How to keep mold away from ponies in storage?

[Dragonflitter]

I take my ponies out of storage from time to time but I live in a very humid environment and more than once I've found my ponies have white fuzz growing on them (ew). So I wipe them down with soft baby wipes and put them back in storage, but next time I take them out, it's back again. Sigh. I've tried storing them in cardboard boxes and now I'm trying big rubbermaid totes, but I think moisture might still be able to get in there. Does anyone have suggestions for keeping mold away from 200+ ponies? It only seems to get to my G1's. My G3's and G4's seem to be fine, for the most part.

I was wondering if I could buy those silicone gel packs you find inside shoes and purses when you buy them, or something similar to that. Could I keep some of those in the totes full of ponies and would that solve my problem?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I would say hold on to silica gel packets and throw it in there, that should help some. Rubbermaid might get condensation in there so I would definitely suggest to see if you can place your boxes in spots that have nice airflow until you can get some packets.

[Dragonflitter]

I might see if I can buy some of those silicon packs online, rather than wait to collect them from things I buy. Summer is our most humid time, so the sooner I find a solution, the better! I'll bet Amazon has them.

In addition to mold, other sad things you might find when you take your ponies out of storage and look them over:

1. The glitter from some of your G1 ponies' symbols might be just gone.

2. You might find regrind on your dark-colored G1 ponies that didn't have it before.

3. Your Divine Shine G3's might have completely lost their glitter (except for their heads).

4. You find a pile of G3 hats and headbands in the bottom of your storage box because over time the elastics just snap and they all fell off the ponies' heads.


Oh my poor ponies. But it's not too bad. At least they clean up okay, for the most part. And all the accessories are still here, just need new elastics.

If there's a better solution than rubbermaid totes, I'd love to hear it. Cardboard boxes didn't cut it, I was hoping the rubbermaid totes would be more airtight and condensation wouldn't get in there. :\

[toyjunky]

I might see if I can buy some of those silicon packs online, rather than wait to collect them from things I buy. Summer is our most humid time, so the sooner I find a solution, the better! I'll bet Amazon has them.

In addition to mold, other sad things you might find when you take your ponies out of storage and look them over:

1. The glitter from some of your G1 ponies' symbols might be just gone.

2. You might find regrind on your dark-colored G1 ponies that didn't have it before.

3. Your Divine Shine G3's might have completely lost their glitter (except for their heads).

4. You find a pile of G3 hats and headbands in the bottom of your storage box because over time the elastics just snap and they all fell off the ponies' heads.


Oh my poor ponies. But it's not too bad. At least they clean up okay, for the most part. And all the accessories are still here, just need new elastics.

If there's a better solution than rubbermaid totes, I'd love to hear it. Cardboard boxes didn't cut it, I was hoping the rubbermaid totes would be more airtight and condensation wouldn't get in there. :\

My only suggestion is something like small DampRid containers (absorb moisture from the air) to put in the general area where the boxes are stored (like on a shelf NOT in the box with the ponies), but you would have to be able to set it where it won't be disturbed/knocked over and they would need to be checked on/replaced as needed.

Assuming that the ponies are completely dry (aired out overnight for example) when they are put back in the boxes, an interesting experiment might just be cleaning some of them with just water vs. baby wipes and putting them in a separate box as like a "control group". I'd also suggest keeping note of which ones seems to always be moldy to see if there is a pattern (in other words, see if it tends to be the same group).

In regards to #4 - G3 bands snapping on accessories, yup, pretty much all mine have broken. The same thing happens with Ariel dolls, the clear rubber straps on her shell bra get brittle and disintegrate over time and with Barbie hair rubber bands on older dolls.