Month: January 2023

On the average residential property, the garage is the obvious storage solution for almost everything. Whatever it is, if the house doesn’t have room for it, the garage is the most likely destination. That works great for many items, but it’s important to remember that a garage is typically not a climate-controlled space. Without heating or cooling, some of your possessions could be damaged if they stay in the garage throughout the year. So, can you leave a TV in a cold garage? We’ll take a closer look in the article below.

A Simple Answer

To get right to the point, storing your TV in a cold garage or any other cold space is typically okay. Generally speaking, cold temperatures aren’t going to do anything to harm electronics. Of course, that story might change if the temperatures were well below freezing – but that’s not going to be the case in the average garage.

It should be noted that hot conditions are a different story. Very high temperatures can harm electronic components or cause connections to fail if the temperatures are high for an extended period. So you might need to think twice about storing your TV in a garage in a scorching climate, but cold shouldn’t present any issues at all.

Preparing Your TV for Storage

While the cold temperatures aren’t much of a threat, there are still problems that can come up with garage TV storage. To get good results, keep the following tips in mind.

Wrap it carefully

Typically, garages are somewhat messy, hectic spaces. If a lot happens in your garage daily, ensure the TV is protected from accidental damage. Wrap it up with bubble wrap, or at least some stretchy plastic, and put it in a place where it is unlikely to be damaged.

Unplug the cords

If you leave cords attached to the TV, you’ll only increase the likelihood of the TV being damaged along the way. For example, one of the cords could get pulled and either damage the connection or pull the TV down from where it is stored. So, before you put it away, take out the power cord and any HDMI cords, and roll them up for separate storage. Along these same lines, if a wall mount is attached to the back of the TV, you might want to take it off before you store it.

Make sure it’s balanced

The slim profile of modern TVs makes them tricky to store, as there is no substantial base to rest the TV on (in many cases). Depending on the size of the TV, you might be able to put it in a cardboard box to help it stay upright. If that isn’t an option, think about attaching something to the garage wall to restrain the TV while it is in storage.

The Humidity Factor

One thing you do need to worry about when storing electronics in your garage is humidity. If the air in your part of the country is particularly damp during the summer months, moisture could accumulate in your garage and damage some of your things. For example, if your TV is left out in the open inside the garage, it could develop condensation, and that water would pose a severe risk to the health of the TV.

A good starting point is taking some of the abovementioned steps, like wrapping the TV up or putting it in a box. To go a step further, you might think about using a dehumidifier in your garage to decrease the moisture level during the humid times of the year. This would not only go a long way toward protecting the condition of your TV but also of anything else that you store in the garage. High humidity can wreak havoc on many things, so using a dehumidifier is an affordable way to protect your possessions.

American Carports Has You Covered

So, can you leave a TV in a cold garage? We hope this blog helped answer your question! Remember, storing your TV in the garage should be perfectly fine unless you live in a climate where extremely low temperatures are the norm. But, of course, you can only use that option if you have a garage space available for storage, so turn to American Carports, Inc. if you need help with that project.

Explore our free Build & Price tool to get started. Or, reach out to a member of our team if you have any questions. Again, thanks for stopping by our blog; we hope to serve you soon!

There are many great possible uses for a garage space. Whether you plan to use your garage for storage, projects, parking, or a combination, the options are endless. But, of course, none of those options will work out well if you are dealing with little critters that have made their way into the space. So, if you suspect mice have entered your garage or want to ensure that doesn’t happen in the future, this article will be helpful. Read on for your guide on how to keep mice out of your garage. First, we’ll look at why mice become a problem in the first place and what you can do about it.

If you’re looking to add a new metal garage to your property for an affordable price, contact American Carports, Inc. today. Thanks to our Build & Price tool, you can customize your building and see how much it will cost as you go. Also, you are always welcome to contact us to get help from our team.

Why Do Mice Come Inside?

Perhaps the best way to deal with your mice problem is to first think about why they would want to come into your garage in the first place. After all, if you can make the space less attractive to mice and other critters, they’ll be more likely to keep looking for another area to explore. There are many potential draws to a garage, but the points below highlight the leading reasons why mice like to explore this area.

There is food available

Food is the driving motivator behind the things that most animals do, so you always want to start here. If there is a convenient food source in your garage for the mice to enjoy, they will return repeatedly. Remember, even things that aren’t food for humans can make for an excellent meal for a mouse, so review the contents of your garage and consider all possible “snacks.” If you plan to keep food items in the garage, ensure they are sealed up tightly and not available to critters.

It’s warm

Even if your HVAC system doesn’t warm your garage, it’s likely warmer than the outdoors – especially in the winter. So when the weather gets particularly cold, don’t be surprised if mice try to find a way in to escape those conditions.

Nesting

Mice like to find cozy little places to establish a home, and there are many dark spots in a crowded garage that are just waiting to be explored and used as a resting place.

A Telltale Sign

Besides seeing a mouse, the classic sign that at least one mouse has been frequenting your garage is droppings. Wherever mice go, they will leave at least some poop behind, so don’t look the other way when you see this evidence. If you see droppings in your garage, it’s probably not going to be a one-time event, so you’ll want to quickly come up with a plan to address this issue and keep the mice out moving forward.

