Vaccum Seal Storage Bags-are They Worth It?

My mom uses them and they work great. But she found that warming the zipper and the cap with the hair dryer makes them easier to seal. You may have to re-vaccum them after a few years if they don't get sealed well, or if they are standing on end instead of flat, but they do really save space. She did clothes, pillows, and spare bedding for each room. But you would be amazed by the amount of space that was saved from the boxes of yarn!

DON'T DO IT!!! I invested in a lot of these "Space Bags," both the vacuum-seal and the roll-and-seal, and ended up regretting that waste of money. On the bigger bags, all of them ended up breaking within the first year. Either the cap would fall off, or the zipper wouldn't stay shut, or the zipper would tear, or they'd get a little hole in them from my husband moving them around... They might work if you have stuff to store that you don't plan on accessing for a few years, stuff that you can put in a corner and not move around for a while. The roll bags--well, I discovered that I can just use big ziploc bags, fill them up, seal them partway, and then roll the air out and finish zipping them. They last longer, and aren't as expensive.

I have been considering getting some myself lately. We also have a bunch of bins not being used and I could use the extra storage in my linen closet. I also found something really cool at Wal-Mart, it is a space bag "cube" with a fabric sort of box with a zipper top. You put your comforters/blankets or whatever (I have summer blankets and my summer clothing in mine) in the tall plastic sack then vacuum it down and close the square "box" and zip it up. It holds a TON of stuff and is extra convenient if you want to do comforters and pillows. It can be kind of hard to stuff them in the regular flat bags.

I used the Space Bags when I moved from Phoenix to Portland and it was a complete lifesaver!! There is NO way I could have moved everything I needed in a Honda Civic without them. I put my comforter, clothing, towels, pillows and coats/jackets in them and was able to fit all of it in my trunk. It also made it MUCH easier when I got a flat tire outside of Medford, OR to unpack the trunk to get to the spare.

I have never tried to vaccum bags because they seemed like a pain to have to drag out the vaccum every time I wanted to seal them. I first purchased the roll to seal bags for backpacking in europe and loved them. I bought the bigger ones for my daughter's clothes, the down comforters, pillows, blankets, duvet covers, and loved it everytime. The longest I had to store something was a little over a year and no air had seeped in and the pillows plumped right up and the comforters and pillows didn't smell musty and didn't need to be cleaned before I could use them again.

You will love them - I've been using the same ones over and over again for over 4 years and they are still in great condition. (Pack of 8 for $20.00)- totally worth it!

I have used the vaccum sealed bags they sell on tv and they are ok. They really do hold a lot of stuff and made a lot of extra space for us, however, the seal doesn't seem to hold very long and I have to reseal them every few months. I have three of the extra large capacity ones and I have stored 4 pillows and about 6 blankets in one of them. It is the size of a plastic bin with all the stuff in it. I got about 3 bins worth of clothes into one extra large bag. So, it does make a difference.
Next time, I think I would shop around a bit more before bought them to see if there were ones that held the seal better.

If you have that much stuff, maybe you need to think about selling it or giving it away. Is it really doing you any good in storage? or is it possible it could do some family in need good?

I have used these "Space Bags" before. I was so impressed with the commericals that I put them to the test with my stuff. First, they do not nearly pack down as small as in the commercials. If you have lots of bulky sweaters or clothes, the bag will still be pretty thick and actually very heavy once it is vacuum sealed. Second, they don't last for real extended amounts of time. When I moved, I had a lot in storage for a year and many of the bag's seals broke. All in all, they are ok but by no means miracle storage. They can help reduce the size of storage, but don't expect them to be the best.

I love mine!! I totally recommend them!! You can either go for the Space Bags or there are some knock offs at Harbor Freight Tools. For the big ones they say to place the empty bag in a plastic tub first, then fill it with clothes etc. This works great! I did this for my daughters 3+ huge Roughneck totes of old clothes...I fit everything down to 2 1/2 totes, plus had extra room to stuff extra baby blankets and such around the bags in the totes.
The bags don't always hold perfectly. And you have to be really careful not to overfill them. But in my opinion, they are still great to have around!! Good luck!!

If you don't want to spend the money you can also take heavy duty garbage bags, fill them up them suck out the air with a regular vacuum hose. Then secure the end with a rubber band. It works just as well, only you can't see what's inside.

Hi K.,

I use the vacuum seal storage bags and I think they are great. I recommend not trying to overstuff them, though - the seal holds much longer if they aren't overfilled.

I want to know too. I was looking at them at FM this past week and found that they have those that need a vacuum cleaner to suction out the air and also ones that you can vacuum or roll out the air. Has anyone used the "roll out the air" style? Are either worth it?

Also, K., I like unusual names. How do you pronounce your daughter's name?

I use the vacuum storage bags, and I find that I can get about three times as much stuff in the same space. They do stay sealed and they keep out moisture (which is important in our climate). I got the idea from my cousin who has been using them for five years. She uses the big ones. I use the small ones because I haven't been able to find the big ones in the store.

When the work properly they're pretty great (and no, it wasn't user error). It has to be seasonal stuff though that you don't have to touch for a while, otherwise they're kind of a pain.

K.,

We have the vacuum seal, and roll up bags. The only one's we have trouble with, vacuum wise, are the jumbo/biggest size. For us they never stay sealed. I don't know if we're just filling it too full or what, but the others we have no problem with.

I would recommend them.

Melissa

My husband and I bought 2 different brands of them ( the most expensive) about 15 bags in all. Only about 3 worked. most deflated within a day and the rest within hours. arrgh. very frustrating. I wouldn't waste my moneys.

I love those bags. you do need to be careful not to overpack them, because you can put holes in them. I love useing these for when I swith out my kids' winter clothes for summer ones and vise virsa. Hope this helps
Stef

I have the same problem as the other poster, the jumbo size slowly leak air back into them (over months). But they still stay fairly compact, and I like them.

I bought a bunch of them, used them, and took them all back. Sometimes the TV commercials make the worst products look very enticing.