Dry Stick Container Desiccant – Moisture Absorber

Steel containers sweat. Warm humid air gets in through the vents during the day, the shell cools faster than the contents overnight, and moisture condenses on the walls and roof and drips onto whatever is underneath. It is the most common complaint we hear about container storage and it has almost nothing to do with the container being watertight.

A dry stick is the low-cost control. It hangs from the container’s roof-mounted lashing points, sits neatly between the wall corrugations, and draws moisture out of the air into a sealed membrane that holds it and will not release it back.

Specifications

Getting the dosage right

Two sticks per 10 ft of container is the starting point — four in a 20ft, eight in a 40ft. Adjust from there based on what you are storing and how often the doors are opened, because every door opening brings a fresh charge of humid air in. Check them regularly rather than fitting and forgetting.

The other half of the job

Where a container is being used purely for storage and the contents are moisture-sensitive, taping over the standard vents reduces how much damp air gets in to start with. Do not do this if you are storing anything that off-gasses, or if people enter the container regularly.

What benefits most

• Textiles, upholstery, clothing and bedding
• Electrical items, tools and anything with bare steel
• Paper records, books and photographs
• Timber, musical instruments and cased equipment

More storage aids are listed in container accessories. Ventilation counts are quoted on every container we sell — see the 20ft range for typical figures.