Really and truly, what is rust? We know when something might get rusty, but we never really question how rust comes to be. To understand how rust forms, you might have to dig back into your memory back to your high school chemistry classes, but one of the main elements is moisture. Moisture leads to damaged tools as a result of the rust that forms, so you want to prevent rusting in any way that you can.

Here’s how it all works.

How Moisture Leads to Damaged Tools

Rust is a reddish-brown chemical compound, more technically known as iron oxide. Iron oxide forms when iron and oxygen react in the presence of water. A significant amount of water, like a rainfall, is not needed for rust to form, as everyday moisture in the air is enough to corrode iron.

Iron or steel will not rust in a completely dry environment.

What Happens When Tools Rust

Rust is more than an unsightly annoyance. It can be a real detriment to tools and the user’s safety.

Rust can eat away at even the strongest piece of iron. It can bore holes, reduce magnetism, and prevent effective electric connections. It can also cause metal parts that are supposed to slide over one another to become stuck, or otherwise generally reduce the effectiveness of tools. More importantly, using rusty tools increases the chances of accident or injury due to their malfunction.

What You Can Do

Even though moisture leads to damaged tools as a result of the rust that forms, this process isn’t inevitable. You can prevent this from happening.

If you want to keep rust from forming, be sure to store your tools safely in a moisture-free environment.

We know how much your tools mean to you and how much you may have invested into them. When rust damages tools, it means not only dangerous working conditions, but also wasted money.

Fortunately, you can protect your tools, your hands, and your investment. Here at Stowe Cargo, we have developed a system that keeps your tools covered in style. We have custom-fit pickup truck storage systems for Ford, GMC, Chevy, and RAM models.

For more information on how we can serve you, or if you would like to learn more about our product lines, please feel free to contact us through our Stowe Cargo Systems website or by phone at (248) 795-2240.