How To Safely Store Tires
Posted on: 7 October 2016
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Whether it's your winter snow tires and just a backup set of tires for your car, storing them properly is a must to ensure they last until you need them next. They should never be stored outdoors where they are exposed tot he elements. If you don't have room to store them at home, put them in a storage unit. The following advice can help you store them correctly.
Clean is best
Snow tires especially require cleaning before storage since salt and ice melting chemicals can damage the rubber if they are left on the tires. Do the cleaning at home, though, since you don't want to make a mess at a your storage unit. Hosing off the tires and then scrubbing them down with some soapy water is sufficient. You will need to let the tires dry completely before hauling them to your storage unit, though.
Prevent dry rot
There's no need to place tires in climate controlled storage, but you will need to prevent dry rot from happening when the temperatures warm in the unit. Dry rot happens when heat pulls the oils from the rubber, causing the oil to evaporate and the tires to dry out and crack. To prevent it, place the tires in large heavy-duty garbage bags, such as those sold to construction contractors at hardware stores. You can use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the air, and then you can tape the bags closed.
Store in the correct configuration
How you stack your tires in storage depends on whether or not they are on rims. Tires on rims should be stored in a horizontal stack, no more than four tires high. Storing rimmed tires vertically causes a flat spot on the bottom of the tire from the weight of the rim.
Rimless tires, on the other hand, should be stored standing vertically. They don't have the rim weight concerns, but if you stack them on top of each other the bottom tire can become distorted from the weight of the others.
Protect from ground damage
It's best to keep tires off the ground during storage. This will protect them from moisture that could seep into the unit and damage the tires if the storage bags are breached. The easiest way to do this is to place the tires on a pallet. You can also hang tires if hook installation is allowed in the unit, but you should only hang tires that are on rims. Don't hang rimless tires, since they can become deformed.
For more information, contact a storage unit in your area.