Painting and maintenance of your home or property are vital in keeping your things looking their best and safest. If you have leftover paint or chemicals from warm weather, you might be wondering where to store them when the temperature dips during the winter.

Store in a Cool, Dry Room

The most important guideline to follow is where in your home you should store your paint or chemicals. Keeping these materials in improper places often leads to the paint becoming ruined, with the colors of paint potentially fading or the paint’s composition changing.

The effectiveness of cleaning products or chemicals might also negatively change if you leave them out in the cold for too long. Fortunately, if you leave your items in a cool, dry room, you remove the likelihood that any harm will happen to them so that you can use your paint or chemicals again later.

The temperature of this storage room should stay around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, although higher temperatures will also keep the liquids safe. Another precaution when picking out the perfect spot for your liquids is to make sure that you do not place a paint or chemical container near appliances such as furnaces or laundry machines.

Especially with chemicals, access to an open heat source is very dangerous and often results in hazards. You should also consider placing your paint or chemical containers on a non-corrosive surface so that, if the contents do corrode, they will not damage surrounding objects.

Ensure Good Ventilation

A little ventilation will go a long way when you are trying to safely store your paint or chemicals during cold weather. Although maintaining a safe temperature is important, not ventilating your storage room often allows moisture to build up inside the room and release unhealthy vapors into the air.

Especially in basements, ventilation is important to keep you and those around you healthy. Inside the chemical and paint containers, vapors tend to build up as a result of high temperatures and moisture, so try to look for some balance when setting up your storage room.

Another consideration to keep in mind is how you are stacking your storage bins, especially if they are different states, most importantly liquids and solids. Be careful not to store any liquid chemicals or paints above powders or solids, as any leaking will result in a potential mishap between the two products.

Prepare Your Containers

Once you have your storage room set up, the last step to safely store your paint or chemicals during cold weather is to cover the storage bin lid with plastic. This will work with paints, although some chemicals react with plastic, making this step unnecessary.

Stack your paint or chemical cans upside down after hammering the lid shut with a mallet or hammer. Flipping the cans upside down will make sure that they stay airtight and are less likely to leak. 

Once you prepare your containers for safe storage, you are all set for the cold weather, although you should rotate your products every year.