Container maintenance and care

Rust

Containers are built from weathering steel, so light surface rust is normal and mostly cosmetic. What you are managing is the small number of places where water sits: the roof, the door sills, the underside of the base rails and any scratch deep enough to reach bare metal. Once or twice a year, wire brush the loose scale off, and touch in with a rust-inhibiting primer and a top coat. Half an hour a year prevents the only failure that really matters, which is perforation.

The roof

Container roofs are not designed to be walked on constantly and they hold puddles once dented. Keep leaves, snow and debris off, avoid using the roof for storage, and check after storms. Standing water plus a dent is how roofs eventually pit through.

Doors and seals

• Grease the hinges and the locking cam gear a couple of times a year.
• Keep the rubber gaskets clean, and treat them with a silicone-based product, not oil.
• If a door starts to bind, check the unit is still level before you blame the door — twist in the frame is the usual cause.
• Do not force a stiff cam. Free the gear off first, or you will bend it.

The floor

Most containers have a marine plywood floor on steel bearers. It is tough, but it does not like standing water or point loads. Sweep it, deal with spills, and consider sealing or overlaying it with ply or steel plate if you are running pallet trucks or storing anything wet. Repair soft patches early: a small section of replaced ply is cheap, a rotted bay is not.

Condensation

The most common complaint about containers is water inside a container that is not leaking. That is condensation: warm damp air meeting cold steel overnight. It is managed with airflow and by not putting moisture in there in the first place.

• Fit vents, or keep the factory vents clear — do not seal them up.
• Never store damp goods, wet timber or fresh green material in a closed container.
• Keep contents off the floor and off the walls so air can move behind them.
• Use desiccant bags in a small unit storing anything sensitive.
• Insulating without ventilating makes condensation worse, not better.

Security

A lockbox over the padlock is the single best upgrade, because it stops bolt croppers reaching the shackle. Add a closed-shackle padlock, and site the doors where they can be seen. On occupied units, steel shutters over glazing do more than any alarm.

A simple yearly routine

Buying a unit that starts sound makes all of this easier — that is what our pre-dispatch inspection is for. Free delivery applies to all 50 united states.