Humidity control in gun safes is essential. Especially if you live in areas where there is high humidity. It may as well be the most important factor to consider if you have a gun safe. You see, locking up your safe prevents air circulation inside. This means that any moisture trapped inside the safe when the door was sealed condenses forming water droplets on the items stored inside.

Well, fire rating is also important when buying a gun safe. However, the whole thing with fire rating with gun safes is that as the safe gets hot the dry wall heats up and it releases moisture inside. This keeps the interior temperature at around 300⁰ C. So as long as there’s only guns in there, they’ll probably be okay from the heat as long as your safe was rated properly.

Also, if the fire department is at least 30 minutes away, and they got there in time and put out the fire. Now you biggest problem here is water damage, your huge concern is getting in there after that event and making sure that you are conserving your guns properly.

Controlling Humidity Level in Your Gun Safe

With humidity in gun control, the rule is: if you are not comfortable, your gun is probably not comfortable as well. You want about 65⁰F-71⁰F temperature and about 45%-50% humidity inside the safe.

Too low humidity, during winter for example, and your stocks can dry up. Therefore, humidifiers are your friend, look for the best gun safe humidifier. Too high humidity, and rust starts to develop and the stocks begin to swell. Especially during summertime, depending on where you live.

Remember: your storage conditions are going to depend on your location. It is good to have both humidifiers and dehumidifiers to create that balance throughout the year.

Best Gun Safe Humidifier

As the winter temperatures go down, so does the humidity level in your home. The dry winter air is not able to retain as much moisture as summer air. Added heat from the furnaces and fireplaces also create an environment that literally sucks the moisture from our bodies.

This lack of humidity in the air during winter months can make your gun stocks dry up, this is why it is so important to go for the best gun safe humidifier. A good humidifier in the same room as your gun safe can correct this condition, effectively maintaining your guns. Here are some of my personal favorites:

The Venta Airwasher

This humidifier is best for dry winter air. It has so many advantages that make it suitable for gun safe humidification. First of all, it has 3 fan speeds which can effectively humidify a large area of up to 400 square feet. Because it works through an evaporation system, it cannot therefore over-humidify your home, which reduces the possibility of rust on your guns.

It has some advantages, for example a true filter-less system; meaning you don’t need any filters or distilled water because it filters the water on its own. Depending on the air condition, its full tank reservoir (2gallon/9 litre tank) can last for up to three days. This means you don’t have to keep refilling it so often, and you will be sure that the air is pure and not over-humidified to avoid rust and mildew on your guns, how cool is that?

However, some of the cons include difficulty in cleaning. Because of the way it’s built you may not be able to clean some nooks and crannies. Also, it is a bit noisy and may not release enough moisture fast enough especially in severe dry conditions. With all being said, it’s still my personal favorite and I consider it to be the best gun safe humidifier.

Honeywell Germ-free Humidifier

This is another excellent humidifier that I would recommend to put in the same room as your gun safe. It has a large one gallon tank that is able to humidify spacious rooms for up to 24 hours.

You also don’t have to worry about over-humidifying the air because of its evaporative technology; meaning it cannot expel excess moisture into the air than the amount it can hold. It is definitely one of the best gun safe humidifiers out there.

Proscenic Humidifier

If you want to begin adjusting the humidity levels in your gun safe area before you even open up the front door then this humidifier is definitely for you. A bit more-pricey than the previous humidifiers, more than 10 times in fact, but all the while worth it because of its smart technology.

You get to control all of your humidifier settings from your phone. This includes switching between seven speed settings and even warm or cool mist. It also has inbuilt memory that can reboot at the previous settings which is very convenient in achieving the 50% humidity level recommended by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that is perfect for gun storage. Making it one of the best gun safe humidifiers out there.

Best Gun Safe De-Humidifier

It is very simple to control moisture in your safe if you do it with the correct product. Here is a quick tip: if you live in an area with high humidity, get a hygrometer to read your humidity level. They are only about $10.

Another awesome way to keep an eye on the interior climate of your safe is to get a digital humidity and temperature monitor. I would recommend a Liberty Safe humidity and temperature monitor simply because it is energy efficient, accurate, and has a very clear LCD digital display.

