Storing Canned Goods for the Long-Term in Humid Areas

Seven years ago, when my family and I moved from the high, dry desert to the very humid Midwest, I had a lot of new lessons to learn about food storage.  Some rules were just entirely different.  It was quite the shocker.  No longer did sandwiches need to be eaten right after they were made.  

But that was just the beginning.

Salt could no longer be stored simply in the cardboard cartons on the shelf.  Especially canning salt.  It would clump up.  

Plastic buckets couldn't just be set on the cement.  So much moisture would accumulate underneath.  Not good.    

And this was with a dehumidifier or air conditioning running all the time.  What happens if there is no AC or dehumidifier running?

What we didn't notice until much later was that the cardboard boxes that held our #10 cans were wicking moisture from the air to the cans inside.  And the boxes were also wicking moisture from the cement to the bottoms of the cans.  Naturally, the way we do our food storage is to put the very most expensive items in metal cans.  

Which cans started to rust shortly after we arrived in Missouri.  

But which we did not notice until much, much later.  

Grrrr....

So we had a decision.  We could take measures to protect our canned goods, or we could move back to the desert.

We chose the desert.  

But for those of you who happen to not have that choice, or happen to love the humidity, here's how to protect your canned goods.  

Consider removing the paper labels in more humid areas.  I never had a problem with the paper labels rusting cans in my area, but we did have the AC and dehumidifier running.  I'm not sure what would happen without them.  I have read reports of people in super humid areas having problems with the paper labels wicking moisture to the cans and rusting them.  The whole humidity thing is just very bizarre to me still. So remove the label, but don't forget to label the contents of the can and date it first. 

Protect your cans with a wax coating.  To do this, make sure your cans are completely dry.

Next, melt paraffin wax in a double boiler.  An empty #10 can makes a great container for the paraffin and keeps your regular bowls and pans clean.  To protect your hands from the sharp edges of the can, cover the rim with duct tape.  

Use canning tongs to dip both ends of the can in the wax. 

If, however, you live in a really humid area, you may wish to paint the whole can with paraffin.   Set the dipped cans on a cake cooling rack to dry.

Do not store your cans in or on cardboard, unless you dipped the whole can in paraffin.  

Another option is to coat cans with a very thin layer of food- or medicine-grade mineral oil.  Unfortunately, the mineral oil attracts dust which will need to be removed before opening the can. 

Links to related posts:  
Long-Term Food Storage    
The Ins and Outs of Oxygen Absorbers   
Amounts of Various Foods That Buckets Will Hold and How To Store Them   
Reusing Glass and Plastic Bottles for Food Storage 

For further reading:
https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/information-center/self-reliance/food-storage-frequently-asked-questions/corrosion-prevention-of-canned-goods