I got a shipment of (3) rolls of synthetic batting, dacron wrap and sheets of foam today. I felt like it was Christmas. Now, what do I do with it!? I released the vacuum seal so they would expand to their normal size, but now I'm wondering if the foam is better to keep in a plastic bag, or store laying flat? Also, the batting doesn't stand up well, so I was wondering if storing in a plastic bag on it's side is typical. I am used to buying what I need, but now I've got several projects lined up so I'm buying in larger quantities.
I was curious the best way to store these and if leaving the foam exposed to the air is going to compromise it's "shelf-life".
Deana
Whatever you do, always open those vacuum shrunk bags as soon as they come in. If you wait too long, foam and Dacron may not fully recover.
I only order that stuff on Mondays. That way, I get it by Wednesday or Thursday. And it doesn't stay shrunk until the following Monday. That extra 2-3 days can permanently wrinkle Dacron.
I lay the foam flat with no plastic around it. Sometimes there's an odor on the foam and laying it flay without any plastic helps the odor to dissipate.
Batting I take out of the plastic bags and stack them up on their sides.
gene
Thank you SofaDoc & Gene.
I opened them right away, but wasn't sure how to store long-term.
Will take your advice Gene and get them put up for now!
Deana
I use to buy cotton 2 bails at a time, place each roll in a garbage bag, unused of course, and stored them in the attic of the shop. Worked great. I have no attic at this location so I have been lucky up till recently and have not had to store Dacron, cotton of much foam. This is changing and I don't like it! Anyway the recommendations are right on.
About 3 years ago my supplier starting delivering Dacron shrink wrapped. He said he did it to save on his delivery fees from his supplier. More rolls will fit into a semi-trailor when shrunk. Problem is he would store them that way and no mater how long I let them sit unwrapped they would never uncrease. I complained and I guess a bunch of others did too because he stopped delivering them that way.
We get our foam delivered from our supplier and wrapped in plastic visqueen. Not shrunk. I store them this way and its nice because it helps to keep it clean and makes it easier to move the foam sheets around when trying to get to the bottom of a stack.
Storage is always a problem for these bulky items. If your working at home a spare bedroom would work, if you can spare one. I store my foam and Dacron in a portable shed. I have about 25 sheets of foam right now in different sizes and densities.
I'm guessing the shelf life for poly foam is over 6 or 7 years. The stuff doesn't decompose very fast. Being exposed to air will change its color but not compromise the quality.