Care guide · Storage
Kit ages in storage almost as effectively as in use: UV through a van window chalks a helmet, damp in a February shed mildews a summer wardrobe, and the glovebox FFP mask is a write-off by design. Storage is the unglamorous half of making kit last — and for PPE, some of it has rules.
The rules
Seasonal garment storage is two words: clean and dry. Wash everything before it goes away (body oils and soiling set, attract moths and feed mildew over months), dry it completely (the drying rules apply doubly before storage), and box it somewhere dry rather than bagging it airtight while any moisture remains. Reproof waterproofs at the start of storage, not in the October panic — the routine — and store FR kit clean, because stored contamination is still contamination.
PPE adds shelf lives. Helmets age from manufacture, worn or not (check the stamp); disposable respirators carry expiry dates and die early in damp glovebox conditions; glove polymers stiffen and crack in van heat cycles; and retroreflective tape on stored hi-vis delaminates in damp. The van deserves its own paragraph because it's where trade kit actually lives: the rear window ledge is a UV oven (fading hi-vis and chalking helmets parked in plain sight), the wet-kit heap in the back grows what wet heaps grow, and the answer costs little — kit bags or boxes, off the glass, spare gloves and masks in sealed tubs, wet gear separated until it dries. For employers, stock storage is rotation: first-in-first-out on dated PPE, and issue stores kept dry enough that the stock isn't ageing faster than it's issued — the records logic extends to the shelf.
Quick reference
| Item | Storage rule | The killer |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal garments | Washed, bone dry, boxed in the dry | Mildew from 'nearly dry' |
| Helmets | Cool, dark, off the parcel shelf | UV through glass |
| Disposable FFPs | Sealed, dry, in date | Glovebox damp and crush |
| Gloves | Dry tubs, out of sun | Heat-cycle stiffening |
| Hi-vis & waterproofs | Hung dry, reproofed going in | Damp-stored tape delamination |
Questions
Washed, completely dried, and boxed or hung somewhere dry — soiling set over months attracts moths and mildew, and trapped moisture ruins more stored kit than moths do. Reproof waterproofs before storage rather than after, and store FR clean as a rule.
Much of it ages regardless of use: helmet shells date from manufacture, disposable respirators carry expiry dates, and glove polymers stiffen with heat cycles. Store PPE cool, dry and dark, rotate stock first-in-first-out, and check date stamps at issue.
The van is fine as a wardrobe and terrible as a shelf: UV through windows fades hi-vis and degrades helmets, damp heaps mildew, and gloveboxes kill masks. Boxes off the glass, sealed tubs for spares and separating wet kit until dry fixes almost all of it.
When care can't bring a garment back to compliance, replace it — certified hi-vis and weatherproofs from stock, with embroidery for teams.