Storing Fragrance oils in unheated spaces??

[Lightkeeper]

We are going to be moving soon, and I am also going to be downsizing my biz quite a bit.  My new studio space will not be heated in the Winter.   It is in the Northeast, where temps can get in the teens in the winter and even below zero on occasion.  I've always kept my oils in cabinets in our cool and dark basement, and over the past 20 years have not had issues with oils going bad.   

In my new space they will be stored inside cabinets, kept in my unheated  shop.   Do you think this will pose a problem??

 

As many of you,  I have accumulated tons of oils over the years,  with Thousands of dollars worth of product, and I don't want to damage them.  What are your thoughts??

 

P.S.  I will also be selling tons of candle jars,  and thousands of cosmetic bottles/jars/lids etc.  My problem is I am under a very tight time frame, and dont have time to list,  and ship a bunch of stuff,  I will post under Classy's but if anyone is local to SE Wisc,  and is interested please let me know.

 

Thanks!

[bfroberts]

This is purely anecdotal but....
I've been storing some FO's in the refrigerator since 2017. Some will thicken or develop crystals, but that goes away when the FO is warmed. I keep them in the fridge because we have 2 homes, one for winter and one for warmer months, and I know they would not survive the high summer temps, nor am I inclined to move them back and forth between states. I tried the fridge and it's worked out fine with absolutely no loss to date. I'll try to remember to ask my rep about it to get a professional opinion.

[Lightkeeper]

44 minutes ago, bfroberts said:

This is purely anecdotal but....
I've been storing some FO's in the refrigerator since 2017. Some will thicken or develop crystals, but that goes away when the FO is warmed. I keep them in the fridge because we have 2 homes, one for winter and one for warmer months, and I know they would not survive the high summer temps, nor am I inclined to move them back and forth between states. I tried the fridge and it's worked out fine with absolutely no loss to date. I'll try to remember to ask my rep about it to get a professional opinion.

Thank you for letting me know.  That is funny because we will be doing the same thing.  NE in the the summer and then looking to be in NC in the Winter.   I know it could get freezing temps in the Winter so that is all I would worry about.  But maybe in the fridge or freezer unplugged might help insulate them too.  I don't really want to have to move around either.  and I still have ALOT of oils.  

[bfroberts]

11 hours ago, Lightkeeper said:

Thank you for letting me know.  That is funny because we will be doing the same thing.  NE in the the summer and then looking to be in NC in the Winter.   I know it could get freezing temps in the Winter so that is all I would worry about.  But maybe in the fridge or freezer unplugged might help insulate them too.  I don't really want to have to move around either.  and I still have ALOT of oils.  

What part of NC?  We have a home at the coast where we spend the winter months. I know the house gets super hot in the summer, and that's why I started keeping the FO's in the fridge there. Our other home is in WV. That's where most of my supplies are. We turn the heat down as low as it will go (45) when we leave, and my oils over winter fine at that temp too. I think light and high temps or extreme temp changes are more detrimental to oils than cold storage.

[TallTayl]

I worry more about heat than chill. Some vanilla types can form crystals in cold, just warm them up and shake well before use. 
 

we always like to “burp” bottles at change of seasons to help account for changes in pressure. If kept stored in a fridge I have found that is not needed. The chill should extend the life of the FO by quite a long time. 
 

 

[Lightkeeper]

1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

I worry more about heat than chill. Some vanilla types can form crystals in cold, just warm them up and shake well before use. 
 

we always like to “burp” bottles at change of seasons to help account for changes in pressure. If kept stored in a fridge I have found that is not needed. The chill should extend the life of the FO by quite a long time. 
 

 

Thanks!  I know I have had a few vanillas do that even just stored in cooler basement.  So if the building is not heated,  It would be freezing temps, but didn't think the oils would actually freeze.  Just didn't want to damage them.

3 hours ago, bfroberts said:

What part of NC?  We have a home at the coast where we spend the winter months. I know the house gets super hot in the summer, and that's why I started keeping the FO's in the fridge there. Our other home is in WV. That's where most of my supplies are. We turn the heat down as low as it will go (45) when we leave, and my oils over winter fine at that temp too. I think light and high temps or extreme temp changes are more detrimental to oils than cold storage.

We are Around the Goldsboro area where my Son is Stationed.  We looked at condos near Topsail Isl a few years back, that is nice.  Where on coast are you?

[bfroberts]

3 hours ago, Lightkeeper said:

Thanks!  I know I have had a few vanillas do that even just stored in cooler basement.  So if the building is not heated,  It would be freezing temps, but didn't think the oils would actually freeze.  Just didn't want to damage them.

We are Around the Goldsboro area where my Son is Stationed.  We looked at condos near Topsail Isl a few years back, that is nice.  Where on coast are you?

Wow...it is a small world. We are from the Goldsboro area originally. Mt Olive actually, but no one knows where Mt Olive is...LOL.  We moved to WV in 2010 to start a business, and my daughter moved into the home we have there. So in 2017 we bought another home in Oriental, which is a little town east of New Bern. It's a sailboat community. We grew up going to Topsail and my mom still have a place there. It is a great area.