3D Printing: Does filament have to be stored in an airtight environment? (5 solutions!)
Channel: Roel Van de Paar
Date: 2019-06-24

3D Printing: Does filament have to be stored in an airtight environment?


The Question: For standard ABS and PLA filament, most distributors recommend storing the
filament in an airtight bag. Does not doing this actually make print quality
worse? I have left mine in the open for a year and have had no noticeable
problems.

Solutions Sample (Please watch the whole video to see all solutions, in order of how many people found them helpful)

== This solution helped 8 people ==
Humidity may be the problem.
http://3dprint.com/68083/airtight-filament-delivery/ If you leave a coil of
filament out, over time it will be exposed to humidity. I have yet to hear of
this happening over a short period of time - the real threat comes if you leave
it out for weeks or months - but it can happen nonetheless.
Contamination with other materials is possible but unlikely. The odds of some
sort of impurity developing from nearby particles is extremely low unless the
filament is actively exposed to some other material.
In most cases, though, things should be just fine.

== This solution helped 4 people ==
I haven't had any other issues storing it in the open, but keeping it in an
airtight environment (especially if you live in a humid environment) keeps it
moisture free, which can effect print quality. Manufacturers recommend this to
help keep filament dry.

== This solution helped 15 people ==
It makes a difference where I live, and I'm not in a particularly humid climate
(California). When printing with wet filament, you'll sometimes hear it popping
and see steam coming out of the extruder (it's usually only this extreme with
nylon). With most other filaments, when they're wet, the extruded filament will
have small bubbles in it and the surface finish of the parts will be rougher,
with breaks in the layer lines. It can also lead to more oozing and stringing.
Air print a few centimeters of filament and look at it closely to see if
there's any bubbles, if not, it's probably dry enough. Whether the filament
absorbs enough water to be noticeable in a few hours, in a day, or in a week
depends a lot on the filament (and I assume the humidity too). I'm mostly
noticed problems with nylon, ABS, and NinjaFlex, less with PLA and PETG (though
I avoid leaving any filament out for more than a day).
If you're not seeing any difference between, then I wouldn't worry about it.
Storing filament dry is a hassle.

== This solution helped 4 people ==
Normally you should check and follow guidelines provided by filament
manufacturer or please contact them for more details. It can vary as not all
environments are the same. For example frequent temperature fluctuations can
increase chances of making a filament turn brittle.
For example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polylactic_acid can be easily
transfigured at temperature ranging from 55-70?, so it should not be exposed
directly under sunlight for an extended durationfaq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyvinyl_alcohol specifically is a water-soluble
filament, so keeping it dry is absolutely necessary, because when it gets wet
it can become unusable. Therefore when possible, keep them in original
packaging (a sealed bag with a dessicant packet) as long as possible.
See: http://www.matterhackers.com/articles/the-matterhackers-3d-printing-
faq#faq5 at MatterHackers FAQ

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