# Why stored food items and water aren't supposed to be directly on the ground?



## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

They say store them on pallets a few inches off the ground. What's the reason behind that?
If you have a dry cement floor in the basement?


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

charito said:


> They say store them on pallets a few inches off the ground. What's the reason behind that?
> If you have a dry cement floor in the basement?


Evidently the chemicals in the cement ("they say") leeches into the containers. Or so I've been told.


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## wraithofroncollins (11 mo ago)

Cement gets cold and makes it more likely to freeze the stored goods or the temp difference to damage food stuffs.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Moisture that condenses under the container has a hard time evaporating.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Annie said:


> Evidently the chemicals in the cement ("they say") leeches into the containers. Or so I've been told.


This is the reason I've heard too.
Concrete supposedly leaches lime into surrounding materials in constant contact with it. This takes a very long time, however. Like decades.

The primary concern is moisture, as BPH mentioned.
Concrete is porous and always has some amount of moisture moving through it.
Moisture can ruin a lot in less than a year.


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## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

I don't have any pallets to put some boxes of canned food on, but I put a box on top of a stack of newspapers. Would that help?
I also found a couple of two-by- four, so I put another box on top of them. The bottom of the box isn't touching the floor.
Luckily, most of our stuffs are on shelves.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

charito said:


> I don't have any pallets to put some boxes of canned food on, but I put a box on top of a stack of newspapers. Would that help?
> I also found a couple of two-by- four, so I put another box on top of them. The bottom of the box isn't touching the floor.
> Luckily, most of our stuffs are on shelves.


I believe wood is good, or so I've been told. But only so long as you don't get flooding in your basement, because you don't want mold growing between the wood and cement.


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## CC Pereira (9 mo ago)

I think it also depends on what goods are stored in ... if stored in a container that is water proof, air tight, and does not allow moisture or air into the container, I don't think the surface the container is placed on really affects the contents in the container.


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## Aetherwizard (Aug 8, 2017)

charito said:


> They say store them on pallets a few inches off the ground. What's the reason behind that?
> If you have a dry cement floor in the basement?


The cement floor only stays dry until you drop a container of fluid, or a pipe breaks. 

Concrete is also made from water, and for years the oxygen in the concrete will oxidize (rust) metal that is store on it.

Any floor will eventually have bugs and mice running across it. Health departments require all food containers in restaurants to be stored off the ground for that reason. 

Boards, bricks, metal racks, plastic crates turned upside down, and similar items will work. I just found six corrugated plastic shelf segments about two feet by three feet that I am using for storing items off the ground. 

Keep in mind that the humidity of a room, particularly of a basement, always sinks to the lowest level it can. Water vapor is heavier than the other air molecules. Between the cool cement and the water vapor, the moisture will condense at the bottom of items on the floor. Raising the items up a few inches and allowing the air to flow helps prevent moisture damage.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

If you have a basement get a dehumidifier. Helps keep the moisture to a minimum. I have two in my basement.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

CC Pereira said:


> I think it also depends on what goods are stored in ... if stored in a container that is water proof, air tight, and does not allow moisture or air into the container, I don't think the surface the container is placed on really affects the contents in the container.


It may not affect goods in the container, but if water is trapped and can't evaporate, you've got a petri dish on steroids. You really don't want to start a science experiment so close to your food stores.

What happens when you lift up a bucket of food and the bottom of it is covered with tiny little creepy-crawlies?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I'd store any food in a container, not directly on concrete. Sorry, couldn't resist.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

paraquack said:


> I'd store any food in a container, not directly on concrete. Sorry, couldn't resist.


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