Everyone needs a Gun Safe Dehumidifier to remove any moisture in the air contained inside their safe.
Locking up your safe prevents air from flowing around the inside meaning that any moisture trapped in the safe when the door was sealed condenses upon the items stored inside in the form of water droplets. These droplets in turn cause a chemical reaction to take place leading to the formation of rust both on the guns and ammo inside and the safe interior.
The result of this rust is damage to your firearms and your safe will be weakened over time as the rust gradually eats into it. Ammunition and powder will also be rendered useless over time as it will become damp and shells and bullets will corrode.
An added annoyance that comes with moisture is that mildew and fungi will form from spores carried in the air that will make your safe smell musty.
This is why any important documents or other media you have stored inside the safe should be sealed inside airtight plastic bags. If you have a vacuum sealer then using vacuum sealed bags is an even better option.
Having a proper routine set up for lubricating and cleaning your firearms and safe help to reduce the chance of rust and mildew build up, but the only way to completely prevent it is by installing a gun safe dehumidifier.
Options For Keeping your Safe and Guns Free of Rust
There are basically 2 types of dehumidifier:
Desiccant Dehumidifiers – that contain desiccants to remove moisture from the air trapped inside the safe.
Electrical Dehumidifiers – that keep the temperature inside the safe slightly higher that that outside preventing the condensation of any water vapour from the air sealed inside the safe.
Desiccant Dehumidifiers
Desiccant Dehumidifiers contain crystals, normally silica gel, that absorbs moisture from the air inside the safe. Periodically you have to remove this type of unit from your safe so that you can recharge it by driving the moisture off of the crystals so they are ready to absorb moisture again when the unit is placed back inside.
This process of recharging is normally done by plugging the unit into the mains where the crystals are warmed up to drive off the moisture. Normally the crystals change color when they are dried out properly.
A blue color indicates that the crystals are dried out and recharged. A pink color tells you that the crystals have absorbed lots of moisture and require recharging.
Electrical Dehumidifiers
This type of unit works by elevating the internal temperature of your safe by several degrees above the air temperature outside the safe meaning that condensation does not form inside the warmer safe interior. This in turn prevents the formation of rust and mildew.
The gentle warming of the heating element causes convection currents to form in the air that then moves the warmed air around the unit and distributes it to all parts of the interior of the safe.
Finally..
Remember that a Dehumidifier is essential if you have a gun safe so that you can keep your firearms free of corrosion and mildew.
Don’t wait until your guns and safe are damaged before you get one!