How To Properly Prepare The Cellar For Winter? Photo

Every conscientious housewife tries to prepare for the future as much as possible products of the garden and vegetable garden in the form of canned food. But where and how to keep them for a long time? In addition to preservation and pickles, the same problem arises with the storage of vegetables and fruits. Almost every family has a cellar in the garage, in the house, in the country - you can store it everywhere. The problem is that these cellars are sometimes not suitable for storing food.

What's going on in the cellar?

Often housewives complain that preserves are not preserved even before the beginning of winter (tears off the lids), in winter cans burst from frost, and vegetables rot. This is because the cellar is not properly equipped. It's too hot in summer and cold in winter. In addition, the cellar may not be equipped with a ventilation system.

How to upgrade your cellar?

It is impossible to name one solution for all problems, therefore, we will consider a set of measures necessary to modernize the storage space of products.

Warming of the cellar. This process will be beneficial in two ways: it will be cool in summer and warm in winter. For insulation of walls and ceilings, mineral wool (preferably with foil), foam styrene insulating film, and polystyrene foam can be useful to us. It is necessary to choose insulation based on the required intensity of insulation, as well as the material from which the walls are made. For example, it is problematic to attach a film or mineral wool without lighthouses to a brick wall, but fixing the foam will not be difficult.

Ventilation of the room. A very important point that many people ignore. In the absence of the necessary ventilation, humidity rises in the cellar, a variety of fungi, bacteria and insects develop. Under such conditions, the metal lids of cans rust very quickly, and the decay process is accelerated at times. To organize natural ventilation of the cellar, it is necessary to install two air ducts: one for supply, the other for exhaust. The material for the manufacture of air ducts can be a plastic, asbestos or metal pipe of a suitable diameter. The diameter of the pipes is calculated based on the ratio: for 1 m ^{2 of the} cellar, it is necessary to provide 25 cm ^{2 of} the duct area.

Exhaust pipe. Provides removal of stagnant air from the cellar. It is installed along one corner of the room, while its lower end is located under the very ceiling. The air duct runs vertically through all rooms, the roof and rises above the ridge.

Supply pipe. Provides fresh air supply to the cellar. The pipe is placed in the corner opposite to the exhaust duct. The lower end of the pipe is at a height of 20-50 cm from the cellar floor and ends 50-80 cm above the ground.

Note! To protect the cellar from insects and rodents, the upper opening of the supply pipe must be closed with a fine mesh.

In severe frosts, it is better to close the ventilation pipes with cotton wool or foam rubber.

Antiseptic techniques. For long-term storage of food, it is important to keep the room clean, and this is not only about aesthetic appearance. To prevent the development of fungi and bacteria, you can treat all surfaces with a special antiseptic. Who is not a supporter of chemicals, it is enough to paint the walls and ceiling with slaked lime. For progressive users, germicidal lamps can be used.

Having done a number of simple works that will not incur significant financial costs, you get a modern universal cellar in which you can store food for a long time. At the same time, they will retain not only their taste, but also the benefits for your health.