Job Discussion Forums

[MsParker]

Good afternoon,

I will be moving to Burma in about one month. I doubt that there are many people working in Burma on Dave's, but perhaps people who are in China or Thailand could help.

I am a bit worried about the humidity and how that may damage some of my possessions (i.e. carpets, wall-hangings). I've heard horror stories of nice grey-green fur growing on items during the rainy season.

When I lived in South Korea, I could take care of excess humidity with silica gel "boxes" that could be placed in closets or behind bookshelves, and that was enough. When my Mom lived in Belize, she lost a lot of personal items (photos etc) to the humidity.

What do you think? Should I ship these things back to Canada and live without them for at least 2 years (at my own expense) or bring them with me (on the company's dime)?

Thank you.

[Ariadne]

I'm in SE China. There are days when the floors and walls and handrails are dripping wet, everything is damp... but not in my apartment. I leave the aircon on all the time. I don't set the temp very low, but keeping it running gets the water out of the air. You could also get a separate dehumidifier if necessary. We used them on Okinawa and they worked great. That would certainly be less expensive than paying for shipping and storage.

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[MsParker]

Brilliant. Thank you for the reply.

Have you had any issues with electronics getting rusty or is the aircon enough?

[Ariadne]

Haven't had any trouble with rusty electronics. If you leave for a few days and turn off the a/c, try putting things in a closet with a bunch of those plastic dehumidifier gadgets that collect water.

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[eclectic]

[malu]

I live in a particularly wet place in Java and I have had issues with leather items getting mildew when stored in a closet. There are an awful lot of moths around here that like eating carpets and hangings, too. A/c sorts things out nicely but I wonder how reliable is the electricity supply in Burma?

[jay_gee]

+1 Aircon, i have travelled south asia extensively and also china.

aircon left on will dry a room out fantastically.

I did have some trouble with a good digital camera gettin water inside. but if you have very precious electronics put them in an air tight container with some silica gell/ moisture absorber

[WhatTimeFinish?]

The cooler the air is, the less water it can hold. Keeping the heat and humidity outside of a room with all your valuables will help tremendously.

[Ikki]

I can't believe all the posters who say "leave the A/C on". That can be bloody expensive!

Using the humidity trap boxes is a good idea, though.