When you choose a storage locker, you have a few options to choose from. For example, you could opt for the easy access offered by a locker that is open to the outside. While pulling your truck up right in front of your unit has its benefits, exposing your belongings to temperature fluctuations and humidity can damage sensitive items. Thus, you should take stock of what you are storing and decide whether a climate-controlled unit might be a better choice. 

Paintings

If you have a lot of hand-painted art, then changes in temperature and humidity can cause the paint to crack. To make sure that your art looks just as good when you pull it out of your storage locker as it did when you put it in, you need a locker that is not exposed to the elements. 

Wooden Furniture

Wood acts as a sponge to soak up humidity in the air, and the more humidity that it absorbs, the more it will swell. Such swelling can cause a piano to fall out of tune and can loosen the joints in furniture, leaving it wobbly and unstable. Furthermore, cycles of heating and cooling will cause wood to expand and contract, which will cause further degradation. Thus, while you might not need a climate-controlled storage locker for all of your furniture, you should at least have one for wooden furniture. 

Electronics

Dust can stream into your locker through cracks along the sides and bottom of a door. Once inside your locker, dust can fall through the vents in electronics and coat their internal workings. Here, dust will act like an insulator, which can cause the electronics to heat up when you plug them in, and heat can cause damage. Thus, electronics should not go in an outside locker. 

Convenience is an important concern when choosing a storage locker, but if you have to leave your belongings in storage for any period of time, then you want to make sure that you look for a locker that will help to keep your household items in good condition. A climate-controlled locker should have air-handling equipment that will heat the locker during the winter, cool it during the summer, filter out dust, and help to remove humidity. Many storage facilities will have both outside lockers and climate-controlled units. Thus, you can rent a climate-controlled locker just for sensitive belongings and put clothing, stuffed animals, and other items that are less prone to damage in an outside locker. Contact a business, such as Discount Storage, for more information.