Rust

Lucyspell

Hi

I had stored an old black singer hand sewing machine in the attic. For years it remained in the same unchanged condition. On locating it after two years I find it has surface rust, and the moving parts are a bit siezed up.

Does this indicate anything going on in the attic, such as dampness?

Thanks for any thoughts

Lucy

Calahonda52

You know this already..

The science is that the machine is a mass of cold steel which remains cold pretty much all the time.

The attic will heat and cool with the sun and perhaps there is no cover on the cold water tank so water evaporates off into the atmosphere and then when the temp drops at night, it find the steel.

Yes, dampness, but more than usual, don't know.
Have you had the insulation upgraded?
Any vents for bathroom extractor fans fallen off.
Maybe some driving rain got in under the slates or the chimney flashing on a once off as we had some bad storms/wind.....
Any more damp in the house getting up through holes in the hot press or that badly fitting attic hatch:)
etc:)

Lucyspell

Thank you for your reply.

i was wondering if iron would rust without the presence of water, just due to age - or does it mean damp is always present for rust to form? I was surprised when I saw the rust on the machine, as it's been around since the 1950s , and no change till now...

The attic is a small one, over an extension, so no water tank in that part. We will check for bathroom steam vent coming apart though, as that is a possibility. There is insulation and flooring, and no damp immediately visible.

The room underneath has a vague 'mould' smell at times, around a window , so far I have not had that properly investigated.

jack of all

I don't know what part of the country you're living in OP but I'm in the midlands myself and I've noticed that recent winters with cold, damp air and wet summers have resulted in some very light mould growth on the underside of the roofing felt- something that was never an issue before in 17 years or so since we purchased the house. However it would be wise to investigate for any leaks, ensure your cross ventilation is adequate, vents are unobstructed etc. I'd say the rust on your sewing machine is most likely down to condensation, I've similar problems with metal items stored in a dry and ocassionally heated shed- unless you can keep metal items above dew point (by keeping them heated in some way) you will have condensation and surface rust as a direct result. Try storing the machine in a box with some dessicant material- silica gel or some of those proprietary "dehumidifying" packages sold in Tesco, Dealz etc.

Joe1919

Similar problem with brothers drum kit in attic. I think the usual thing (with bicycles, tools etc) is to oil all moving parts and wipe all metal parts with an oily rag.