The first time I bought a safe, I was living in a small apartment. And I know it can be difficult to find a place to install or hide a home safe in a small apartment or small home. Every room has been optimized by an architect, or every corner has been taken up by stored things. But there are a couple of more rooms that can be useful. And we don’t think about them: “wet room”, rooms where there is humidity.
Can I put a safe in a wet room? For the reliability of the safe, you shouldn’t choose an electronic lock for a safe in a humid room. Choose a mechanical lock instead. For the content of the safe, avoid humid room as well if you store electronic devices or important papers. Good fire-resistant safes have humidity control materials built in. You can use additional humidity control material that you can add yourself inside the safe and change regularly.
Those tips can be sufficient. But let’s see why you shouldn’t lightly install a safe in a humid room without examining every alternative place in your apartment or house where it might be less risky to have it. Where it is still feasible to install a safe and where should you avoid at all costs?
What are the most common humid rooms in your house?
- Cellar
- Garage
- Kitchen
- Bathroom
- Laundry room
- Attic
They can provide useful spare space where it can be tempting to install and hide a home safe.
Can I install an electronic safe in a humid room?
Remember that electronic locks are made of small electronic cards and contacts. Batteries have small contacts also.
And what is humidity? It is really small water drops in the air that come down everywhere, steam or vapor. Or the air containing water molecules that condensate when temperature and saturation change. Well, it is not the place for a physics course, but you get the point.
Either by drops or vapor, water ends up inside the safe and inside the lock of the safe. Water on electronic contacts (usually made of copper) causes corrosion. And quickly enough many problems occur: batteries can’t power the lock properly, the lock is not responding, the screen is blurred out, and so on. And it is too late. You can’t open your safe when you need it. And you have to call a locksmith which is a hassle and might be costly. Remember that a safe is made not to be opened.
Because safes are usually installed in a place for a long time, you should avoid putting an electronic safe in a humid room.
Electronics don’t play well with humidity.
Good fire-resistant safes have materials against humidity. But they can protect the content for a while. But definitely not the lock itself,
Can I install a mechanical safe in a humid room?
Mechanical safes don’t suffer from humidity because there is nothing electronic in their door or lock.
But for mechanical safes, you should consider their content. What do you want to store in your safe? If you want to store the items below:
- electronic devices;
- USB keys,
- Hard Drives,
- important papers (will, etc.)
Those items will suffer from constant humidity. Remember that a good fire-resistant safe has humidity control material built in. But keep in mind the long period you intend to leave your safe at its place. Will that material be good enough for long enough? Maybe not.
You can use your own humidity control material that you can place inside your safe and change regularly. This can be a good solution if you are responsible for this and don’t forget to buy again and change that material on a regular basis. If you want to use that space in your humid room and you have nowhere else, then go on; this will do the trick.
Can I put a safe in my garage?
The answer is yes. But keep in mind it shouldn’t be too cold though. A garage shouldn’t be too humid to install a safe, even an electronic safe. It is a yes with a “but”, though. If you want to know the conditions on which you can use a safe in a garage light-heartedly, read the post I wrote after researching thouroughfully the pros and cons.
Can I install a safe in my cellar?
A cellar shouldn’t be too cold either. But this is a room that can be humid. Check your humidity rate. If it is too humid, see above and do not use an electronic safe there and check the content regularly. Lastly, beware of other aspects of a cellar: difficulty to access the safe, danger when using the stairs, danger when carrying the safe down the stairs.
Can I put a safe in my kitchen?
There are no temperature problems in a kitchen that could prevent the use of a safe. Humidity can be a problem if you boil water often or if you use your dishwasher regularly. Keep that in mind. It is up to you. There is no definite answer when it comes to kitchens. For example:
- In a big kitchen where you don’t cook too often, any safe will do.
- In a small kitchen often used, you shouldn’t install an electronic safe and maybe not a safe at all.
Can I put a safe in my bathroom?
A bathroom gets really too humid, and you shouldn’t install any safe. Steam and vapor are everywhere. Drops form on the wall, on the floor. Even with a good controlled mechanical ventilation, a safe will suffer as well as its content.
Can I put a safe in my laundry room?
A bit like a bathroom, a laundry room might be too wet. You might have a washing machine, a drying machine, an ironing table in there. If you use them often the room must be too humid.
If you know you use them not that often, why not. But this is not preferable.
Can I put a safe in my attic?
This is a room that can be compared with the cellar or the garage. This room shouldn’t be either too cold or too wet. You can install any safe you want in your attic. Provided you check humidity and temperature beforehand though.
If your attic is not insulated, do not use an electronic safe if it gets too cold up there.
A safe in an attic is not always easy to access: you won’t have that comfort. But in exchange, you might get a little more security. The attic floor should be strong enough to support the weight of the safe, as well as the stairs.
Conclusion
You can further read our guide on how to prevent humidity in your safe and learn all our tips and tricks, and also theses are the products I recommend against humidity and moisture and for your safe in general.
Installing a safe in a humid room is not a good idea. It depends on what type of room, as you can see in the table below:
| Where | Electronic | Mechanical | Safe Content | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cellar | maybe | yes | yes | if not too humid |
| Garage | yes | yes | yes | if not below freezing |
| Kitchen | no | yes | maybe | if not too humid |
| Bathroom | no | no | maybe | risky |
| Laundry room | no | yes | maybe | no electronic |
| Attic | maybe | yes | yes | if not too humid |
Electronic safe locks are not designed to operate for many years in a humid environment.
When it comes to mechanical safes, you can install them in many more places. But you must keep in mind that the content should be preserved as well for many years. Even if good fire-retardant safes have humidity control materials built in, there is no proof that it will be good for a long time. Using yourself humidity control material that you add inside the safe can be cumbersome.
Only if you don’t have any other options, it can help use a humid room for additional space. But this is not recommended. You have to use and change dehumidifier product regularly.
Attic or garage can be useful to help you hide a safe in a non-heated room without too many risks.