Vacuum bags are a great space saver for storage and protect soft bulky items like bedding, clothing and household textiles from damp and odours. They are ideal if you want to organise your storage unit to save space.
How does a vacuum tote bag work?
Vacuum tote bags are sturdy plastic storage sacks that can be sealed tight so you can suck out air using a vacuum cleaner nozzle (note that you need a vacuum cleaner with a tube attachment to successfully use this storage system). This reduces the size of soft items that take up a lot of space, like cushions, bolsters and bedding, so that you can pack your storage unit efficiently.
What are the advantages of vacuum storage for clothes?
Vacuum bags shrink down your stored goods, allowing you to store clothing in a smaller space. They also keep the contents sealed away from dust and moisture.
By vacuum packing, you’ll be making best use of the space in your storage unit, ensuring you get better value for your monthly storage costs.
Vacuum packed clothing will be covered by your self-storage insurance.
Unpacking clothes, bedding and towels from vacuum bags
With most vacuum bag systems, you unzip the bag, pull the contents out, give it a shake to fluff it up and you’re done. Depending on your (and your garments’) tolerance for wrinkles, you may wish to iron or steam vacuum stored clothing before wearing.
You can air a stored duvet by hanging it over the washing line, or near an open window on a sunny day.
Choosing a good vacuum storage bag for clothing and duvets
The best vacuum bags are clear so you can see what’s inside, and larger bags should have carry handles. Look for vacuum bags that will fold flat when not in use to save space.
The quality of vacuum bags varies so I’d recommend checking reviews before you buy. Mumsnet has tested a few, and reported back. Some cheaper bags will be good for one use, but fairly quickly start to leak so they can’t be compressed. You can still use them for storage, but they won’t be as efficient.
Vacuum storage bags for clothing and bedding are widely available from shops like Lakeland and Argos and they come in a variety of sizes, so whatever you want to store – whether it’s a few summer shirts or an entire king-size duvet, there’s a vacuum bag for you.
Top tips for vacuum storage
Only store clothing, blankets and bedding that is completely clean and dry – mould will grow on damp clothing, and it is likely to have a musty smell when it comes out of storage. Learn more in our post on storing blankets.
Hollowfibre duvets and pillows can be successfully vacuum packed; but feather and down don’t always bounce back from long-term vacuum storage.
It’s worth keeping your vacuum bags within another bag to protect them from tearing and punctures.
Saving money on self-storage
Vacuum bags will allow you to get more domestic goods into your storage unit, so they’ll save you money each month. But another way to keep your storage bills down is to check who is insuring your stuff. Self-storage insurance is compulsory for most storage companies – but some of them sneakily add their own insurance policy to your bill each month.
There is no obligation on your part to use their insurer, and you may get better value from another provider. Check that item on your storage bill, and then get a quote from Store and Insure to see how we compare.