Mice-Prevention Measures

Once you know mice are around, you’ll want to work on possible solutions. Of course, we already discussed putting food items away, but that’s a starting point. Here are some of the other ways you can approach this matter.

Seal up the cracks

Sealing cracks is perhaps the most obvious and important step to take. When mice get into your garage, they have an available path to sneak in, even when the door is closed. One good technique to spot openings is to close the door during the day and see if any light is sneaking in. Mice need very little space to squeeze through an opening, so fill up even the most minor gaps to prevent the mice from breaking in.

Reduce clutter

If your garage door is open a lot during the day and evening, you can’t rely on sealing up the space alone to keep mice away. So, you’ll also want to make the garage less appealing by cleaning up the floor and giving mice fewer places to hide and be comfortable.

Eliminate outdoor habitat

This last point is a big one, often overlooked by homeowners. If you have mice coming into your garage, they live nearby. Often, they’ll find outdoor homes in garbage bags, piles of leaves or branches, etc. Keeping a clean property will make it more likely that they’ll find other areas to hang out.

American Carports Has You Covered

We hope you enjoyed this guide on how to keep mice out of your garage! Keeping mice and other critters out of your buildings is always tricky, but it can be accomplished with patience and by trying a few methods listed above.

We hope the ideas above are helpful, and we’d be happy to serve you soon if you are in the market for a new metal garage. Remember to explore our free Build & Price tool when you are ready to start your next project. Thanks for visiting our blog, and we hope to serve you soon!

Depending on where you live, humidity can be a significant problem in a garage space. This is especially true in the hot summer months when there tends to be a lot of moisture in the air—particularly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. Once that wet air sneaks its way into your garage, you may struggle to get it out, and damage to your stored items could result. This article will dive into how to dehumidify a garage.

Starting with an excellent design for your garage is an essential piece of the puzzle, so if you are going to build one soon on your property, make sure to team up with American Carports, Inc. for that project. Since you can customize your design with our Build & Price tool, you’ll be able to include features that help with humidity management. Contact us today for more information!

Reduce Sources of Moisture

While it might go without saying, there is nothing you can do about the humidity outside. If there are certain times of the year when the air tends to be quite moist, that’s just the way it is, and you’ll need to adapt as necessary. With that said, you can do your part to bring the humidity down in your garage by eliminating moisture sources that add to the water in the air.

For an obvious example, leaving a bucket with water in the garage for an extended period would be a bad idea. That water will gradually get picked up by the air, and the air will become more humid. This is especially a problem when the doors are closed, and there is no ventilation available – the atmosphere will continue to get heavier, and you might wind up with issues like rust and other damage to your things.

Of course, a bucket of water is a pretty blatant example of a moisture source you’ll want to eliminate, but that’s not the only possibility. For example, it could be that your garage has a small leak in the corner that you haven’t even noticed. Or, you could be habitually dropping wet clothes inside the garage to dry after you’ve been out in the rain. Whatever it is, pay attention to anything damp that might land in the garage, and don’t let it stay there for too long.

Focus on Ventilation

We mentioned ventilation above, but this topic needs its own section here.

Properly ventilating a garage space is one of the best things you can do to keep the humidity down. When you can open up windows and doors to let air from the outside come in, you will neutralize the moisture in the garage and bring it to level with what is going on outside. So, if the humidity is low outside but the air in your garage is heavy because it has been contained in the space, opening up a few windows could make a huge difference.

You obviously can’t open up windows that you don’t have, so keep this point in mind when designing your new garage with American Carports, Inc. Include a few windows in the design, along with your door or doors, so it will be easy to invite the outside air to come in when the conditions are right.

Soak It Up

It’s also possible to use absorbent material to soak up extra water in the air and bring down the humidity. Cat litter is a common choice for this task, as it is designed to soak up moisture and hold onto it until the litter is disposed of and changed out. And, since cat litter is so affordable, placing a box in the corner of your garage won’t cost much to deal with humidity issues. Just remember to change that litter from time to time – more frequently during the humid months – so it can continue to get the job done.

Consider Using a Machine

Speaking of the humid months, you might find that your only viable option for keeping humidity down when the air is thick outside is to use an electric dehumidifier. These devices are not particularly expensive, and they are portable. Just plug one in, place it in the garage, and let it run. Of course, you won’t want to use this method all year, but it can be a great help when the humidity is high and none of the other methods are working.

American Carports Has You Covered

We hope you enjoyed this guide on how to dehumidify a garage! While you can’t control the climate outside, you can take steps inside your garage to manage the situation and keep the humidity as low as possible. To build a durable metal garage that will stand the test of time, get in touch with American Carports, Inc. today to learn more about what we offer.

With countless customization options, it’s easy to make your new garage a perfect match for what you need. So whether you need a huge metal garage or a modest space, we can make it happen. Remember to explore our free Build & Price tool when you are ready to start building. Thanks for visiting our blog, and we hope to serve you soon!