Tag: fire/burglary safes

Got a “Smelly Safe”? What to do:

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People sometimes complain that their home fire safe stinks and it makes the contents smell bad, too.  This is caused by leaving the safe closed for long periods of time, especially when it is moist inside.

1)  All safes should be opened every two weeks or so to let the old air out.  This is especially true with new units because the poured-in insulation may not yet be completely dried.  Just leaving the door open for several weeks might get the smell out.

2)  Clean the inside of the safe with detergent or bleach.  Then enclose one or two laundry dryer sheets inside.  We use Bounce/Febreze and it normally fixes the problem.

3)  If the smell persists there is probably mildew growing in the insulation.  We have had success by putting a bowl of bleach in the safe and closing the door for a week.  It seems like fumes from the bleach kill the mildew.

4)  Still got a problem?  Buy a new safe and open it regularly.

Stamp Collector’s Safe

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Stamps are easily damaged, in more ways than you might think. Of course they can be torn, burned, soiled, etc., all of which reduce their value. Same for historic signatures, photos, sports memorabilia and other collectables. Naturally, a valuable collection should be secured in a safe, but most stamp collectors use the wrong type of safe.

To protect contents from heat and fire, 98% of safes use moisture which is locked up in the safe’s insulation. When heated by fire the insulation cools by forcing moisture out, to the interior of the safe. Air inside the safe will be saturated and hot (up to 350 degrees). That level of moisture will affect the stamps’ adhesive and may also affect the delicate colors and paper.

Used Media Safe In Stock Typical Two Door Construction

To avoid the possibility of being damaged this way in a fire, the best stamp collector’s safe is technically a media safe. Media safes generally keep humidity below 85% during a fire, and maintain a temperature of only 125 to 150 degrees.

Note: Media safes tend to be expensive, but we usually have used ones in stock.