Nobody likes a soggy bottom, and here at Hydropac we’re no exception! Unfortunately, soggy bottoms do quickly become parts of life in the packaging industry unless you take steps to prevent against them, so without further ado, here are our tips on avoiding soggy bottoms (aka water damage) in transit.
First off, you need to make sure the outer box is both robust enough to withstand the weight of the contents within, and suitable strong enough to put up with the normal rigours of being passed through the courier or transit system. You can pack the contents inside as well as you like, but if the outer box can’t stand up to the test of being moved around, the contents inside will become damaged or lost no matter what you do.
If you’re looking for a box system that is extremely strong, our EnviroCool® system has been tested with up to 250kg of pressure and not blinked an eye. If you want to compare that to something heavy – that’s the same as 92,592 table tennis balls or 84 billion grains of sand!
OK so you have the box sorted, but what about the contents within. Yes, they’re being protected from outside elements but does the internal packaging stop them moving around and becoming broken. Whilst a leak may not bother the box you’ve chosen, it will bother the end recipient and could ruin the other contents inside, so what can you use to prevent any breakages?
We like to recommend eco-friendly products where we can, so something like sheep wool makes a good alternative to traditional products such as polystyrene. Not only does it have excellent protection properties, it is extremely insulating for any temperature sensitive products within the box and works well in conjunction with any ice packs you may include.
If you require the use of ice packs (either water or gel) inside your box for temperature controlled shipping, then you really need to make sure you’re going for a supplier who can ensure they won’t burst under “normal” pressure. Weak ice packs are one surefire way to end up with a soggy box in minutes!
Whilst we’re not trying to blow our own trumpet, all of the ice packs in our range, whether suitable for food or pharma products, are extremely strong. They can all withstand up to 200kg of pressure without bursting – that’s the equivalent of the weight of an average adult bottlenosed dolphin, a red deer stag or a 64,000 tea bags!
That said, unfortunately this scenario is inevitable in some situations, such as if they are exposed to sharp edges of the products within. In this scenario, if you know that you’re running the risk with sharp edges, we’d also recommend using a water proof liner (such as our Reflective-Air or Recycle-Air liners) to stop any water escaping into the outer box. Some carriers actually now insist that a waterproof system is used or they will not collect the package for delivery (DPD is one such example).
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