Summer heat+storage in attic and garage

The following email was sent around earlier this year by Hannah and I wanted to archive it here for easy reference and any future inquiries + advice.

"We're preparing our garage and attic for our first summer here in Texas and would like some info on what melts, smells, combusts, or otherwise deconstructs in the summer heat when stored in the garage or attic. If you have any experience you'd like to share, we'd appreciate it. We've already heard no candles or food storage in the garage. Thanks in advance!"

"I shove just about everything in my attic except candles, wood furniture (warp), photos, dvds, or journals. The elastic on children's clothes can break down and the heat seems to multiply and darken stains. Sometimes decor with glued on items will come unglued.

My theory is: if it melts, it melts. You DO NOT want to have to go up there for the next 4 months!

Good luck!"

-Emily L.

"We had Radiant Barrier Specialists <http://www.stophighenergybills.com> spray on a radiant barrier in our attic last August. The barrier is like a thick silver paint that never completely dries (we wanted the foil type barrier instead but the pitch of our roof wouldn't allow the crew to attach it). The spray was cheaper, so we didn't mind too much (both are quite expensive). RBS was having a deal where you got free insulation with the radiant barrier (looks like it's still going on), so we did that, as well as had our garage door insulated and an extra attic turbine (whirlybird) installed on our roof. Not sure if any of those qualify for the energy tax rebates this year, but they might.

RBS was really great to work with and we'd do business with them again in a heartbeat. The attic is definitely cooler than it was before (so is the garage). We're still waiting to see if our energy bill is noticeably lower this summer (hard to tell since our rates went up quite a bit since last year)." -Kaite W.

"Thanks everyone for your responses! Here's what I've been told by the Texas experts (in addition to what Emily already wrote):

--glue in children's shoes breaks down in attic heat

--otherwise "clean" children's clothes stored in attic may turn up with stains after summer of heat, so soak in BIZ for a day and wash twice for good as new clothes at end of summer

--do not put paint, chemicals in attic, but in the garage should be fine

--you're not supposed to store gas in the garage (even in your lawn mower), but a life-long Texan says she's done it all her life with no problems

--no food storage in garage or attic

--no video/cassette tapes, computer disks, etc.

Any more suggestions welcome. Thanks again!" -Hannah