Let me set the scene. I live 1200 miles away from my trainer and obviously the horse in training. I do my best to dry out my equipment before storing in my trunk, but it’s not perfect and obviously there’s some humidity within the barn. I only get to that side of the country one weekend a month or less. So long periods of time for mold to grow. Does anyone have suggestions for removing humidity within a tack trunk? I put a container of Damprid in it last week and we shall see how well it works, but ending up with an open container of liquid once the pellets dissolve doesn’t thrill me. Has anyone used those little packets of silica with success? Open to ideas. Trunks are stored in a spare stall and cannot go in to the tack room that has a dehumidifier.
You’re already using what my suggestion would be - DampRid. I like the Lavender/Vanilla one.
Is there not someone there that could unlock/open your trunk once a week for a few hours for it to air out? I’d pay a pretty penny for that service, not to have the mold smell hit me in the face upon my return!
Someone needs to invent a ventilated trunk?
My SO put an ice-filled styrofoam cooler in my trunk at a show. I was traveling and didn’t open the trunk for a few week. EEK! Everything was covered in mold. Cleaned it with bleach and put a container of DampRid in there. But I understand your concern on the DampRid…I’m at the barn several times a week to keep an eye on it. If it spilled…ew.
Just off the top of my head…a box of rice? (Just thinking how restaurants in humid areas put rice in the salt shakers.). When I was a kid, people told me to put rolled up newspapers in my boots to dry them out, but not sure if that would help in a closed tack trunk.
I just dealt with the same thing not that long ago. I emptied out my trunk and scrubbed it with bleach and water, let it open to dry for about 2 days, then started to keep it OFF of the ground. Mine was the only one that grew mold and it was sitting on the concrete floor. It’s now sitting on a built in wooden platform that’s in our trunk room.
What is your tack trunk made of? Wooden trunks are slightly better than plastic or metal trunks for mold issues. Silica packets help, it just may be hard to find enough. Honestly the damprid is your best bet. Can you have someone change the tub periodically?
Thanks for the thoughts. I might could pay one of the youth kids to open it on occasion but to be honest I don’t think that’ll help going in to winter; it stays pretty humid in that barn being locked shut with the heater running.
The trunk is plastic. My winter break project is (hopefully) going to be making a homemade wooden one. So maybe wood will help.
I dont forsee the trunk being moved until next show. I could just have someone take the damprid out before it gets moved so it won’t spill… if I remember to ask someone.
Walmarts website indicates they sell silica packets. Will have to see if I can grab a few of them. Kind of a crummy problem considering I can’t just go throw my boots and helmet in the dehumidified tack room for a few hours before storage.
I use Damprid but they also make those little desiccant packets that I used throughout my locker, tack trunk and closets and basement at home too. They work great IMO, I never have mold on my tack.
I believe that salt is a desiccant. Maybe stuff some socks with epsom salt and throw them in to help absorb moisture?
newspaper bunched up into wads … throughout especially in the corners … should grab any moisture and odor too…
remove and repeat …all year
I did a quick google search and there seems to be some interesting options for hockey bags that might work for you. One was called HockeySorb and claims that is stays in a dry state even once its reached full capacity. Might be worth looking into.
They make damp rid containers that you can hang in a closet, those might work better than the tub ones. Same idea but they don’t spill!
The damp rid and I also use the shoe/ sneaker balls. They are small and can be found at places like Footlocker, often used by athletes in their cleats. My tall boots and helmet greatly contribute to the moldy - yucky smell that is my tack box and those little balls help tons! I have also seen similar products made of activated charcoal which can be found on Etsy or Amazon.
Done that and found a permanent solution.
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Wipe down the whole inside of the trunk with white vinegar to kill those sumbitches.
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I have a thing of dessicant (Dry-Z-Air… a favorite among those storing RVs) in order to keep things toasty dry in there, even with the lid closed. Dry-Z-Air works via pellets that absorb water and then melt into (gnarly) water that you catch in a bowl below it. You do not want that nasty water to spill. So I keep my whole contraption in a deep bucket which sits in my trunk. I empty the water every couple weeks. If you tipped the trunk all the way over you’d spill it inside and be unhappy. But so long as it stays upright, you are good.
This works with a very old wood-and-vinyl trunk in the damp PNW. If I were even more concerned, I might do the Dry-Z-Air thing AND leave a sweatscraper wedged in the lid to keep it open just a tad. If you have a cover, I suppose you could put that on over the top to keep rodents or dust out while letting air in.
