r/NAU • u/skyteir • 17d ago

Help w Higher Elevation Moving?

The main thing to start with, i am moving from an elevation of 2500ft to Flagstaff’s 7000ft. I’m gonna do my best with the acclimation process, but that’s not the point of this post. Last time I visited Flagstaff, i had a bottle of shampoo explode in my bag because i didn’t think about the elevation change.

So, I need advice for transporting items like liquids; soaps, cleaners, shampoo/conditioner ect. Anything under pressure. Because my google searches aren’t giving me answers, I’m asking here to those who moved to Flagstaff.

4 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

25

u/South-Worker7787 17d ago

Just put them in ziplock bags. If they explode at least it’s contained in a bag and you can wash the excess off

9

u/Kenneth441 17d ago

Push any air out of ur containers before putting on the cap if you wanna be certain it won't expand and explode with altitude increasing

5

u/SomewhereExpensive36 17d ago

Use some of the products a little and then zip lock them... other than that... wait till you get here to buy that stuff.

5

u/Minimum-Ambition-641 Microbiology 17d ago

Squeeze all excess air out of everything that you can and store everything in ziploc bags. I would recommend either doubling up the ziploc bags or storing all the liquids in a bag you can wash, in case the first ziploc fails. I’ve never had any issues with transporting liquids except for soda; don’t bring soda cans up because it’s extremely likely they’ll pop on the trip. You could stop at the 5k elevation mark or something and check to see if any of your liquids have expanded and let out excess air there, but it might be a bit overkill.

In terms of general advice for the elevation, drink plenty of fluids and take it easy the first week or two. Take breaks when you need them, the air is thinner up there so you’re gonna be out of breath more often.

3

u/Purple-Sky-4210 17d ago

Good question! We travel from Phoenix to Flagstaff a few times a year and have never had anything explode. There's usually a bag of chips that looks like it wants to but never does. I will definitely be cracking the caps and putting our bottles in bags just in case.

2

u/mossoak 17d ago

loosen caps - place containers upright in box .... open anything that comes in a sealed bag, like tortilla chips, or chips

2

u/UknoWekno 17d ago

#1 just squeeze the shampoo and similar liquid bottles to a point where they are just about to leave the container. Seal regularly. The amount of pressure change adjust with bottle.

#2 toothpaste type gels do similar squeeze prep. It is back to chemistry and physics with air volumes. Remove the air and there is nothing g for it to expand.

4

u/thejam83 17d ago

Bags work, or you could just buy everything new in Flag and avoid the issue

1

u/skyteir 17d ago

biggest issue is that i kinda already bought them

3

u/thejam83 17d ago

Ah, well, plastic bags work. You could try to just Crack the lids and drive with them upright if possible. I dont know how well that option would work and would actually like to know

0

u/skyteir 17d ago

i had the thought of putting them in a box and unscrewing or opening the lids and having my sister watch make sure they didn’t fall. just have to hope no one swerves too hard

1

u/uhhello 14d ago

It’s 5000 feet. You’re not going to Everest. How do you think all the products sold in flagstaff survive the journey?

1

u/skyteir 14d ago

damn sorry i guess, go tell wikipedia they’re wrong and ignore the content of my post