Spending your time and money on the upkeep of your steel container is vital for ensuring the exterior is safe and the interior and whatever it is housing is secure.
If you have been looking for steel containers for sale, assuming they are low maintenance and easy to run – this remains true. It isn’t difficult to stay on top of a steel container’s general maintenance, and if you’re running a business or working from one, you have far less to worry about than if you were tending to the upkeep of a house.
Therefore, in today’s blog, we’re looking into why maintaining your steel container is essential and what you can do to stay on top of its upkeep. As mentioned, it’s easy, and there are only a few areas you need to be regularly checking. Let’s find out more.
Why You Need to Maintain Your Steel Container
If you’re using your steel container to house your belongings, run your business, or work from, what is inside matters the most. To protect whatever you keep inside, you must stay on top of both the exterior and interior maintenance. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Cleaning
- Repairs
- Wear and tear
- Décor.
Yes, décor. If you’re running a business from your steel container, such as a bar, then you must pay close attention to decorating. You could find that potential customers are put off if the paint job looks a little worse for wear or your sign is rusting.
Additionally, the maintenance of your steel container is important for more reasons than aesthetics. Preventing leaking is one of the main areas to focus on, and if any small amounts of damage occur, you must tend to them immediately as they will more than likely worsen with time. But what are the specific factors that could be cause for concern?
Steel Container Roof Damage
One of the most important maintenance checks is to ensure the roof is completely sealed and is clear of any dints or holes. Interestingly, steel containers are designed to carry weight on their corners, which means that the roof has the potential to dint in the centre if there is too much pressure. If you have multiple steel containers you wish to stack, it’s important to remember that the weight from the container on top is resting on the corners of the container on the bottom to prevent dinting.
Additionally, heavy rainfall and snow can also cause roof dints, so you should be checking your steel container’s roof often and keeping it clear, especially after a day or night of bad weather.
If the roof of your container is dinted and is left untreated, rain or snow could sit in the area and cause rusting, erosion, and in the worst cases, collapsing. Completing regular checks on your steel container’s roof is guaranteed to add some years to its life expectancy, making it a vital step in the maintenance process.
Steel Container Rust
Contrary to popular belief, steel containers are not completely rust-proof. Here at Flintham Cabins, our storage containers are manufactured using corrosion-resistant Corten steel and finished with marine-grade paint, ensuring they stand the test of time. Although it is highly unlikely that you will find corrosion on any of our steel containers for hire, you still need to care for your unit to prevent possible rusting.
The speed at which the exterior will rust depends on the climate of the environment. The optimum climate rotates between wet and dry regularly. This is because it is less likely that water will be left on the surface of the container for long periods, and any rainwater will dry naturally. If the steel container is exposed to sea air, rusting is much more likely to occur. Preventing the rust, as opposed to treating it after you find it, is guaranteed to leave you with a more successful outcome. This can be done by regularly checking the exterior for dents, holes, scratches, and cracks – as if any of those damages are left untreated, they can cause rust.
If you do find rust, however, it’s important to remove it and treat the area immediately. You can do this by sanding down and cleaning the area to remove the rust before sealing and painting over it with marine-grade DMT paint.
Ensuring Your Steel Container Is on A Level Surface
It’s essential to ensure your steel container rests on a surface level to prevent water from gathering underneath it. This should be done as soon as you receive your steel container and is usually achieved by laying the container on concrete slabs or railway sleepers. It’s vital that whatever material you decide to lay under the container can be easily drained. If not, water can be trapped below, leading to water damage on the interior and rusting on the exterior, as discussed earlier.
Furthermore, if you are keeping multiple containers stacked on one other, you must check that they are resting evenly and the weight distribution is equal and on the corners of the steel containers, not the centre, as discussed.
How Flintham Cabins Can Assist You
It may seem like a lot of hard work, but it’s easy to stay on top of steel container maintenance, and the results are necessary to make the most out of them and guarantee a long lifetime.
If you have any questions about the upkeep of your steel storage container, or you are interested in hiring or purchasing one or more containers from Flintham Cabins, including used site cabins, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We are more than happy to assist you with any queries.
