Storing food in a damp basment

[EB85]

So over the last few months I slowly started gathering food and basic supplies. Needless to say, the Beer Flu has made me want to expand on what I have should a real emergency arise. Currently my food storage is in a dry closet in some retail store totes just so it's all together. Tuna, canned chicken, vacuum sealed rice, stuff like that. But I would also like to add in sealed veggies, Spam, beans, so on. The problem being I am pretty much out of room so it's time to move it and the basement is my best bet. But, it's unfinished and tends to be quite damp. I'll combat the moisture as best I can with absorbers but what's a good storage setup? I was originally thinking cabinet with a simple lock but most of the ones I see in stores are pretty cheap. Fiberboard that splinters and the like. I see plastic cabinets but I'm unsure how well they will hold up over time. And I don't want to spend dumb money on a heavy as hell metal cabinet. I could also get a rolling rack style shelf and just support it on cinder blocks (which I'll do either way in case the basement floods) but the 2 cats would probably have a field day climbing on it. Suggestions?

[streaker69]

Dehumidifier?

[cephas]

Dehumidifier?

^This worked for me.
Farmhouse over 100 yrs. old. Thick barn stone walls. Few leaks with a deluge.
After a few decades followed wife's suggestion and got a dehumidifier.
Exceeded my expectations. After initial run in has had no problems maintaining a 40-50% humidity level.
Lower in winter with furnace running.

[EB85]

Dehumidifier?

^This worked for me.
Farmhouse over 100 yrs. old. Thick barn stone walls. Few leaks with a deluge.
After a few decades followed wife's suggestion and got a dehumidifier.
Exceeded my expectations. After initial run in has had no problems maintaining a 40-50% humidity level.
Lower in winter with furnace running.

Any specific brands to look for? I would assume something like that is better to go a little bigger than needed, correct?

[streaker69]

Any specific brands to look for? I would assume something like that is better to go a little bigger than needed, correct?

Don't know, pretty much all the brands are made by the same couple of factories in China with just a different label slapped on to them.

Do you have a sump well in the basement so that the water can be drained into it, otherwise you're gonna be going down there every other day or so and dumping the water by hand.

[Roadking]

A few oscillating fans are also helpful.

[Ronin]

Any specific brands to look for? I would assume something like that is better to go a little bigger than needed, correct?

I've had this 70 pint GE Dehumidifier in my 1200 sq/ft, unfinished, basement for the past three years. I have a hose running to the sump pump hole. Made a huge improvement in the overall humidity levels. It wasn't cheap, but I haven't had great luck with cheap dehumidifiers in the past; most dying in a year. So far it's held up pretty well. I bought a second one last summer to use on our main floor on particularly humid days.

[internet troll]

Don't know, pretty much all the brands are made by the same couple of factories in China with just a different label slapped on to them.

Do you have a sump well in the basement so that the water can be drained into it, otherwise you're gonna be going down there every other day or so and dumping the water by hand.

I’m not recommending any of these, but you can get them with a pump so that it drains into a sink, out a window etc....

https://wisepick.org/best-dehumidifi...hoCHJIQAvD_BwE

[EB85]

Don't know, pretty much all the brands are made by the same couple of factories in China with just a different label slapped on to them.

Do you have a sump well in the basement so that the water can be drained into it, otherwise you're gonna be going down there every other day or so and dumping the water by hand.

Sump pump in the corner, yes. It'll be easy to run the drain hose to it.

[internet troll]

Any specific brands to look for? I would assume something like that is better to go a little bigger than needed, correct?

Some questions answered.

https://learn.compactappliance.com/dehumidifier-faqs/