What shouldn't I store in a garage?

[ijustwantasofa]

Moved to a new house with a double garage - not had a garage before. It's pretty well-built with lights, windows etc but probably not really insulated.
Is there anything I shouldn't store in there? We've got loads of stuff like child car seats, upholstered dining chairs, as well as usual furniture, old electronics, baby stuff - is there likely to be a problem with these getting damp?
I was also thinking of putting a tumble dryer in there - anyone else done this?

I'm not a hoarder, this is all stuff we need to keep at the moment particularly as we sort out the rest of the house. I'm good at getting rid of stuff we don't need!

Illegal immigrants

Is it attached to your house or separate? It really depends - it might get damp but might not! My parents stored summer chairs in their separate garage and didn’t have a problem (except when a neighbourhood cat accidently got locked in and peed everywhere!)

Do you have a loft? That’d be better for things like car seats.

You could put something that’s not that valuable in the garage over winter and sss how it goes.

We have a washing machine and tumble dryer in ours. Also many bikes and skis (see user name). Tools and workbench. Pots of paint, camping stuff, work stuff (we both work on building sites). The only thing we haze ever had trouble with is food, which got nibbled by nice, but we fit some electronic mice scarers and a cat, the combo of which seems to have sent the mice packing.

Not the car seats if you ever plan on using them again. The temperature drops and rises weakens the plastic and they become less stable if they were to be in an accident.

In the winter I use mine for vegetables (in wire mesh baskets), as it's cool. Mind you, it's full of other stuff too.
You can keep anything in a garage you would keep in a shed. I have never thought of it in terms of what I shouldn't put in there!
Before we had major alterations we also had, in our garage, a fridge, boiler, washing machine and tumble drier, so yes, it can act as a utility, as long as you lag any water pipes.
Our garage is dry, but can get very cold.

It's separate from the house!
Yeah I think I'll move the carseats indoors. It's not been too cold and wet yet so I'll see how the other stuff fares

Dead bodies

More seriously, you need to find out if it gets colder than the dew point. If it does, you may get mould problems. So check for dampness in the mornings from time to time.

I keep everything in garage except dryer. It is the tumble dryer that causes a lot of moisture around it.

If it has lights assume it also has sockets? You could plug in either a dehumidifier or a small heater.

We rent a small metal container storage unit on a farm - no heat, light or insulation, & it has trees to the S so pretty shaded too. There is a bit of condensation but no significant damage we’re aware of so far.

It will be single-skin so will be damp. It will also be home to mice.

Upholstery will go mouldy.

If you want to put a freezer out there (we have a fridge freezer which is a godsend when entertaining!) then it has to be one that is suitable for outbuildings. We found that out the hard way!

What happened to it? Was considering that but have our spare fridge freezer filling up the utility room...

We have a condenser dryer in ours and haven't had a damp problem.
Interesting about the car seats. I don't think we have still got any out there - must check.
Ours is pretty dry and is not attached to the house. Previous owner had a chest freezer out there.

I don't see how keeping car seats in the garage (or loft for that matter) would degrade the plastics any more than keeping them in the car? They'd probably last longer than if they are kept in the car as they won't be exposed to sunlight as well. I second the advice to only use a freezer that is suitable for lower temperatures as it doesn't switch off when the temperature drops.
Make sure your contents insurance covers items stored in the garage if that's relevant OP.

Re the fridge freezer ones, many will cut off if the temp outside is the same or colder than the temp in the fridge. Learned that last year when we lost a load of stuff I’d been stashing for Christmas.

Beko ones work at up to -20 apparently.