I am on the gulf coast and my wife just asked me what would be a way we could preserve documents and photos from water damage. Normally the suggestion is a sentry safe, too small.
Next is “it is just water, maybe ziplocks?”, nah not tough enough if it gets submerged.
Then it pops in my head. Large, water tight, air tight… grizzly proof… Yeti cooler.
Anyone have something else spotted that will work for keeping memories and documents dry in a hurricane/flood? I know it may float off if not secured, but what else is on the market that is waterproof, large and tough?
Damn it. This is the epiphany moment when you realize you have way over analyzed a “want” to almost make it justifiable purchase. Thank you for talking me off the yeti cliff!!!
And you can store other things in them. A case of shotgun shells is not problem at all. They hold water or food. Plus when there is no water to run a commode, you can use them as a “honey bucket”.
Put your radio and batteries in one. Candles and matches in another.
Although Aloksaks are better than nothing, in my experience, they damage very readily and can leak water. They’re better as a secondary protective layer rather than being a primary water barrier.
To answer the OP’s question, I use a Pelican briefcase with no foam (http://www.opticsplanet.com/pelican-1470-laptop-computer-waterproog-black-case.html) to protect valuable documents such as birth certificates/wills/pink slips/etc (I only need 1 for my stuff). They’re also large enough for photo albums as long as they aren’t crazy thick. Larger Pelican cases can be used if you have a lot of sentimentals to store, but it doesn’t hurt to have a secondary layer of protection in the Pelican case in the event of a leak.
Yeah, the one I did use definitely wasn’t like a PVC dry bag, but you could use your touch screen through it. For everyday use like air or ground travel factoring in cost I use ZipLock Freezer Bags.
seriousstudent gets an A+ for practicality and effectiveness
This is great if you’re using it regularly, especially with sensitive equipment. It’s flight carry-on sized and accepts locks. Costs about 50x more than the homedepot solution…
A Hardigg Storm 2950 case is my usual “range bag.” I have lost count of how many times I have been in a shooting class, and a downpour has started. People start racing around trying to keep their gear dry. I just grab the rain parka and keep shooting.
Even in my big safe which has a Palusol door seal I keep all documents in good old Ziploc brand bags in various sizes. Everything in our BOBs get put in a Ziploc brand bag, etc. They even make a bag that has 20 gallon volume. I’d put anything paper or other media just as thumb drives, CD’s, etc. in a Ziploc then store in a bucket/Stormcase/etc. just for redundancy.
If it is disconnected and sitting unused maybe. If it is connected I would think the motor or pump of the unit pulls or pushes the air and water in and out? I am NOT the Maytag man, just thinking about your point.
Think about it.
When you unlock the door after you do a load of dishes, what do you feel and hear?
That’s the vacuum seal that’s making that little proof of air as you unlock and the hesitation as you open the door is the rest of the seal opening.
If the pump could run backwards (I’m sure it can’t) what would happen when the sewer line backs up?
With that rational I should then have 50-65psi inside the dishwasher because that is my water pressure entering it. It I were to place even 50psi on that door from the inside that would be about 36,000pounds of force on the door. I just can’t see the dishwasher being air tight. I could see steam/water vapor come out of the vents at the top of mine in my old house. I will agree to disagree, but my stance is that a dishwasher is not an acceptable storage unit for flood waters.