Secondly, if you do not have an electric outlet you may consider a desiccant product; an Eva dry or any other dehumidifier that is not electric to be inside your safe. One of the easiest ways to control moisture inside your safe is with a silica gel product which is going to absorb moisture.

During winter, don’t stress too much just go for any of the best gun safe humidifiers which I have recommended, and continue monitoring humidity along with a dehumidifier inside the safe for optimum gun storage conditions. Here are some dehumidifiers I would recommend for your gun safe:

Dehumidifier Rods

Dri-rod/ Golden Rod Dehumidifier

Made in the US, having a lifetime warranty, and UL rated, dry rods are a no brainer for anyone with a modern gun safe. This is because most modern gun safes have an auxiliary plug in hole at the back for things like lighting, and in this case dri rods.

Dri rods help eliminate dampness, dust and mildew from the contents of your gun safe. What they do is they maintain the heat inside the safe at a consistent temperature, keeping it dry. This is extremely important because anytime the temperature shifts between hot and cold in an enclosed place you always run the risk of condensation.

This means that when the temperature cools, moisture droplets will form on your guns and you don’t want that. Actually, when you open a safe with a dry rod it will feel a little warm in there. Dry rods maintain the humidity at around 45% which is a safe percentage.

 Dri rods come with a chord and plug in kit that you hook up and attach to the socket and it works very well. I also love them because they come with some screws that you can either screw into your dry wall or even snap them on and lay your rod at the bottom of your safe. If you have a bigger safe you can either buy more or even a larger rod because they come in different sizes.

Eva-Dry Dehumidifier

This product happens to be the most popular on this list. The reason why I would recommend it is because it is filled with water glass technology crystals with a higher absorption rate than the traditional soluble humidity absorbing products. It is also very eco-friendly, and child and pet safe.

To reactivate the beads when they change color to let you know that it has too much moisture in it and it needs to be reactivated, you take it out of the safe and plug it in the wall for about 8-12 hours and it dries it out and you can put it back into the safe. It is very cost effective and lets you save money.

One thing I do not recommend to put inside your safe is any kind of product that goes in a bowl and you pour the beads in it and it collects the moisture which also sits inside the bowl. This is because it is very caustic. If you spill it on your guns or any other surface, it messes up the stuff in the safe.

Wisesorb Dessicant Gel Canister

The nice thing about this product is that it doesn’t add heat, and it is rechargeable so you can keep re-using it. They also stop at around 45% humidity which is perfect for gun storage. Basically, the way these things work is when they are all full of moisture they turn green, but when they are dry and in good shape they turn orange. To get them to orange you heat them up in an oven or a microwave.

The problem with this product is that it is not very precise. You can easily mistake the colors, so when you dry them out make sure the crystals are completely orange. An easy trick is to take out the crystals from the canister, lay them out on a cookie sheet and really bake them at about 250⁰C for about 2 hours.

The science behind optimum humidity for a Gun safe

Iron starts rusting above 50% humidity, while steel starts to rust above 80% humidity. The National Rifle Association of America recommendation for gun storage is at 50%-55% humidity and 70⁰F (21⁰C) which is perfect for the proper storage condition of the wood furniture.

If you have an M1 Garand with wooden components for example, you are basically locked at about 50% humidity. Every time you open and shut that safe, you have basically reset the condition of the air inside your safe.

My Advice

By now you are probably wondering whether you should consider a heat rod dehumidifier, a canister dehumidifier or an Eva dry. You may also be wondering whether it is necessary to monitor the humidity of your safe using a hygrometer, if you already have a dehumidifier in there. Let me answer that for you.

First of all, I would strongly advise that you try as much as you can to seal any openings where air might get inside your safe to prevent it from breathing, hence condensation. You can either carpet the openings or look for magnetic seals.

Now, the best way to maintain optimum humidity in your safe is to place a hygrometer inside and one by one monitor the humidity while increasing the number of dehumidifiers until you reach a satisfactory percentage (45%-50%). Also, make sure to use a humidifier inside the room during winter or when the humidity is low.

I have recommended some of the best gun safe humidifiers in the market right now, which will make sure the room in which you have chosen to place your gun safe has optimum humidity levels for gun storage. This means you don’t have to worry about things like your guns developing rust, disgusting mold forming on your guns or in your safe, and your gun stocks don’t swell up or dry up.