storing clay teapots

[Ti]

After drying does it matter if the lids on or lids off?

[edkrueger]

Lids on. Paper towel inside.

[wyardley]

I dry upside-down for 1 day, right side up for 2 days or so (both with the lid off), then put away with the lid on.

[t4texas]

I have been storing mine, lid off, for about one day. Perhaps I should go to two, but they look and feel dry and I use many of them at least once a week.

[Salsero]

I fill mine with hot water, dump it, dry inside with paper towel and leave right-side-up for several days with lid off.

[brandon]

I dry it hanging spout down overnight and then put the lid on. Back on the shelf.

[Maitre_Tea]

I dry by putting my teapot upside down overnight with the lid off, and putting it back on in the morning when it's dry. Would it matter if the lid was on or off, assuming that there isn't some funky stank smell in the air?

[t4texas]

I dry by putting my teapot upside down overnight with the lid off, and putting it back on in the morning when it's dry. Would it matter if the lid was on or off, assuming that there isn't some funky stank smell in the air?

I have noticed - when I inadvertantly put the lid on when drying - that lid-on drys the interior much, much more slowly.

[betta]

I dry by putting my teapot upside down overnight with the lid off, and putting it back on in the morning when it's dry. Would it matter if the lid was on or off, assuming that there isn't some funky stank smell in the air?

I have noticed - when I inadvertantly put the lid on when drying - that lid-on drys the interior much, much more slowly.

Yup.. the drying process requires dry air, that's why we can dry our hair without subjecting it to 100°C temperature. Lid open = more convective dry air flowing through your pot = faster drying. Moreover in tropical country with humidity over 80%, putting the lid on can propagate mold growth.

[Smells_Familiar]

after exposing the pot to boiling water, i will usually shoot the pot out of a cannon with THE LID OFF.
if i'm too busy to set that up, i'll just douse the pot with petrol and light it on fire with THE LID OFF.

[Salsero]

after exposing the pot to boiling water, i will usually shoot the pot out of a cannon with THE LID OFF.
if i'm too busy to set that up, i'll just douse the pot with petrol and light it on fire with THE LID OFF.
it's dry.

I like this technique. It's lively!

[hop_goblin]

lids off. Nothing else.

[Trioxin]

Not sure if any of my pots ever get a chance to dry. But, I'd have to go with lid off for a couple of days if they did.

[cheaton]

Going to attempt the petrol technique next. Sounds like a winner!

[Ti]

after exposing the pot to boiling water, i will usually shoot the pot out of a cannon with THE LID OFF.

WOW! Good idea! I didn’t think anyone used that method any more! That went out of style around the time of the Mongol conquest of the Southern Song. It’s nice to see ancient customs being revived. I'm tempted to try this since everyone here is readying their high-powered rifles for the upcoming deer season and I doubt anyone would notice a cannon going off now.

I usually air dry mine with the lids off for a few days until I'm sure they are good and dry then put the lids on, but I notice a difference in the way the pots smell after a few days with the lids on even when I'm sure they are completely dry. So I have been cocking the lids so they aren't sealed up.

I like hop's 'lids off. Nothing else' but I'm expecting the annual invasion of ladybugs any day now that it is getting cold outside and I don't want any of them smelly things hanging around and dying inside my pots. I'm going to try the paper towel inside. Thanks for all the feedback.