With so much stuff piling up in your living room or the den, you might be tempted just to keep all of them in your attic.
But before you do, know that there are some items that you should never place in your attic.
Artworks, books, and photos
If you get the chance to talk to a museum curator, ask if they use a different kind of light for their paintings. Chances are they will tell you ‘yes’ because light and heat can damage paintings.
Heat can crack the paint in your artwork. It can even contract or expand the paint, which is why sometimes, you will see bubbles in paintings if they are left under the sun. So, you should store your artwork in a dark and cool room instead.
As for the books, heat and humidity can turn the pages into yellow and crinkled paper. Look at your old books. Almost all of them have discoloured pages because paper does not agree with air. Keep your books away from natural light to avoid damage.
Heat can also destroy photos. What is worse with photos is that mould can develop on their surface, as well. The chemical in a photograph and the paper itself can attract mould. Since fungi often develops in humid places like your attic, your family photos are like a picnic basket for them.
Wooden furniture
It is surprising to learn that the attic, or even the basement, is the worst place to put wooden furniture. It is because the attic can be hot and humid, promoting the development of mould and mildew on wood.
When your wooden furniture starts developing mould or mildew, it will only be a matter of time before it starts to break apart. Also, attics can get infested by termites and any other bugs that love to feed on wood.
Hazardous chemicals
This one should be obvious to anyone. It has been mentioned several times earlier that attics are often hot and humid, so it is the worst place to store chemicals in. Some chemicals are flammable, so it is important to keep them away from heat.
An attic can be extremely hot during summer. If you store your flammable chemicals in there, the intense heat could ignite it. You could burn your whole house down for this simple mistake.
Food
Never store food in your attic for the same reasons mentioned above. The temperature in the attic frequently changes and sometimes, it goes to extremes. It can feel chilly or scorching hot depending on the climate outside.
The constantly changing temperature can ruin your food even if you store canned food in the attic. If you have a pantry in the house, put your canned food items there because the cool climate of the cabinets will help preserve their quality.
