;)
Moisture is one of the most common causes of electronics damage during shipping. Whether you’re a manufacturer shipping circuit boards across the country, or a retailer sending electronics to consumers, moisture can destroy your products before they ever reach their destination.
Read on to learn all about electronics moisture damage during shipping: what it is, why it happens, and how you can prevent it.
What is Electronics Moisture Damage?
Electronics moisture damage is harm caused to electrical components or devices when they’re exposed to water. International shipments present many moisture damage risks to electronics. It can happen while stored in a warehouse, during shipment in a cargo container, or during the final leg of delivery.
The internal parts of electronics react poorly to water. Circuit boards, solder joints, connectors, and other essential electronic parts are made from metals that corrode, rust, and disintegrate after prolonged contact with water. Even trace amounts of moisture in the atmosphere can cause irreversible damage.
Moisture damage to electronics is particularly sinister because it isn’t always visible from the outside. In many cases, electronics look perfectly fine externally, but have been rendered totally useless inside from excess moisture.
How to Identify Moisture Damage
When electronics malfunction, moisture damage is often to blame. Here are the signs that your electronics experienced moisture damage in shipping:
- Corrosion: Degraded parts or green and white residue on metal are often a sign of moisture damage.
- Water marks: Sometimes water marks are visible on circuit boards or packaging.
- Cloudy display screens: Devices with sealed displays turn foggy or cloudy when exposed to moisture.
What Causes Electronics Moisture Damage During Shipping?
In order to prevent moisture damage during shipping, it’s important to understand how it occurs. Read on to learn the main sources of moisture in container shipping.
Humidity
Even the driest air contains some level of moisture. Your electronics shipment’s route may take it through humid, tropical weather, storms, and other moist environments. Humid air makes its way into your shipping container and slowly seeps into your electronics.
Temperature Swings
As a container travels overseas, it undergoes dramatic temperature changes. When a shipment moves from a cold environment to a warmer one, whether leaving refrigerated storage for a hot loading dock or a cold night into a warm day, the air inside the container condenses.
Over time, condensation causes water droplets to form on the walls and ceiling of your shipping container. When the moisture levels get high enough, those water droplets begin to rain down on your sensitive electronics cargo, a phenomenon known as container rain.
Packaging
Natural materials like cardboard and wood are hygroscopic, meaning they absorb and release water in the atmosphere. When humidity levels get too high, these hygroscopic materials absorb, and then later release, that moisture. A seemingly dry box or palette can slowly transfer moisture to their products over the course of a few days.
Impacts of Moisture Damage
Moisture damage doesn’t just cause product loss. It has plenty of downstream consequences that can be damaging to your business. These include:
- An uptick in returns and replacements: Moisture-damaged electronics aren’t always obvious. In some cases, a customer may use a product for days or even weeks before the impacts of moisture damage are obvious. When that product starts to fail, you’ll be faced with returns, warranty claims, and replacement costs, as well as the customer service overhead required to complete these requests.
- Damaged brand reputation: When a customer receives a damaged product, they won’t consider that the damage may have occurred during shipping. They’ll simply blame your brand, damaging your reputation.
- Wasted labor: There’s so much more than just parts that go into creating an electronic. When a product is irreversibly damaged, you waste the labor that went into creating that product, too.
- Compliance issues: If your electronics are created for regulated industries, moisture damage can cause serious liability and compliance issues. Electronics for medical devices, aerospace components, and other industries must meet strict standards.
How to Prevent Electronics Moisture Damage During Shipping
Moisture damage affects 1 in 10 container shipments. Follow these steps to protect your upcoming electronics shipment.
Desiccants
Desiccants absorb moisture from the atmosphere, soak up leaks, and protect your electronics throughout their journey. They attract water droplets and trap them inside sealed packaging, lowering the humidity inside your container. Depending on the anticipated humidity levels and the associated moisture damage risk, you may use silica gel, calcium chloride, or other types of desiccants.
For the most protection possible, use industrial-grade desiccant that’s specifically designed for container shipments. The best container desiccants lock moisture in using a gel formula, making it impossible for it to escape. Hang desiccant from your container’s walls and ceiling, line the floor of your container with desiccant pads, or lay desiccant blankets on top of your cargo to protect it from container rain.
Container Liners
When moist container walls and container rain are a significant risk, further protect your cargo using container liners. These barriers sit inside your container, creating a physical barrier between your electronics and the container walls. Rather than sitting inside the container itself, your shipment sits in a sealed environment for increased protection.
Humidity Indicator Cards
Because moisture damage can be invisible in electronic devices, it’s a good idea to include humidity indicator cards (HICs) along with your shipment. These analog devices contain a compound that changes color when humidity exceeds a certain level. When your shipment arrives at its destination, the humidity indicator card will tell you whether moisture in your container got dangerously high.
Get Custom Shipping Protection from EPGNA
Electronics moisture damage is a significant problem with overseas exports. Fortunately, it’s preventable with the right combination of moisture control solutions. Desiccants, container liners, and humidity indicator cards provide sufficient protection to protect your shipment.
For the highest quality container desiccants and liners, try EPGNA. Our innovative solutions protect your exports and your business. Contact us today to get started.
