canning jars rusting

[coup]

how quick does your jar lids rust in your cellar,,,,,seems to about 4 years in ours and pretty well gone by 6years.... we have been placing baggies over are the last two years but still to early to tell if helping.....are cellar is pretty damp.....we have thin stryfoam for a ceiling in our cellar.......whatiis best for ceiling in a cellar?

[Joshie]

Do the plastic baggies cause condensation?

[wwubben]

Originally Posted by coup

how quick does your jar lids rust in your cellar,,,,,seems to about 4 years in ours and pretty well gone by 6years.... we have been placing baggies over are the last two years but still to early to tell if helping.....are cellar is pretty damp.....we have thin stryfoam for a ceiling in our cellar.......whatiis best for ceiling in a cellar?

Are you talking about full jars?We use our canned goods by the end of the second year.We heat our basement in the winter to 60 degrees and have a dehumidifier on in the summer.We have no problem with rust.

[Macybaby]

I remove the rings and have not had problems with seals rusting. The oldest I have is four years - that was when I started canning.

My canned goods are stored in what was the old cellar. It's always damp, the dehydrator runs constantly year round. When it rains and in the spring we get water in there too, but the sump pump takes care of it when it works it's way into the main basement (an addition).

Rings usually start rusting in less than six months, I'd have a mess if I left them on the jars. I now have several boxes of unused rings (big boxes, not the ones they come in). I keep using the same ones during canning season until they start rusting, then I toss them and grab a few more. I keep them up in my closet where it's a lot dryer, and the never used ones don't rust, but those that have been used for a season usually do.

[Waiting Falcon]

You could try putting a container of lime on each shelf.
Lime draws moisture away. Otherwise I do not think it is
a good idea to store canned goods in a damp cellar.

[Jennifer L.]

My mother used to wax the tops. Like car wax type stuff? It would hold the lids longer without rusting.

Jennifer

[coup]

that is a thing i will try,,,for sure thanks! i open a small window in warm months but when it is sealed up for cold months then we have trouble....

[Alice In TX/MO]

Just me, but I would NOT be keeping home canned food for four years.

[used2bcool13]

Are the rings on the lids?
You could wipe some veg oil on the top after the jar is sealed maybe.

[Ozarks Tom]

High humidity will cause anything to rust. I'm surprised you're not noticing mold in that area also. If you don't find a way to reduce the moisture in the air, there's not much you can do to stop it. At least the rust is on the outside, and not effecting the jar contents.

[CarolT]

Car wax or paraffin? My grandmother used paraffin because it was food safe.

Ditto the dehumidifier

[Wendy]

Just me, but I would NOT be keeping home canned food for four years.

As long as the seal is good it should be fine. We are still eating pears from 2005 & they taste the same as when we opened them in 2005. We had a huge crop that year.