I need to store some artwork in my damp and humid basement. What is the best way to protect it?
Try to avoid this if you care about the art.
You better get a really good Dehumidifier. Set up within 5-10 feet of the Art. Keep the Art work a few feet off the ground.
Don’t do it!!! I killed a year’s worth of art this way!
Put it somewhere else. Seriously.
Why does it need to be in the damp basement?
If it really and truly is your last option, get a good dehumidifier and build an enclosed room / closet / box, depending on the amount and size you’re storing. This way, you’re not trying to dry out the whole basement - just the immediate area where the art is. And pray the dehumidifier never fails.
I need to throw my baby off a thousand-foot cliff. What is the best way to protect her?
Same situation. Just don’t do it.
What if the art were wrapped in paper, placed in cardboard and sealed in plastic?
What would be the best alternative? How are the storage rental facilities? How should I pack them?
The trouble with sealing it is that no matter how well you do it, moisture will find its way inside the sealed container, where it will wreak even worse havoc because of the confined space.
The answer depends on the artwork, but merely setting up a dehumidifier isn’t enough guidance. Proper curatorial care of paper objects requres keeping it within a specified range, say 40-45 percent relative humidity. How “good” a dehumidifier is really boils down to whether it is sufficiently sized to dehumidify the basement. In winter months, it may not even be necessary, but reducing the RH too low will not do your artwork any favors and will likely shorten its expected lifespan. By the way, if the artwork is enclosed behind glass, is it properly framed–i.e., with conservation-grade techniques and materials?
But there are other considerations, chiefly that of pre-existing mold. The OP may already have microscopic mold spores in his/her “damp” basement. If so, placing artwork next to these easily stirred spores would be inviting trouble.
Another issue: The presence of insects that feed off paper products, oils, etc.
I might point out that storing the artwork upstairs, in a room that receives inadequate dehumidification during the day hours of summer months, may be little better.
Preserving artworks is an art in itself. Go to a museum, and consult the collections director. He/she can tell you more than any of us can.
Sleep in the basement. Store the art where you’re sleeping now. You can stand the damp much better than art can.
I work in a museum which has quite a fine selection of art, and I help care for it.
I also strongly, strongly urge you not to store the art in the basement. If I had to think of a worst place to store art, that’d be my first guess.
Dampness is one problem, but the other is consistency-- you should not store any art or antiques in a changing environment, and a dehumidifier would cause that, especially if you forgot to dump it. A constant temperature (cool, but not cold) and humidity of about 50% is best.
I would suggest that you store it in an interior closet in your home, where temperature/humidity fluctuations are likely to be slight and it’s dark. (Light is the mortal enemy of pigments.)
It would be best to store it in archival materials, but in a pinch, you could wrap it in a clean white sheet. (Wash the sheet, then put it through again with no soap to remove any residual soap or chemicals. Do not use softner.)
Never* store treasured items in plastic unless it’s archival quality (which you have to get from specialty stores-- photo albums from Wal-Mart, for example, most likely aren’t archival.) Moisture always gets in, and it creates a mold-friendly greenhouse environment. Secondly, plastic can “off-gas” over time, which can damage any material that touches it. Don’t put it near mothballs for the same reason.
In many cases, an interior closet is unlikely to be much better, as many people set back their thermostats while away at work, resulting in significant and daily–not seasonal–variations in temperature and humidity. Moreover, a closet is apt to be dusty and dust is harmful to paper materials, over the long term. Your idea about protecting the artwork with cloth is good, however.
Even if people do set back their thermostats, as long as the closet door is closed, the temperature/humidity change shouldn’t be much, and any changes would be very gradual, especially if the closet is away from exterior walls.
Secondly, dude, clean out your closets! 
Mine are no dirtier than the room to which they connect!
Closets are what we always recommend for people asking us where to store photographs and things like that, because of all the locations in a person’s home, a closet is likely to be the most stable environment.
Thanks for the advice. What about storing the works at a storage facility where everyone gets their own little room and the temperature and humidity are regulated?
In my previous post, I was thinking locally, but is there a place in the mid-west I could ship the art that would be better suited for storage (and hopefully cheaper, too)? I’m thinking mid-west because of the documentaries I’ve seen where they’ve converted old mines into storage facilities. That’s where Hollywood keeps their original film negatives since the conditions are ideal.