Where and how should we store winter and summer tyres?

Once the new season has come, every car owner needs to take care of the tyre change. Preparing our car to weather conditions that greatly affect driving dynamics is a key factor in making sure that we drive safely. It’s usually easy to find a mechanic who can change our tyres into winter ones on the spot. However, the question remains: what should we do with the summer tyres then? After all, they won’t be used for another few months. Luckily, there’s an efficient solution that will not only prevent our tyres from getting stolen, but will also maintain their high quality.

How to store tyres appropriately? Clean them!

Rubber that the tyres are made of doesn’t require any complicated maintenance procedures to stay intact, even for many months. Degradation of tyres happens more often when they are highly exploited, rather than during storage. But it’s still important to remember that all kinds of chemicals, such as petrol or oils, can negatively affect the material. These substances tend to accumulate during driving, so before we place the seasonal tyres in the storage, it’s a good idea to clean them, which will also help us to get rid of regular road dirt.

There’s another advantage of cleaning the tyres after we’ve taken them off the car: once we’ve removed the dirt, it’s much easier to notice any potential damage. It may also turn out that the tyres are so exploited that it’s better to get a new set.

Cleaning tyres doesn’t require too much extra work or using any special products. You only need warm water, some car shampoo, a sponge or a cleaning brush. Remember to rinse out the foam thoroughly and let the tyres dry naturally. We can add an extra layer of protection by using a tyre maintenance product.

Where should we store tyres in between the seasons?

You should first of all make sure that your tyres are kept in appropriate conditions. We should place them in a dry shaded spot, well-ventilated to boot. The optimum temperature for summer and winter tyre storage ranges between -5 and 30 degrees Celsius.

We tend to think that the best place to store them is our garage. Then the tyres are always within our reach. However, it becomes a bit of an issue if our garage isn’t big enough to fit all the necessary equipment. At the end of the day, apart from parking our car in there, we often use it to store gardening appliances and tools. Moreover, garages, especially detached ones, usually don’t have a heating system. So, if we decide to keep our summer tyres there, it might turn out that very low temperatures have caused some irreversible damage. Also, tyres should not get in contact with any chemical substances. Garage floor, on the other hand, is usually full of oil spillage, grease or other chemicals.

Another solution for tyre storage is keeping them in the basement. But once again, we need to face the problem of limited space. There’s no denying that basements tend to be very damp and even though they might have the appropriate temperature, it’s difficult to provide the right type of ventilation. Moreover, things often get stolen and expensive, tyres of good quality can be appealing to thieves.

In such case, a more advisable solution is to use self storage services – a rental storage unit.

Why is it a good idea to choose a storage unit for your tyres?

Rental units that we have available at Less mess Storage are nothing else but storage spaces that come in different sizes. It’s easy to find the right room for your needs. The main advantage of using self storage is the safety that goes with it. The whole Less Mess Storage facility is equipped with 24/7 video surveillance. The storage units also have alarm systems in place and the customer can put a padlock on them. In addition, they have a personal access code that guarantees no unauthorised entry to their unit.

To top it all off, all the Less Mess Storage facilities provide perfect storage conditions – also for car tyres.

Once you’ve signed the rental contract, you have unlimited access to your room. You can access it at any time of day and night, 7 days a week. If it happens that you need to change your tyres unexpectedly because of a sudden change of weather conditions, you can pick them up at any moment.

How to store tyres without rims?

When you’ve decided to rent a storage unit, you should make sure that your tyres are stored appropriately. Even though rubber is usually flexible, it’s important to remember that it tends to be hardened with different additives, such us wires, that often get deformed. That’s why it’s important to remember not to put the tyres on top of each other, if possible. But if we still decide to arrange them this way, we should, from time to time, move the very bottom tyre and put it on top to prevent it from getting deformed.

Under no circumstances should we hang tyres on a hanger, because then it’s almost certain that they will get deformed. The best thing is to put them in a row – for example, on a tread or wooden boards, rather than directly on the floor – and move them around about once a month so that they don’t always stay in the same spot. That’s not a problem, as we can access our Less Mess Storage unit at any time. The alternative option is to invest in a special tyre rack.

How should we store tyres with rims?

Storing tyres with rims is in a way safer, because the risk of them getting deformed is much lower. But in this case, the procedure is quite the opposite compared to the tyres without rims.

First of all, we shouldn’t put them in a row on a tread, as the weight of the rim can result in them getting deformed. A much better solution is hanging them on hooks or forming a pile. If we do the latter, we should remember to lower the air pressure inside the tyres. Then the weight will be put on the edges of the rims and we will minimise the chances of our tyres getting deformed.

Regardless of the storage method that we choose, Less Mess storage units guarantee safety and appropriate storage conditions.