Do those vacuum storage bags actually work?

[thequeenofcontradiction]

I'm moving to Australia and will be shipping loads of clothes/sheets etc, and was wondering if it was worth getting some of these storage bags. How good are they? Will the vacuum effect last the 10 weeks of shipping, or will it start to leak?

Which ones are the best? Is it worth paying for decent ones?

Thanks

Leak (JML ones)

I got some from the blooming marvellous catalogue. I washed everything, made sure it was all bone dry, only to find that my humble little hoover didn't work on them. I think you need an industrial strength super spec hoover. I binned them in a temper!

will be watching for any more experiences as we mgiht be needing to do the same soon.

i have some from ebay and sat on them to get the air out. they worked pretty well.

My brother bought some cheap ones off Ebay - they leak after a while, but only if there is space for them to leak into.... so you could hoover all the air out and then put them into another container eg suitcase/trunk/whatever, then even if they do leak they will only expand into the available space iyswim. (I used a few of his bags on my way back over the pond recently and when I opened my case all my stuff slowly expanded like some kind of foam sealant and oozed out of the case - but at least I got them over using the minimum space!!)

Blooming Marvellous ones leak. And IMO, you don't get more into them than if you just stuffed suitcases/bags really well.

Thyre good for short times. Thing is if you buy the big ones and put quite alot of stuff in them(I used them for clothes ds3 has grown out of for ds4 to wear) they are realy heavy! I emptied them out in the end and put everything into black sacks. Sorry not much help.

Oh I got them from Kleenezee.

We use them for camping, and they work just fine. Make sure you remove the air with the hoover (or air pump in our case), and not by sitting on them or they burst - I know coz dh did this
Got mine from Home Bargains, but have bought them from Argos in the past.

I got some from Argos to put my DS old clothes in. They do get really heavy and solid once the air has been sucked out. I think they they could be used as an alternate to sand bags if we get flooded!!

I"ve had a few from various places and they all leak after a while, I woulnd't buy them now, I just use the giant plasticy market bags ( tartan ones usually) now for clothes I need to store and chuck them in the loft space

I've used Tchibo ones for skiwear and they were fine for up to a year.

hmmmm, so mixed experiences.

I might get one for a bulky bedspread - when shipping you pay for volume not weight so it won't really matter how heavy they get.